A Lifetime In The Fells The Story of the Lunesdale Fell Ponies by Bert Morland

Chapter 1

The Beginning.

When it was first suggested that I write a book about Fell Ponies I was, to say the least, reluctant.  Firstly, I have never been wildly enthusiastic about paperwork of any sort, and secondly, I argued, that books about Fell Ponies had already been written.  My persuaders then countered that they did not want another book dealing with the history of the Fell Pony, but they did want me to share some of my experiences and knowledge gained whilst breeding the Lunesdale Fell Ponies.

I eventually capitulated and the next problem was where to start "At the beginning", suggested my wife.

The beginning therefore must be my childhood, from where my love of horses in general and Fell Ponies in particular started, and on which foundations the Lunesdale Fell Ponies were eventually built.

I do not propose to bore the reader with great details of my childhood, but it is necessary to touch upon it in order to mention some very knowledgeable horsemen whose help l found invaluable, and from whom I gained information on techniques of breaking and showing and how to recognize the conformation of a good animal, much of which has stayed with me throughout my life.

I was brought up in the village of Kaber in the old County of Westmorland.  Kaber looks much the same today as it did then with a large village green, up and down which I remember running at the age of twelve years with a Fell Pony called Hartley Castle Dolly, belonging to the late Mr. W.J. Dent, of Kaber Fold.   Mr. Dent had given me permission to get the pony ready and show it myself at the Penrith Show, and the village green proved an ideal practice site for in-hand showing.

The Show day dawned and Hartley Castle Dolly was loaded into a cattle lorry hired for the day from Messrs. Sayer and Coates, along with three Shorthorn cattle and a jumping horse called Eric! The Fell Ponies were judged that day by Mr. Sam Woods of Crosby Lodge, and to my great delight I was awarded third place.

That was my first taste of showing, but from the age of six I had helped my father with the cobs he used then for all the farm work.  He was without doubt the greatest horseman I ever met being quiet, kind of manner and totally fearless, and he kept a pony until he was in his late seventies.  My first job was to chase them around on the lunge whilst they were in the process of being broken in, and towards the age of ten I was long reining them.

By the time I was eleven, I was mowing with a pair in double harness while father raked in the swathes from the field edges

Around this time, my maternal grandfather, William Alderson, kept Fell ponies, his first actually recorded in the Fell Pony stud book in 1928.  This was Jenny of High Lane (2576), and her grand dam Jenny was a grey by New Hall Hero.

I was involved in the breaking and riding of John Dent's ponies up until the age of fifteen when I started work, where I was provided with plenty of opportunity to work with horses during the course of the farm day.

It was several years later that I went to live at Roundthwaite Farm, Tebay, and to my delight, my neighbour, the late Mr. Jim Thompson, kept Fell Ponies.  He was one of the many characters that the Fell Pony world was full of in those days, and he rode his ponies in excellent fashion until well into his seventies.

In 1950 he was asked by the Fell Pony Society to take one of his ponies, by the name of Sybil, to represent the breed at the Horse of the Year Show held at Hanngey, London.  Sybil was duly loaded on to a train at Tebay station and transported to London by rail.

Jim had a wealth of traditional treatments and remedies for his ponies.  He used a mixture of a pint of linseed oil and an eggcupful of turpentine with which to worm them.  I don't know how effective it was in dealing with the worms, but it certainly made one wary of striking a match in the vicinity of a newly wormed pony!  He used to swear by half an ounce of brown twist tobacco, cut up into treacle, a blob of which was then placed on the pony's tongue in order to make it 'thrive'.

His remedies were not confined to ponies, and I watched with amazement on one occasion when he undertook to cure a sickly calf of mine.  This particular cure consisted of setting fire to a metal bucketful of feathers and holding the calf' s head over the reeking concoction in order to get it to inhale the fumes.  After several minutes of this I staggered from the building unable to stand any more of the evil smelling smoke.  Jim emerged quite a while later, apparently unaffected. and strangely enough the calf began to recover.

Latterly, I had the job of taking Jim's mares, Roundthwaite Bell Heather (10550) and Roundthwaite Ruby (10918), daughters of Sybil, to the stallion.  I used to ride one, and lead the other the fourteen miles to Adamthwaite, the home of Mr. Ted Benson, who at that time kept Heltondale Prince (3751) a thirteen hands high brown stallion of wonderful conformation.

It was on such an occasion that a horse box pulled up in Ted's yard and a lady alighted with a Fell pony an a halter.  This lady, l was to learn later, was Miss Peggy Crossland, the Secretary of the Fell Pony Society at that time.

Peggy had served in the Women's Land Army during the war, and at this time still tended to dress in a similar uniform.  On that day she was weaning a dark green pullover, knee breeches, dark green stockings and sturdy brown shoes.  She wanted to ascertain whether her mare was in season, and to this end insisted upon walking the mare up the field herself.   The "field" consisted of some eighty acres of enclosed fell ground where Heltondale Prince was grazing with his mares.

Ted and I watched idly whilst chatting at the gate, and Miss Crossland and her mare were approximately a third of the way up the field when Prince spied the newcorner.

