Fell Ponies on My Road Trip

Kimber Bishop at Kimberlake Fell Ponies with some of her ponies and horses.

Whenever I travel away from my ponies, I try to incorporate something pony-related into my journey.  My recent trip was no exception.  I attended the Suffolk Horse Association annual meeting in St. Louis, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And then on the way home, I stopped and met two fellow Fell Pony breeders which was icing on the cake.

Like Fell Ponies, Suffolk Punch Horses are a rare breed and even more endangered.  I enjoying listening to the stewards of that breed talk about traveling stallions, looking for outcrosses, and striving to preserve type.  In January in Colorado there are two big draft horse shows, and it was disappointing to learn that Suffolks aren’t allowed to enter one of them because they aren’t Percherons, Belgians, Shires, or Clydesdales. Someday I’d like to hear more about that line of reasoning!  I also enjoyed watching the Y Bar Hitch of six Suffolk Punches pull an historic wagon around Suson Park.  If you’d like to see video I shot of the hitch, including getting to ride on the wagon, click here.

My first stop on the way home was at Kimberlake Fell Ponies between Kansas City and St. Louis.  Kimber Bishop was a warm and welcoming hostess as we toured around her paddocks and met all of her ponies save her homebred stallion and a gelding.  I had hoped to visit her stallion at a different location later in the day but I ran out of time.  I feel somewhat ‘related’ to Kimber and her ponies because two of hers are in Beverly Patrick’s four-in-hand that also includes Willowtrail Mountain Ranger.

Gina Schaffert of Prairie View Fell Ponies with her stallion.

My second stop was at Prairie View Fell Ponies in Aurora, Nebraska.  Gina Schaffert was likewise warm and welcoming, and I found her generosity of time amazing given she had a dog in labor that she needed to midwife!  On other trips to other places, I had met several of the parents of Gina’s ponies so it was fun to see full grown progeny.  I was surprised how much I enjoyed my time with her stallion, but I suppose I shouldn’t have been.  He is out of a Sleddale mare, distantly related to my first pony Sleddale Rose Beauty, and he captivated me!

I am grateful to all the breeders of Suffolk horses and Fell Ponies who made all those miles of driving worth enduring.  I always learn from other breeders and especially from seeing them with their ponies.  This time was no exception.  I came home looking at my ponies with fresh eyes, which is always a good thing!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2019

You can find many stories about breeders and breeding Fell Ponies in my book Fell Ponies: Observations on the Breed, the Breed Standard, and Breeding, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.