Welcome Pearl!

Watching Pearl trot stops me in my tracks!

I’m pleased to welcome Prairie Jewel Pearl to the Fell Pony herd at Willowtrail Farm.  Bred by Gina Schaffert at Prairie Jewel Farm in Nebraska, Pearl is three years old and is my first brown Fell.  I especially love her eyeliner and lips!  And I love to see her move; her trot especially stops me in my tracks.

I first met Gina and her Fell Ponies back in October when I visited while traveling through.  I was completely surprised that I fell for her stallion, Laurelhighland Model.  I didn’t expect to like him; I’ve met so many Fell Ponies that haven’t struck my fancy that I try to keep my expectations low.  In the minutes after I first met him as I was talking to Gina, I laughed in recognition.  Of course!  He’s out of a Sleddale mare!  My first Fell Pony was a Sleddale mare; Sleddale Rose Beauty cemented my love for this breed.  Of course I would fall for a son of a Sleddale mare, in this case Sleddale Wild Rose V.

Pearl’s friendly temperament on display - seeming to want to listen in to Bruce’s phone call!

In January I visited Gina again while traveling through, this time with my friend Linda who has quickly developed an eye for ponies based on her past as a horse judge.  Linda, too, was taken with Model, and then she noticed Pearl.  Pearl and her mother were very friendly, making a point of introducing themselves to me.  Before we left that day, Gina and I were in discussions about Pearl joining my herd. I laughed when on Pearl’s first day here, her friendly side manifested when Bruce met her but then had to take a phone call; she acted as though she wanted to listen in, too!

Pearl’s mother also has Sleddale blood behind her.  I have long admired Sleddale Eddie at the Westerkwartier Stud in The Netherlands.  Eddie is Pearl’s great grandfather.  Beauty, Wild Rose V, and Eddie all go back to Sleddale Rose VII who was the dam of the 1979 Breed Show Supreme Champion Sleddale Rose X. 

While Pearl has Rose VII on both sides of her pedigree and she is brown like Rose VII, Pearl’s color actually comes through from Lunesdale White Rose, another favorite mare of mine in this breed. 

Pearl’s father and Gina’s stallion Laurelhighland Model

I love Pearl’s eyeliner and lips!

I’m enjoying getting to know Pearl and look forward to what she will produce with my imported black stallion Kinniside Asi.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

You can find more stories about the Fell Ponies in my herd in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.