Prince had a tremendously long and heavy mane which reached below his knees and he presented a truly awesome sight when approaching Miss Crossland at full gallop, his small ears flattened to his head, his long mane flying out at both sides and a loud roaring noise emitting from his throat.  Miss Crossland dropped the halter, turned sharply an her heel and with a long drawn out "Ooooh" set off at a run leaving her mare to its fate.  Ted and I laughed until we ached but made a supreme effort to control ourselves when she arrived breathless back at the gate.

Ted eventually got the halter off the mare and left her in the field with Heltondale Prince while Miss Crossland bid us a hasty Goodbye.

Here at Adamthwaite, I spent many happy hours talking to Ted, who in my opinion, was, and still is, one of the most knowledgeable people on the subject of Fell Ponies, for whom I have always had the greatest respect, and whose brains in  those days I unashamedly picked.

Chapter 2

The Early Lunesdales.

In 1958 I purchased my first Fell Pony an unnamed black filly foal from Mr. Mark Ireland of Newbiggin - on - Lune for the sum of £14.  As my land at Roundthwaite was bordered by the River Lune, Miss Peggy Crossland, who by this time had become a good friend, and who to fact was one of the people who urged me to write a book some years ago, suggested that Lunesdale might be a suitable prefix for my ponies.  Thus Lunesdale Peggy was christened the first of the Lunesdale ponies.

Lunesdale Peggy matured to thirteen hands and I broke her in at three years old.  Her outstanding feature was probably her incredibly kind nature, as once broken, anyone could do absolutely anything with her.  

I purchased two more brood mares shortly afterwards, Adamthwaite Black Bess (12592) and Heltondale Beauty II (12619).  Ted Benson and I purchased between us the stallion Heltondale Sonny Boy (4473) from Messrs. T and S Noble for the sum of £42, and I was all set to commence my breeding programme.

However, the start was extremely rocky, as Lunesdale Peggy lost her first two foals at the age of six weeks due to scouring, but happily the following year she managed to rear a black colt foal.  This was Lunesdale Richard (4637) and in the summer of 1966 l took him as a yearling to the Penrith Show.

As I already had one entire, I did not really want to keep another so I sold him at the Show to Mr. Eddie Wilson for £35.   He was eventually to sire some good Townend and Lownthwaite ponies while standing at Mr. Wilson's, notably Townend Flash II (5278) who in turn sired the famous Lunesdale Lucky Lady.

Heltondale Sonny Boy, who in addition to siring Lunesdale Richard, sired Lunesdale Laddie, Beauty, Benedict, John, Robert, Lady, Jane, Heather and Jewel, plus some seventy other registered Fell Ponies including Shap Lodge Duke in 1967.  Twenty six years later I was to win the Shap Lodge Duke trophy at the Southern Breed Show with Lunesdale Rebecca.

Sonny Boy, an untouched three year old when he arrived at Roundthwaite had a pretty pony head, exceptional feet, legs, bone, joints and feather, and was as wild as the proverbial hawk.  If he had a fault it was in the top line of his neck and in his temper which was none too sweet in those early days.  It was a couple of months before he was tame enough to commence breaking in; his main aim during this period being to trap you in the comer of the stable and kick you to pieces.  On more than one occasion I had to leap into the manger to escape has flailing hooves.

Once broken in however, providing you always kept the upper hand, he proved to be a brilliant shepherding pony.  I was able to untie the sheepdog from his chain and open all gates from off his back, and on many occasions I guided him home one handed while steadying a sick or injured sheep slung over his withers in front of me with the other hand.  Before the advent of the farm bike, a good pony and a good sheepdog certainly eased the work of shepherding.

Heltondale Sonny Boy

Out of the Lunesdale ponies sired by Sonny Boy, Lunesdale Heather (16308) and Lunesdale Lady (14210) were exceptionally good.  Heather, although inheriting some of her sire's weakness in the top line of her neck, was good in most other points, and became the dam of Lunesdale Lucky Jim (6525) who was to eventually sire over one hundred registered Fell Ponies.  Lunesdale Lady, who I sold in  the top ring at the Wigton sales as a yearling was the dam of the very classy mare, Border Black Empress (17142).

About this time I purchased two more brood mares: the first, Cautley Ballenna (12782) from Mr. R. Stott at Hawes for only £32 as she was in very poor condition.  The second was Sleddale Dainty III (12710) for £40 from Mr. H. Harrison.  Both of these were reasonably good mares but were not in the same class as Heltondale Princess (12185) which Ted Benson had recently purchased from Mrs. Molly Laing, as it had a habit of straying from the fell that she and her husband farmed.

I know the Bible says "thou shalt not covet", but I have to admit that  coveted that mare.  I begged Ted to sell her to me on many occasions but he always refused.  She epitomized all the good points as laid down by the Fell Pony Society and which Ted had always preached to me.  She had good feet, joints and feather, marvelous flat bone and hocks, a beautiful head with small pointed ears and large nostrils, a well laid shoulder, good neck and short back.  I gazed at her on every visit to Adamthwaite - I had found the blueprint of what I aimed to breed one day.

I also aimed to breed grey ponies which I had always enjoyed seeing, and with this end in mind I eventually sold Heltondale Sonny Boy and purchased in his place the grey stallion, Mountain Flash II (4745) from Mr. William Winder for the sum of thirty six guineas at the Wigton sale.

He was to sire the next batch of Lunesdales, amongst which were Lunesdale Betty. Vera, Elsa, Jerry, Darkie II, Rupert. Flash. Brownie, Valerie and Lucky Jim.  Of these, three were grey: Betty, Flash and Rupert.

