New Forest ponies are one of the most versatile breeds and compete in all disciplines from dressage and driving to eventing and endurance. Recent high profile competitive successes for the breed include the stallion Farriers Finger Print, who stood Mountain and Moorland Supreme Ridden Champion at Olympia 2009.  A team of New Forest ponies from the New Forest Pony Enthusiasts Club won the SEIB Quadrille of the Year at Olympia 2010, and the same riding club sent out the winning team at the British Riding Clubs Rural Riders Dressage Championships two years running, in 2008 and 2009.

Stinna Tange Kaastrup riding Labbenhus Snoevs at WEG

Perhaps the most outstanding display of this breeds naturally calm temperament, trainability and capability for top-level performance came at last year’s World Equestrian Games. Sixteen year old Danish rider Stinna Tange Kaastrup wowed the crowds and impressed the judges to clinch one silver and two bronze medals in the para–dressage – aboard a New Forest pony. Stinna, who was born without legs, has formed a perfect partnership with Labbenhus Snoevs, a smart bay bred in Denmark but with strong English bloodlines. Stinna said of her pony after WEG “He has the greatest personality! He’s SO funny! He really connects to his people and you don’t doubt for a second that he loves you. He has a will of his own that’s for sure! But most important of all he is really clever! He never does any stupid things and he’s the most gentle soul.”

New Forest ponies make ideal mounts for children and adults alike – from hacking and Pony Club activities to international dressage success, they will turn a hoof to anything. The New Forest Pony Publicity Group (NFPPG) was formed in 2001 to raise the profile and value of the native New Forest pony. Commoners breeding these ponies, which run free on the forest, were failing to achieve market prices which reflected their true value. With funding from EU’s New Forest LEADER+ Programme and as part of the Forest Friendly Farming Project, the Group has been achieving its aims – a recent report found that average sale prices have increased by a whopping 270% since the NFPPG started.
Twice a year the Group organise a Pre-sale Show prior to the Auction at Beaulieu Road Sale Yard – Youngstock in May and Foals in September. To enter the show ponies must be halter broken, the classes are judged by a Top List judge and all entries are then sold later in the auction. The NFPPG would like to extend a warm invitation to all to visit the shows and sales, and maybe even to purchase your very own future champion.

NFPEC at the RC Champs

Sale and Show Dates 2011
Thursday 5th May 2011 (to include Pre-sale Youngstock Show of registered New Forest ponies)
Thursday 11th August 2011
Thursday 15th September 2011
Thursday 20th October 2011 (to include Pre-sale Foal Show of registered New Forest Ponies)
Thursday 24th November 2011

For more information on the sales please contact Mandy Pidgeley on 01590 676476 or email haywardsponies@aol.com, or visit or visit http://www.nfls.org.uk

For more information on the breed, visit the New Forest Pony Publicity Group website – www.nfed.co.uk/nfppg