Victoria Eveleigh: author  Christopher Eveleigh: illustrator

Lundy Ponies

Lundy ponies are typically dun, roan, palomino, bay or liver chestnut in colour. They are stocky, about 13.2 hands in height, and they generally make excellent family ponies.

Most of the mares on Lundy today are direct descendants of the original ponies which were imported in 1928 by Martin Coles Harman, who owned the island from 1925 until 1954.  The ponies (34 New Forest mares and eight foals) were transported from Lyndhurst to North Devon on a specially chartered train. All 42 ponies were then shipped to Lundy on the Lerina. One mare drowned swimming ashore, so 41 ponies survived the trip. A strawberry roan Welsh Mountain stallion joined the herd in 1930. Sadly, he died from colic during his second year on the island, but in that time he sired over 30 foals – roans, duns and palominos. Mr Harman decided that a light dun colt called Pepper and a blue roan colt should be kept as stallions. The blue roan was later sold to the mainland, leaving Pepper as herd stallion.

During the Second World War ponies couldn’t be shipped to the mainland, and their numbers grew to around 100. There were many stallions and colts, so fierce fighting often resulted. By the end of the war Pepper’s son, Midnight, had won most of the mares, and he became the principal stallion. Most of the ponies were sold after the war, leaving around 20 on the island, including Midnight –  who reigned as herd stallion until the autumn of 1961.

Midnight’s progeny gained a reputation for being good jumpers. Bertie Hill, the Olympic rider and trainer, owned a dun Lundy pony (called Lundy, and almost certainly Midnight’s son) which won many open jumping events with him when he was a young man during the late 1940s. He described Lundy as ‘a little marvel’. Lady Slade owned another well-known Lundy pony, called Betty Brown, who won over 200 trophies.

Several old mares and young ponies died during the severe winter of 1962-63, leaving only 10 mares on the island. Midnight was replaced by a Thoroughbred-type stallion called Surprise, who lasted two seasons and had seven foals, three of which survived. He was followed by Kestrel, a bay colt by Midnight, and then Plynlimon Moc, a chestnut roan Welsh Cob. His line can be found through his daughter, Lundy Carmine, who produced many fine foals. Moc was replaced in 1967 by a dun Connemara stallion called Rosenharley Peadar. He remained on Lundy for five years, and sired many foals. When he left the island, Legend of Braetor (Midnight’s son) was lent to the island for a year.
Lundy was sold to the National Trust in 1969, and in 1972 the National Pony Society (NPS) assumed responsibility for the breeding and registration of Lundy ponies. On their advice, some of the older Lundy mares were put down and many of the youngstock sired by Rosenharley Peadar were shipped to the mainland. They issued registration forms for the foals, so a formal record of their breeding could be kept, and branded the registered ponies. The NPS approved the use of New Forest stallions, and used first Greenwood Minstrel, then Midnight Minstrel and then Knightwood Grenadier on the Lundy herd.

 Peggy Garvey – who owned the Braetor herd of Lundy ponies, all of which had Midnight’s bloodlines – didn’t agree with the re-introduction of other breeds, so the Braetor Lundy Pony Preservation Society was formed.

In 1980, the National Pony Society took no further part in the breeding of Lundy ponies. Following some bad advice, a Welsh Section B stallion, called Troy, was taken out to Lundy in 1982. He was followed a year later by his son, Trojan. At that time there were only six mares left on the island, so the breeding of the old line of Lundy ponies had shifted away from the island to the Braetor herd. A few other enthusiasts bred the ponies on the mainland, including Mr Bedford from Barnstaple. He bred a stallion called Mozart, who was Midnight’s grandson. Mozart was bought by Peggy Garvey. He had a wonderful temperament and sired many foals.

 

None of the part-bred Welsh ponies on the island were eligible for registration, so in 1990 they were all sold, leaving just three mares descended from the original 1928 line on Lundy. Two of these were sent to Mozart on the mainland, and one (Belinda) produced a filly foal, called Lundy Phoenix, in 1991. Two island-bred mares called Kittiwake and Reedwarbler (both by the New Forest stallion Midnight Minstrel) were sent to Lundy on permanent loan in 1991, so this increased the breeding herd to five, plus the filly foal.Braetor Lapwing was leased to the island in 1990. He stayed on Lundy until 1994, when he returned to the mainland and died soon afterwards. His son, Lundy Sabine (out of Belinda) was kept on as herd stallion. A sponsorship scheme was launched in 1991 to help pay for the upkeep of the ponies.

Lundy Phoenix

Since 1995, Brian and Jan Symons have run the sponsorship scheme. They also devote a great deal of time to the management of the Lundy ponies. The transport of ponies to and from the mainland requires a great deal of organisation and practical expertise. Even routine tasks, like foot trimming by a farrier, can be a logistical nightmare on a remote island. The day-to-day management of the ponies on Lundy is undertaken by Kevin Welsh, the island’s farm manager.

The breeding of Lundy ponies has been a story of triumphs and disasters, made all the more extreme for the time, effort and money required to transport ponies to and from the mainland. In 2007 a strawberry roan Connemara colt called George was transported to the island, in the hope that he would settle in with a couple of mares (Lundy Hannah and Lundy Charlotte Louise) and would become the new herd stallion. He became a great favourite with the islanders, especially with Kevin. Tragically, George was kicked by one of the mares and, despite every effort to save him, he contracted grass sickness soon afterwards and died. Ponies no longer have to swim out to a boat off the landing beach to be transported to the mainland. In fact, they can now make the entire journey in a horsebox, thanks to the new jetty which was completed in 2000.

A trailer with Charlotte Louise inside being loaded onto the MS Oldenburg.

Harry and Starlight, May 2009	Harry, May 2010

In 2009 a colt foal called Little Bray Lundy Marisco (by Lundy Sabine, and out of a New Forest mare Millersford Starlight) was transported, with his mother, to Lundy on the MS Oldenburg. Marisco (nicknamed Harry) was bred by Brian and Jan Symons, and Brian had the daunting task of transporting the animals to their new home. On the return trip, a mare called Charlotte Louise was transported to Bideford so she could visit a Connemara stallion, called Ashford Blue Rock, on the mainland. This was the start of a successful new Lundy pony breeding programme.

	In January 2010, Starlight gave birth to a light dun filly foal (a full sister to Harry) called Redwing. Then, in May 2010, Charlotte Louise had her foal - a bay colt called Bill. The plan is that eventually Bill will be the herd stallion on Lundy, and Harry will return to the mainland. These photos of Bill and Redwing were taken in July 2010.

If you would like to find out more about Lundy ponies and the sponsorship scheme, please contact Brian and Jan Symons on (01598) 710294, or email Brian.Symons@btinternet.com

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