To increase my chances of producing greys, I searched for a grey brood mare.  Not only was I fortunate enough to find one, but she was also a daughter of the much coveted Heltondale Princess.  This was Adamthwaite Dawn (17780), and so determined was I to own her that I paid ninety guineas for her as a foal at the Wigton sales, when good filly foals at that time were making approximately forty guineas.  I never regretted this, as much later she was to become the dam of one of my great favourites, Lunesdale White Rose (1871).  

I took her home from the sale and wintered her inside.  She was haltered and handled frequently during that winter and consequently was quite easy to break in.  She was another pony that I used for shepherding on.

I was learning more about breeding all the time, partly through my own trials and errors, and partly through meeting and talking with other people also involved with Fell Ponies.  We would meet at shows and horse sales, and it was always useful to compare notes and listen to advice.  Several names spring to mind, the first one being Harry Wales, a very knowledgeable and genuine gentleman whose death was a great loss to the Fell Pony world.  He had a great "eye" for a pony and bred some very fine ones himself.

Tommy Thompson of Askam Gate also had some very good Fell Ponies which could sometimes be bought at the Cowper Day sales at Kirkby Stephen when he would occasionally sell two and three year olds.  He could talk about Fell Ponies all day and was never boring.

I quickly learned the obvious: that it was not a good policy to breed from a stallion and mare that shared the same faults e.g. a mare that is strong in the hock should never be mated with a coarse hocked stallion.  I learned also that a stallion will pass on certain faults to his offspring with more regularity than others.  I have teamed that he will almost always pass on tight narrow feet, round bone and a long back.  It is therefore imperative to look for a stallion with good round feet, flat bone, a well laid shoulder and short back.

I have found it is possible to breed well from a plain mare provided that she has good breading on her maternal side; it is not advisable to breed from a mare, however good looking she is herself, if she has a dam and/or grand dam with faults like round bone, low or sickle hocks and straight stumpy joints, as these will invariably come out two or three generations later.  Exceptions will occur, but I have found them to be rare.

Adamthwaite Dawn, when matured, turned out to be lighter boned than I would have liked, but as I knew her dam, Heltondale Princess, was good in this department, I was not afraid to breed from her, but took the added precaution of mating her with Sleddale King 'O The Fells (5902) who had plenty of substance.  The result was Lunesdale Grey Dawn (17847) a cracking example of a good old fashioned mare with plenty of bone and lots of feather who, before her premature and unfortunate death, was in turn to produce Lunesdale Misty Dawn Carole, Diane and Lucky Lady.

I had now been breeding for some sixteen years, and during this time had sold some of my earlier mares and bought others, some of which were than resold when they proved disappointing as brood mares.

Two which did not prove disappointing however were Adamthwaite Sandra II (17781) who was firstly to produce the Lunesdale Sandra line and later some good Townend ponies for Mr. Eddie Wilson.  The other was Sleddale Dainty III (12710) who was to produce a colt foal in 1972 who would put his unmistakable stamp on many Fell Ponies over the next twenty years.  His name was Lunesdale Jerry (6841).

Chapter 3

Lunesdale Jerry and his Influence.

In 1972 at the time of Jerry's birth, I was heavily involved in Harness Racing, and that summer a black pacing stallion had taken the Harness Racing scene by storm.  His name was Eastwood Jerry, after whom I named Lunesdale Jerry.

I did not see a lot of him that first summer as he ran on the fell with his mother, but even then I could see that he had a noticeably good set of legs.  The following Autumn, as a yearling, I could see that he was really something special.  He was only halter broken whilst at Roundthwaite, and he commenced serving mares at two years old.  He was always sensible to handle and had a kind and even temperament.  I served most of the mares I had with him at that time, and a few other people brought their mares to him, but in retrospect, I don't feel that he was used at that time as much as he probably should have been in view of the quality stock he produced.

Up until the end of 1992, there were 148 Fell Ponies registered to him, and obviously it is impossible to mention them all individually.  However, in order to illustrate the influence Jerry has had an Fell Ponies it is necessary to mention some in detail.

Of the Lunesdale ponies he sired i.e. Lunesdale Sandra I and II, Beauty IV, V and VI, Dainty, Mayfly, Henry, Misty Dawn, Princess, Charles, Carole, Jack, Diana, Fair Lacy and White Rose, I have to say that White Rose and later Henry, have had the most impact on the present day Lunesdales.

White Rose has had an illustrious career to date, having won numerous prizes, and has produced six filly foals and one colt foal, two being grey like herself.  All her offspring have been first prize winners and four of them Champions.

Henry has sired some 56 offspring to date, the most famous probably being Lunesdale Rebecca.  Henry bears a strong likeness to Jerry but has the extra bonus of having inherited a rather sweeter pony head from his dam.

Lunesdale Charles, another of Jerry's sons, was sold to the Heltondale Stud as they felt that they needed some fresh bloodlines at that time, and he sired quite a few Heltondale ponies.

Of the 43 Townend ponies sired by Jerry and registered up until the end of 1992, many were top quality ponies gaining numerous show ring successes.  He was also used frequently by Mr. Henry Hamson on his Sleddale mares, producing some excellent prize winning Sleddale ponies, one of which, Sleddale Beauty XVII (1117) was featured on the front cover of the Spring 1992 Fell Pony Society Newsletter, having been the Supreme Champion at the Southern Breed Show in 1991.

