Turf Ponies
Caption at foot of print: THE TURF PONY of
Christopher Wilson, Esqr. Painted
by L Marshall. Engraved by E Babbage.
I bought this print on eBay
after seeking
the original for more than
10 years! The seller thought it had come from an old "Sportsman" magazine,
but he was not sure, and its size and the lack of text on the other
side suggest it is a book plate. It is shown in Sir Walter Gilbey's
1903 book "Thoroughbred and Other Ponies" in which the caption reads:
"A Pony Hack: A pony well known on Newmarket Heath and North Country
racecourses,
about 1828." The house at Rigmaden Park would have just been
completed. The costumes of the two riding figures in the background
support an early Victorian date. |
In 1822-23, Christopher Wilson of Abbot Hall, Kendal,
bought Rigmaden Park outside Kirkby Lonsdale. He
commissioned
fellow Kendalian, George Webster, to design a new house built
on the site of the "ancient manor house". "It is now
a splendid mansion, standing upon a lofty eminence, which rises rapidly
from the
west side of the Lune, and commands a fine view of the vale." (Mannix).
He
used Fell-type mares to breed "turf
ponies". These ponies were seen at most race meetings before
grandstands were built. Owners, spectators or press could take up
a position on
the rails (if they existed!) and gallop alongside the runners for
part of the race. Turf ponies needed to be short and stocky to carry
portly
gents, but
fast
and enduring. They may have been a cross with the Thoroughbred or
Arab onto the local "Galloway" stock. North Country
Galloways were part of the foundation of the Thoroughbred. A painting by S or L Marshall, shows a docked gelding
of Fell type which was bred by Wilson as a turf
pony. The
painting was later engraved (see left). |
Shepherds' Meets
 |
Shepherds would meet annually at some convenient
point to exchange sheep which had "come astray". James Clarke
visited a meet on the flat saddle-like summit of High Street in the
1780s:
"Neighbouring shepherds ... held festival,
during which there were horse racing, wrestling and other such-like
country diversions." Thomas Allom recorded a similar event in
his print shown here (published by Son & Co in 1835).
Riders were traditionally served bread and ale before
they raced, and the winner got a barrel of beer. (Richardson)
The traditional date of the
shepherds' meet on High Street was 10th
July. According to Garnett it
was held until about 1835. |
Trotting
Comet
In the 1860s Tom Jones Evans
of Craven Arms, Shropshire, brought his father's
brown (dark bay) Welsh cob stallion "Comet" up to
compete against the trotting Fell ponies. Comet
was foaled in 1851 and has been described as "a
heavy cob standing nearly 15 hands in height".
Trotting Comet was sired by an older Trotting Comet
(834 HHSB); this older horse
was "one of the founding fathers of Welsh Cobs" and was bred out
of a mare named Black Bess, by Cauliflower. He was probably registration 1411
in the Hackney Horse Stud Book (Fitzgerald).
Trotting Comet (junior) spent a winter at
Orton in the care of a farmer named Bell, who
lived at The Kennels. This is just down the
road from Bousfield, Orton, where Comet himself was
kept.
His portrait is said to have hung in the house at Bousfield:
"a rough looking, common headed cob; you would never think, to look at him,
the speed he must have had." (P Metcalfe)
This may however have actually been a picture of Comet II or "young
Comet" who was owned and bred by William Hully and could trot a mile in
three minutes. Hully produced Fells to win local show classes
in 1903, and also bred Hackney or trotting galloway types from the
Comet line. Comet II's son Daddy's
Lad was exported to Argentina. The
family has bred Dales ponies up to the present
day.
The next year, Comet was
matched against time over a very stiff course
from Shap toll-bar to the top of the turnpike
over Shap Fell, and back. He covered ten miles
in 33 minutes carrying a 12 stone man. (Charlton)
Comet remained in Westmorland
and, although Evans would not sell him, he
was used extensively on the local stock (Richardson).
Linnel ponies trace back to him through Daddy's Lad,
eg Linnel Boy and Linnel Lingcropper. R
B Charlton (1952) remarked that Comet's
descendants inherited his energy, soundness
and stamina. However, there could be a down
side to this bloodline, as some of "the Comet
horses" were known to be "a bit crackers".
One ran away in harness into Orton with Bell's
grandson at the reins; just outside the shop,
it ran into the back of a wagon and killed
itself.
Sir Walter Gilbey, writing
in 1903, quotes Mr William Graham:
"The village of
Dufton ... was quite a centre of pony breeding,
and for many generations the Fell-side
farmers in the district have been noted
for their ponies; they bred them to the
best Fell pony stallions, most of which
were trained trotters of great speed." (ref)
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