Barnaby is such a ham, he had a blast dressing up for photos. Barnaby is a Newfoundland Pony. I told the story of how I came to have him in my Meet Barnaby thread, http://definitelydressage.com/viewtopic.php?t=1244, so I thought I would tell a little about the breed. The Newfoundland Pony is a critically endangered breed. They are descended from the mountain and moorland ponies of Europe that were brought by the early settlers to the island of Newfoundland. For 400 years they were left to run free and breed until needed to pull a cart or something. They are a landrace breed which bred and evolved naturally without human interference until modern times. They are hardy, gentle and IMHO adorable.
When I was a kid, people in the outports fenced their yards to keep the ponies and cows out rather than fencing the livestock in. My Mother says that when she was young everyone had a "horse" to pull firewood from the bush. In the 70's they were replaced by tractors and no longer useful, but there were so many they were considered a pest and were getting hit by cars on the road. So, the meat dealers rounded ponies up by the 100s and sent them to slaughter. In the 80's the numbers had dropped to under 400, and a group of pony lovers began the conservation process. Today the Newfoundland Pony Society and a group of passionate volunteers work hard to track and register ponies as well as promoting responsible breeding programs. These ponies are very versatile used for everything from driving to Pony Club, eventing to Prince Philip Games. In 2015 a Newfoundland Pony by the name of Mr. Maple was the CADORA Eastern Ontario Provincial Champion at 2nd Level.
Barnaby is like a big Labrador Retreiver. He loves everyone, will eat anything, and nothing fazes him. I am having a blast driving him. i hope to see some dressage and cones shows this summer for inspiration.