Lunesdale White Rose and Lunesdale Rebecca
daughter and grand daughter of Lunesdale Jerry.

Champion and reserve champion Fell Ponies are mother and daughter.
On the left is the champion shown by Jeff Hunter:
on the right reserve champion Lunesdale White Rose, shown by Peter Robinson.
Both are owned by A. W. Morland of Tebay.
Cumberland Show 1992

Another of Jerry's sons to have found fame is Whitburn Major Tom (456C) bred by Mr. W. Henderson of Whitburn, Tyne and Wear.  Major Tom has achieved some remarkable firsts for his owners, Russell and Pam Sutcliffe of Darwen, and has flown the Fell Pony flag at most of the major shows including Wembley.

Yet another of Jerry's sons acquired a Royal home.  Tom (208C) out of Bannerdale Dawn, was purchased by H.M. The Queen.

I was interested to note that of the three ponies representing the breed at Olympia in 1990, two were sired by Jerry, these being Townend Patrick (142C) and Whitburn Major Tom, the third competitor being Lunesdale Lucky Lady.

In 1991 he was again very well represented at Olympia when out of the five Fells competing he was the sire of two of them i.e. Townend Ruth IV (1383) and Whitburn Major Tom, and the grandsire of another i.e. Townend Sasha (1389).  The other two competitors being Tarnbeck Major and once again Lunesdale Lucky Lady.

I was judging at a show some years ago and after I had finished judging, the trainee judge who was with me that day, purchased a catalogue and pointed out to me that the ponies that I had placed first, second and third in one particular class were all sired by Jerry!

He was still flying the flag strongly at Malvern in the summer of 1993 at the National Pony Society Centenary Show, when out of the twenty two ponies competing in the Fell section, he was the sire of six of them, and the grandsire of another six, including the Champion that day, Lunesdale Rebecca.

He has become so well known over the past two decades, that most people when speaking, of him see no need to use the Lunesdale prefix, and I often smile when t hear someone discussing the breeding of a certain pony and they will say something like 'oh, that's out of a Jerry mare', or 'that pony's got by Jerry'.

I saw him a few years ago, grazing with his mares in his field at Hesket Newmarket at the age of 21 years, looking extremely well and happy.  Long may he continue to do so.

Chapter 4

Showing and Judging

From the start of my breeding programme I have attended shows, sometimes as a competitor, sometimes a judge and sometimes a spectator, but always watching, listening and comparing my ponies with others.  My early showing was confined to fairly local shows due to transport costs and farming commitments.  In this area many ponies were brought down from the fells only a couple of days before a show, a far cry from the sophistication of today, when Fell Ponies compete and indeed win at a much higher level and are kept stabled and prepared months in advance for some major events.

I remember in those early days, Bill Potter, who now keeps the Greenholme Fell Ponies, arriving at my farm one day accompanied by his brothers, Geoff, Ernie and Ted, to ask if I had a pony that they could show at the Penrith Show.  I said that I had a decent two year old filly, but she was up on the fell and had never been handled.  Undeterred, they set off up the fell on foot and several hours later drove a batch of ponies, including this black filly into my yard.  After watching the pony running up and down my yard we all agreed that its action was excellent but would be even more eye-catching to a judge if it were to have a set of shoes on.

We drove it into a cowshed where each foot in hum was hoisted into a position whereby I could trim it and nail on a shoe.  This was achieved with the aid of a soft rope tied around the pony's leg and held over a beam.  It was nearly dark by the time that this operation had been repeated on all four feet, but Bill and his brothers were in good spirits when they set off to walk the two miles home to Ewelock Bank.  The pony had still not been haltered so they led a seasoned pony in front and the two year old followed on behind it.  On reaching Ewelock Bank their uncle, Kit Potter, was awaiting them, and seeing the pony running loose asked, "Haven't you even got it haltered yet lads?".  "No", Bill answered dryly, "but we've got it shod", whereupon they all burst out laughing at the stunned expression on Uncle Kit's face.

Driving classes now command a very high level of turnout and performance which was not I'm afraid the case when I entered my first driving class.  This was at Appleby Show which was always held on a Thursday.  The pony, which I had bought from Harry Dent, Castlethwaite Mallerstang, was quiet and already broken to ride, but had never been in harness.  On the Sunday, four days before the Show, this was done for the first time.  The pony was reasonably cooperative, and this procedure was repeated on the Tuesday without too many fireworks.  I had no time to yoke it again before the show day when we halted the lorry some four miles from Appleby, where I harnessed the pony to the trap and proceeded to drive it to the show ground with the idea of taking some steam out of it before entering the showring.  This worked very well and the Judge, Mrs. McCosh gave me first prize.  I even gave her a ride around the arena afterwards but thought it prudent not to mention that it was only the pony's third time in harness!  Of course the roads had very, little traffic on them in those days, which was just as well, and I certainly would not advise driving a newly harnessed pony to a show in today's traffic.

Although my showing was limited to local shows, I did travel much further afield when invited to judge at shows like Peterborough, Kelso, Leicester, The Royal Highland and Malvern, but my very first judging assignment was at Penrith.

