ADORABLE Exmoor pony or engagement ring? As Nigel and Mandy Hill have, over three decades, become well-known producers and judges in the Exmoor-pony world and Mr Hill has taken on the chairmanship of the breed society in its centenary year, you can guess which way the decision went.
The Hills were on holiday and looking for a companion pony when they wandered into the tourist centre in Lynmouth, were directed to Exmoor Pony Society (EPS) stalwarts and herd owners David and Sandra Mansell and swiftly became the owners of Sable —and more. Mr Hill recalls: ‘David said, “Would you like her in foal as well?” and I said: “Go on, then.” Then he said: “We’re looking for an area rep for the Midlands.” It just sort of grips you.’
There is, indeed, something irresistible about this native breed; the pleasing neat uniformity of a herd stolidly grazing windswept moorland speaks of antiquity, timelessness and romance. Their satisfyingly compact physique and rounded backsides, bushy Bash Street Kids hairdos, charming mealy noses and ‘toad’ eyes are a source of local pride and have long inspired painters, including Munnings, Aldin and Edwards.
Research by equine vet Peter Green in 2013 suggests that the ponies’ standard appearance as we know it today only really developed after the reclamation of the Exmoor Forest in the early 19th century. However, they certainly closely resemble the primitive equines that roamed the steppes in prehistoric times or were depicted in cave paintings; these ponies are undeniably rare, locally distinctive and as totemic to the moor as its precious red-deer herd.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 26, 2021 من Country Life UK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 26, 2021 من Country Life UK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds