15/01/2025
The Exmoor Pony Has Arrived In Aotearoa!
Versatility. Hardiness. Conservation.
Earlier this month, a very special breed of pony landed on the shores of Aotearoa. On the 8th January, Willowdale Ranch welcomed a breeding pair of Exmoor Ponies, coming all the way from Exmoor in England. Anchor Osprey, a 2019 proven broodmare, currently in foal to a registered UK-based stallion, and Anchor Monster Munch, a 2017 registered breeding stallion, have been hand selected to start the journey of growing Aotearoa’s very own Exmoor Pony population.
The dream of importing Exmoor Ponies to New Zealand began for me when I spent six years studying and living in Edinburgh, Scotland. While there, I became passionately involved with the Edinburgh University Exmoor Pony Trekking Section, a not-for-profit trekking centre that began over 75 years ago and which, to this day, is run by student volunteers to raise awareness and educate the public about the incredibly versatile, hardy and charismatic Exmoor Pony, and provide trekking across the beautiful Pentland Hills for children and adults, beginners and experienced riders alike.
I do not believe I had met a more sure-footed, tough, brave, smart, honest and unbelievably versatile pony until Exmoors came into my life – or I into theirs. These hardy ponies can survive the toughest of winters and carry a surprising amount of weight, which makes them a breed open to adult riders as well being the perfect children’s pony, able to excel at gymkhanas, show jumping, dressage, carriage driving and long-distance trekking over hilly country and unstable terrain.
It’s not surprising they are so incredible! The Exmoor Pony can be traced back to the first wild ponies that came to Britain from Alaska about 130 thousand years ago, living amongst Mammoths and Sabre-Tooth Tigers. Later, when Britain was settled by Celts, these wild ponies began to be tamed and used by humans.
The first record of such ponies specifically on Exmoor is when this area was designated as a Royal Forest. Numbers fluctuated until, in 1818, Sir Thomas Acland selected 30 ponies and founded the Acland Herd, today known as the Anchor Herd, where Anchor Osprey and Anchor Monster Munch come from. The Exmoor Pony Society was formed in 1921, and through the 20s and 30s the Exmoor population grew, with the ponies becoming increasingly popular for riding and driving. Indeed, throughout history, around thirty thousand years of which this incredible pony has shared with humanity, the Exmoor has contributed to our evolution into farmers, then industrialists, and now competition and pleasure equestrians.
Exmoor Pony numbers dwindled after the Second World War, and the breed almost ceased to exist, with only about 50 ponies left on the moor. It was thanks to Mary Etherington, who brought together breeders and enthusiasts to ensure herd reestablishment, that the breed survived. In a monumental effort to safeguard the breed, Mary took Exmoor Ponies to Edinburgh and began breeding at the Royal Dick Veterinary School.
Today, the Exmoor Pony is still on the Rare Breed Survival Trust’s Watchlist in Category 2, endangered. One of the ways to safeguard a breed is to export quality representatives to other countries. Exmoor Ponies can today be found in various European countries, as well as in North America. In 2014, a small breeding group was exported to Czechia. It is hoped that these actions will help preserve this special breed in the case of a country experiencing an outbreak of an infectious and potentially fatal equine disease.
When I left Scotland, my beloved Exmoors, and fellow Exmoor-enthusiasts that had become family, I promised myself I’d one day start an Exmoor Pony herd back home in Aotearoa. I could already see the potential for Exmoors to flourish not only as kids’ and adults’ ridden and driven ponies, but also as conservation grazers in our environmental re-wilding and conservation projects. I also felt it was important to bring – or bring back – an Exmoor population to the South Hemisphere to aid in the safeguarding of the breed.
The Exmoor Ponies’ hardiness and adaptability to different environments, including the ability to cope with heavy rain without needing artificial shelter, makes them ideal for use on conservation grazing and re-wilding projects. In the UK, the Moorland Mousie Trust has been coordinating and managing environmental projects for over 20 years, and presently has 300 ponies grazing over 60 sites. Exmoor Ponies help re-wild flowers by grazing on tough grasses, including gorse. They leave alone native plants and flowers, and create spaces for them to come back and flourish. This is the essence of conservation grazing, and is an amazing way in which these wonderful ponies help improve the health and biodiversity of an ecosystem.
I first sought to find any remnants of an Exmoor population back home. Although some records tell us about George Carlyon importing Exmoor Ponies to the Hawke’s Bay between 1858 and 1875, it is unclear whether these were pure or part-bred. In any case, these imported ponies were subsequently crossed with others and became in turn the Carlyon Pony. These and other UK native ponies contributed to the inquisitive and hardy Kaimanawa horses in the ranges today. When I look at my own Kaimanawas, I can’t help but notice aspects of what I believe to be the Exmoor peeping out. But, as far as a purebred Exmoor herd, I found none.
When I wrote a heartfelt good-bye to the loving Exmoor community I had become a part of, within minutes, my crazy dream to start a herd on this side of the world began manifesting. Emma Wallace, director and guardian of the Anchor Exmoor Pony herd in Exmoor, England, reached out, promising to help me select the right ponies to bring to New Zealand when I was ready.
Just over two years later, in 2023, I visited the Anchor herd to have a look at available stock, including broodmares, youngsters and stallions. I already had in mind the type of Exmoor I was after from my years of working with and running our trekking herd in Edinburgh. After working through numerous options with Emma while pulling together finances for the massive task of an import to the South Hemisphere, things finally came together towards the end of 2024, and I was able to welcome Anchor Osprey and Anchor Monster Munch on the farm – a real pinch me (and then pinch me again and again) moment!
This has been a massive passion project, to say the least, and, in all honesty, the work is just beginning. I believe that the Exmoor Pony has a place on this side of the world. This breed’s honest and intelligent character, hardiness, long history, contribution to humanity’s progress (where would we be without them?), incredible ability to conservation graze, allowing native plants and flowers to thrive, and their presently small genetic pool, all make the Exmoor an incredibly important breed to preserve.
I want to thank the incredible custodians and lovers of the Exmoor Pony, Emma and David Wallace of Anchor Exmoor Ponies, especially Emma for her wealth of knowledge, experience and advice throughout the selection process of our first mare and stallion; her wonderful yard manager extraordinaire, Sophie Kirkup, for taking me around to meet the Anchor herd and helping coordinate the ponies’ export from the other side of the world; my fellow rare breed enthusiasts and members of our Rare Horse Society right here in New Zealand for your never-ending support and belief that I would achieve this crazy dream someday; my family, partner and friends on this side of the globe, for their support and counsel; and, of course, to the beyond incredible women I met and made lifelong friendships with through the Edinburgh University Exmoor Pony Trekking Section, where this love and passion for a tough little native pony first began. Thank you for believing in this Exmoor-obsessed human. And so the journey continues… Follow along!
Anna Zhigareva
Willowdale Ranch
[email protected]
(Photos by the awesome IRT team in Melbourne.)