On entering the ring to judge the first class I made the mistake of glancing at the spectators assembled around the ringside.  My heart dropped as I recognised a line up of very knowledgeable gentlemen on the subject of Fell Ponies, including Walter Tuer, Stan Mawson, Tommy Bainbridge, John Patterson, Stan Bracken and Walter Idle amongst others, all watching intently for me to make a mistake, or so I thought.  My nerves were soon forgotten however as I applied myself to the task of examining each pony carefully and placing them in order.  When I came to judge the foal class, one stood out from all the rest - it was exceptional.  Eventually all the classes were judged and the class winners reentered the ring to be judged against each other to find a Supreme Champion I re-examined them and came to the conclusion that the one with the fewest faults was the foal, but in those days, giving a Championship to a foal was something which was rarely, if ever done.  Despite my misgivings, I decided that as the foal was the best I had to give it the Championship.  I pinned on the rosette and walked apprehensively from the ring towards the spectators, who I suddenly realized were all applauding.  These men, whose opinions I so greatly valued, all agreed that the foal was a deserving Champion.  My relief was great, but I can honestly say that I have never again been nervous before judging, no matter how important the occasion, and as well as always enjoying myself I have always taken a pride in doing a thorough job.

Eddie Wilson often reminds me with some amusement of the first of the three occasions when I judged the Fell Pony Breed Show.  After placing all nineteen ponies in the class in order, I walked down the line to check that I was correct, and swapped the eighteenth and nineteenth ponies around.  I feel that not only should a judge be able to place ALL the ponies in the class in order, but should be able to give valid reasons for so doing if asked.

It makes me very sad, therefore, to hear of comments like the one made by a judge before entering a ring to judge a major mixed Mountain and Moorland class.  She announced that she had been boning up the previous evening on the difference between a Fell Pony and a Dales Pony and armed with the "knowledge" she had gained i.e.  that a Dales was allowed white on its legs and had lots of action,  whilst a Fell was not allowed white and had no action, she was about to inflict herself on the competitors.

I believe that some helpful information can be obtained from certain reputable books, but the ability to judge can never be learned this way.  If a person has not got an "eye" for a pony then no other person or book can teach them to be a good judge.

In a perfect world we would all be able to enter our ponies at whichever shows we wished knowing that each judge was knowledgeable, unbiased and not reliant on scanning the previous weeks' results columns in order to make their decisions.  However we all know that it is not a perfect world, but I feel that judging standards could be improved if aspiring judges were to question their reasons for wanting a judges badge.  If they have the necessary "eye", knowledge and experience to do a proficient job and thus ultimately benefit a breed or breeds, then they should go ahead.  However, I suspect in too many cases a judge's badge is seen as a status symbol to be worn as they pose importantly in the ring, in a state of blissful ignorance, whilst making the most awful blunders, which these days are often recorded for all time on the popular camcorder .  It should never be forgotten that efficient judging :s a means of maintaining a standard in a breed, whilst awarding first prizes to inferior breeding stock, especially stallions, can have a disastrous effect on a breed.

One of my earliest successes as a competitor was with Heltondale Sonny Boy who won the Lady Yule Cup at the Fell Pony Stallion Show in 1969 and one of my earliest successes with grey Fell Ponies was to win the Dalemain Cup with Mountain Flash.  Both of these wins were reported in the local press along with photographs, unlike the occasion at Brough Show in 1982 when I was awarded a modest third place rosette when showing a black filly foal.  Her name was Lunesdale Lucky Lady and that yellow rosette was the first of probably the largest collection ever won by a Fell Pony.  Little did I think that day at Brough that in ten years time she would be doing a spectacular victory trot up the centre of the arena at Olympia, her coat gleaming in the spotlights and the cheers of the spectators almost drowning out the voice of the commentators proclaiming her the Supreme Mountain and Moorland Champion of 1992.

Showing can he great fun, and the relaxing atmosphere at some of the smaller agricultural shows at the North us England ensures a good day out for all the family, as well as being a place to encourage interest in the Fell Pony, thereby ensuring its future, as well as providing a means of satisfying man's urge to compete.  Colourful characters are plentiful, and humour abounds, even over the loudspeakers at shows like Borrowdale, Ennerdale, Keswick and Loweswater.

I judged at Borrowdale a few years ago on a beautiful sunny Sunday amid the spectacular Lakeland scenery.  It was the first time that they had held Fell Pony classes and had only put on a small number in order to gauge the interest.  The judging therefore was soon over, and some of the competitors commented that this was a pity as it was such a beautiful day and everyone was enjoying the show so much.

It was suggested that we hold an extra class for ridden ponies.  I organized a "whip round" for prize money, and, as not everyone had brought their saddles along, it was decided that bareback riding would be allowed.  There was great hilarity and thus impromptu class was enjoyed by spectators and competitors alike.

I have always enjoyed the many "characters" that the show scene produces, and have always tried to keep my ponies true to the traditional type.  I was therefore gratified as well as amused when approached by an elderly and very well spoken lady as I left the Grand Parade ring at the Royal Show in 1992 with the Fell Champion, Lunesdale Rebecca.  She spoke with a much stronger voice than her fragile appearance suggested, and said

"Aime pleased to see that you Fell people have not let your native characteristics go.  Aime sick of seeing supposed Mountain and Moorland ponies with legs like bladdy racehorses!"

Lunesdale White Rose, the undisputed "boss" lady of the herd
seen clearly here with a group of Fell Ponies roaming the acres of fell.

Chapter 5

Living Wild.

The Lunesdale ponies are one of a very small number of Fell Pony herds still actually living on the fells in the North of England as they have done for generations.  The word "fell" is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as being "hills and stretches of moorland".  The Lunesdales roam Roundthwaite Common, several thousand acres of fell comprising hills such as Casterfell, Summer Howe, Jeffery's Mount, Birk Knott, Belt Howe and Cowbound divided by steep sided gullies containing waterfalls and streams, or as they are called in these parts, becks or gills, with names such as Blea Gill, Blackley Gill, Wet Syke, Birk Gill, Burn Gill, Corkham Gill and Roundthwaite Beck.  The grazing is stretches of short, dry tufty types of grass interspersed with areas of bracken, bogs and small tarns.

Roundthwaite Common, as well as being home to the ponies, is shared by sheep and a large variety of wild life including foxes, badgers, rabbits and the occasional deer.  Birds of prey including Buzzards, Sparrow Hawks and Kestrels are numerous, as are Skylarks, and despite the sheep and ponies cropping the grass, wild flowers, including species of wild orchids, abound.

Although it is nice to win at shows, it is here on the fells that I have had the greatest pleasure from my ponies, both while shepherding and merely observing, and I would urge all aspiring Fell Pony judges to make the effort to watch them in these natural surroundings as much can be learned; it soon becomes obvious why many of the points required in a good Fell Pony have evolved.

One only has to see the ponies traveling through the treacherous paths and rocky gullies to appreciate why good round feet, flexible joints and protective feather are necessary.  Even the foals from the moment of birth are amazingly sure-footed.  It is also easy to see why overlarge ears and drooping lips are not an asset in winter conditions.  When a pony's extremities are cold it will suffer discomfort and lose condition.  Large drooping lips will freeze in bitter weather and only small ears can be tucked into the protection of a thick mane.

As the Lunesdale Ponies have roamed these fells for generations, not only do they know where all the sheltered places are, and indeed they will travel extraordinary distances in one day to reach them when the weather is about to change, but their instincts remain very sharp.  They predict the arrival of snow with uncanny accuracy and will always arrive at the fell gate near the farmstead twenty four hours before a snowfall.  Here they will stay and get fed daily while the snow remains on the ground.

They will disappear again as quickly as they arrived, and when this happens we can be sure that there will be no more snow until twenty four hours after they reappear.  We have a variation an the old rhyme "The north wind doth blow and we shall have snow".  Our version is "The Fall ponies know when we shall have snow".  Their instincts also keep them clear of the bogs, which when the surfaces are covered with green algae in the summer can look just like a smooth green lawn.

They can be found at different parts of the fells at different times of the year.  The first new shoots of Spring will always be found at the same places and this is where the ponies can be found.  They do not stay together as a large herd, as do ponies accompanied by a stallion, but rather in small "family" groups, usually made up of related ponies.

They are brought down from the fell at different times of the year, namely the mares at foaling time and to be brought to the stallion, all of them to be dosed and wormed several times and the mares again in the Autumn in order to wean the foals.  This is achieved by rounding them up on a farm 'bike'.  As they approach the farmstead, Lunesdale White Rose is always at the head of the herd, and any pony that attempts to overtake her is sharply nipped and reminded of its place.  The same occurs when they are driven back to the fell, she is always in the lead and expects the others to know their places!

I arrange that none of the foals are born before the 20^th May as in this part of the country the April weather can be unkind and the grass can still be in short supply, which makes producing enough milk a difficult task for the mares.  Once a mare has foaled, the foal's navel has been treated with iodine and I am satisfied that mare and foal are well, they are returned to the fell, where it  is a marvelous sight on summer evenings to see the mares peacefully grazing on the fellside while the foals form large schools in which much racing, mock 'fighting' and mutual grooming takes place.   The majority of the ponies remain undisturbed on the fell throughout the summer months apart from the ones attending shows and those being brought down to the stallion.

Autumn brings a spectacular change to the fells with the large expanses of green ferns or bracken changing to brown, and it is at this time that the foals are weaned, their distinguishing marks noted and their names chosen.  The ponies undergo a change too as their winter coats appear.  They grow much more hair when living on the fells, and this is very necessary in the often atrocious winter weather.  It is not unusual to see the ends of the hairs on the ponies' bodies white with hoar frost which gives them a strange ghostly appearance.

It is amusing to see the different reactions to the farm bike at different times of the year.  They run from it in summer when they have no wish to lose their freedom, but in winter they are quite well aware that it is carrying food, and when the snow arrives they can be seen each morning at the fell fence actually watching out for it and they show no fear of it as they come in close for their share of the hay.

Foals which have been wintered inside and then returned to the fell to spring seem to have no trouble in remembering their way around these thousands of acres and lose no time m tracking down their family groups again, and the speed with which they rush back through the fell gate leaves me in no doubt at all that this is where they are happiest.

Chapter 6

The Present Lunesdales.

The Lunesdale Jerry influence is still very strong in the present Lunesdale breeding stock as he is the sire of Lunesdale White Rose, Princess, Henry, and Sandra, and the grandsire of Lunesdale Helen, Lily, Mountain Mist and Pearl.

From the 1970's to the early 1980's Adamthwaite Dawn produced Lunesdale Grey Dawn, Mayfly, Princess, Diane, Fair Lady and White Rose.  With the birth of Grey Dawn I felt that my investment in Adamthwaite Dawn had been well spent and the arrival of her last daughter Lunesdale White Rose, was to my mind confirmation of this.  I am very critical of any faults when they exist in my own ponies as I feel that this is the only way to improve and carry on improving a breed.  It is easy to become so attached to a pony or dog that one turns a blind eye to its faults, but if your goal is ultimately to breed the perfect specimen of any breed it is no good being unrealistic, and faults, when they exist, must be acknowledged and considered when choosing a mate.

I sold Mayfly, Diane and later Fair Lady with a colt foal, Lunesdale Merlin at foot, but Grey Dawn, Princess and White Rose were added to the brood mare herd.

Lunesdale Grey Dawn, before her early death from staggers, produced Lunesdale Misty Dawn, Carole, Diana and of course Lucky Lady who I sold as a foal to Peter and Sally Boustead, who in turn sold her to Mrs. Olwen Briant.  Teamed with Olwen's daughter Lizzie, Lunesdale Lucky Lady (FP1327) was destined to fly the Lunesdale flag at almost every major show in an amazing career.  She is a very good mare, having good hocks, joints, feet and feather, flinty flat bone, tremendous depth of heart and a pleasing action, but these points alone would not have been sufficient to take her to heights never before achieved by a Fell Pony had it not been for Olwen and Lizzie Briant's skill and dedication in producing her always in immaculate condition and demonstrating how a pony can have a combination of strength, beauty, power and elegance when ridden, whilst still retaining its native characteristics.

Although unable to attend many of Lady's great occasions, my wife and I were able to share in them through the Briant's generosity in sending us letters, photos, videos and even rosettes which were greatly appreciated.  I never tire of watching the video of Lady's victory trot up the centre of the arena at Olympia and I am not ashamed to admit that it brings a lump to my throat.  It is amazing to think that a pony from such humble beginnings on Roundthwaite fell could go on to be remembered as one of the native pony all time greats through achieving successes like 1989 Supreme Champion Fell Breed Show, 1992 Ridden Mountain and Moorland Champion at Olympia (qualified for Olympia 5  years running, best of breed 4 times), 1993 Ridden and In Hand Champion Royal International Horse Show, Hickstead, 1993 Champion In Hand pony (Ponies UK) and winner of Glyn Greenwood and Supreme Champion Ponies UK Spring Show, Supreme Champion at East of England Show, Kent County, Essex County, Devon County and Bath and West Shows, 1994 In Hand Champion once more at the Royal International Horse Show, Hickstead.

Lunesdale Princess (18017) was the next of Adamthwaite Dawn's daughters to be kept as a brood mare and two of her foals, Lunesdale Pearl (1912) and Lunesdale Lily (1898) to turn have also been kept as brood mares.  Lily's first foal, Lunesdale Peter, (786C) was the Youngstock Champion as a yearling at the 1992 Fell Pony Stallion Show.

Lunesdale White Rose, (1871), the last of Adamthwaite Dawn's daughters, is grey like her dam and is probably one of the most easily recognisable Lunesdales today.  She has produced six filly foals and one colt foal to date, as well as enjoying a certain amount of success in the showring, although she has been somewhat overshadowed by her offspring, being reserve Champion to them on several occasions.  It was pleasing therefore when she won her first Championship at Loweswater Show in 1992, pleasing for me that is, as White Rose is totally unimpressed by any show and much prefers life on the fells where she enjoys undisputed herd leadership.  She is broken to ride and is a well loved character at Roundthwaite, and to date has passed on her kindly nature to all her foals.  Thankfully she has not passed on her ability to avoid being caught to any of them!

Lunesdale Rosebud with son Lunesdale Bracken Boy

Lunesdale Rosebud, her first foal, although only shown on a few occasions has been reasonably successful and has produced three foals to date.  The first a filly, Lunesdale Bluebell, the second a colt, Lunesdale Bracken Boy who was Champion at the 1993 Fell Pony Breed Sale, and the third a filly, Lunesdale Lydia.

Lunesdale Kim (1872) a grey filly came next and was shown with success by Mrs. N. Earnshaw before producing her first foal and has since been sold to the Tarnbeck Stud.

Lunesdale Rosie Lee (1897) was born the following year and was brought down from the fell as a yearling.  During the next seven days she was haltered, shampooed, brushed and shod, and on the eighth day after being handled for the first time in her life, won the Fell Pony Championship at Dufton Show, which I think illustrates well the superb temperament of White Rose's foals.  She was sold at the end of that year and has won many prizes for her present owner, Mr. Jeff Hunter.

Another grey followed Rosie Lee, this time a colt which we named Lunesdale Mountain Mist (716C).  He was reserve Youngstock Champion to Lunesdale Peter at the 1992 Fell Pony Stallion Show and reserve Champion to his sister Lunesdale Rebecca at the Royal Show the same year.  As he was the first grey colt to be born since Lunesdale Rupert way back in 1970, and because I feel that he has the necessary qualities, l have kept him entire and I was not disappointed with his first crop of foals born in 1993, two of which, Lunesdale Mountain Maid and Lunesdale Silver Fox were grey like himself.  He has a wonderful set of legs and feet and brings to mind a rhyme my father always quoted when buying a pony h was "Buy feet, joints, hocks, bone and feather, tops can be altered, bottoms never".  I spoke to a gentleman some time ago on the subject of line breeding.  He had achieved considerable success with the breeding of Welsh Cobs, and was of the opinion that it was perfectly all right to do it providing there were no serious or similar faults in mare and stallion, and there was a good outcross on both sides.  I came to the conclusion that for the first time since I started breeding,  I had the two ponies most suitable for this experiment, i.e., Lunesdale Henry and Lunesdale White Rose.   They are both difficult to fault, they both have the Lunesdale Jerry line and they both have outcrosses with no serious faults.  White Rose's next foal was the second attempt at line breeding and the result was Lunesdale Rebecca (2026).

If I had felt that I was an the right tracks with the birth of Grey Dawn and later White Rose, I felt pure elation on the day Rebecca was born.  She justified that elation by winning first prize on her debut in the show ring, this being the filly foal class at the Fell Pony Breed Show, in 1991.

Each year I have watched her closely, but she has not disappointed me, and has grown proportionately.  As a yearling she became Supreme Champion at the Royal Show, the Cumberland Show, and Cartmel Show.  She was the Youngstock Champion, Mares Champion and Supreme Champion at the Fell Pony Breed Show and likewise at the Southern Breed Show. It was a proud. moment at the Southern Breed Show to receive the trophy from Sir John Miller and for Rebecca to receive her first sash, albeit rather large for a yearling, reaching almost to her knees.  The following year as a two year old she was again to win the Championship at the Royal Show followed by Championships at Barningham, Cleveland County; Brough, the N.P.S., Centenary Shows at both Malvern and Harrogate and the Youngstock Championship at the Fell Pony Breed Show.  She also went on to win the Royal Show yet again as a three year old, completing a unique hat trick.   White Rose was not in foal the following year, so I was unable to tell if Rebecca was simply a "lucky break", or if I was onto something special with the combination of White Rose and Henry.  The following year, however, she produced another filly foal; Lunesdale Lizzie, which has gone some way to convincing me that in this case line breeding is definitely working.   Lunesdale Lizzie followed Rebecca's footsteps in winning the filly foal class at the Breed Show, and has had considerable success as a two year old and once more feel I have cause to be grateful to Lunesdale Jerry.

Another of Jerry's daughters, Lunesdale Dainty (17846) has produced a useful addition to the brood mares.  This is Lunesdale Helen (1017) who to date has produced Lunesdale Black Grouse, Black Orchid, Blackthorn and Falcon.  Black Grouse is now also owned by Mrs. O. Briant, and although Lucky Lady will be a hard act to follow, they will certainly be trying their best with this stallion.

As Lucky Lady is a hard act to follow in the showring, Lunesdale Jerry is a hard act for any stallion to follow.  Lunesdale Henry, although he will probably never sire as many offspring as Jerry, is definitely leaving his mark.  He is one of a dwindling number of true Fell Pony stallions measuring only 13.2hh. with good joints, feet and feather, flinty flat bone and a wonderfully sweet pony head.  He is passing this point on to a large number of his offspring, which I feel can only be to the benefit of the breed.  It is one point that over the last ten years has left room for improvement in a number of Fell Ponies, and although the head is only allocated ten marks on the Fell Pony scale of judging, a large head with long ears and droopy bottom lips completely spoils the overall picture of a pony.

A stallion should be chosen with care and not used simply because he is handy, if its points are going to improve any faults carried by the mare.  If more care were taken I feel it would help to halt the increase in recent years of ponies with large heads, bad hocks, round bone and necks set in too low, resulting in straight shoulders.

I often hear people who are purchasing a pony for the purpose of riding asking anxiously if it will be "up to height", as if this is the only criteria for a good riding pony, when in actual fact a good riding pony is dependent on a well laid shoulder which results in a short back and good long top neck line.  A cracking example of a ridden Fell Pony which was very successful and which only measured 13hh was High Heath Dainty, which I was surprised to learn on telephoning Mrs. Christine Robinson who owned it, was out of Lunesdale Bunty which I had sold many years before.  I am not saying that it is wrong to want to breed ponies up to height, but I am saying that it is more important to use a stallion that gets foals with a good top neck line whatever their height.

Henry has sired Lunesdale Pearl, Velvet, Blackthorn, Peter, Rebecca, Bluebell, Flash II, Prince Hal, Royal, Ranger, Falcon, Lizzie, Bracken Boy, Hawk Harrier, Ebony, Briony, Lydia, Gypsy Rose and Henrietta, some of which are still at Roundthwaite and others whose progress I watch with interest, have gone to follow many different paths including riding, pairs driving, showing and breeding.  These then are the present Lunesdales, and hopefully some of the sires and dams of future Lunesdales.  As our memories can often play tricks, perhaps one of them has already equaled my "blueprint" Heltondale Princess.   I prefer to think not however, as without a goal to aim for some of the excitement and hope with which I await the arrival of the new foals each Spring would surely disappear.

"High Heath Dainty" (Bassenbeck Jasper X Lunesdale Bunty).
Won and placed in hand, under saddle and in harness.

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