Members of the Dales Pony Association of North America (DPANA) and other Dales Enthusiasts have had a busy year: everything from carriage driving in Acadia to competing at high levels in eventing and competitive driving events, plus lots more in between.

GMHA Ride

Amy Barton and her daughter Madison Fahey spent a weekend at the GMHA (Green Mountain Horse Association) Fall Foliage One ride the last weekend in September of 2009. The weather was gorgeous on Friday and Saturday, and although it rained on Sunday, the weekend was a fine one for mother and daughter bonding!

The ponies were stabled at GMHA grounds for the weekend. The numerous trails available made it possible to take a different trail each morning and ride for miles with very little overlap in trails. On Friday they rode 13 miles through the lovely Vermont country-side. The ponies were very well behaved and had many fun canters on the well-maintained trails. On Saturday the ponies covered 19 miles effortlessly and included some jumping in their ride. Amy and Madison enjoyed the many awesome views that appear at almost every turn in the trails. Canadale Sepoy Scout (Scout) and Canadale Challenger (Halley) attracted quite a bit of attention as they handled the event like gentleman, were always ready to go and never took a lame step despite being barefoot. Amy, Madison, Scout and Halley are looking forward to getting back out on the trails next chance they get.

A Day of Polo for Charity

On October 26, 2009, Baroque Farm Dales Ponies attended our third year of Polo for Charity. This is a yearly event for charity done by the Junior League of Covington for New Orleans North Shore Community. It raises money for various charities that the Junior League supports. It is a huge event. Major New Orleans chefs, restaurants and bars donate food, spirits, and services for a day of polo, breed demonstrations, live music, great food, spirits, and of course, silent and live auctions. There are thousands of people who visit this event, and it has great coverage by TV, newspapers, magazines, etc.

This year we took Gulliver’s Mistral, aka Misty. It was the first year that we did not take Thornville Dan, the normal crowd favorite, and decided to show that all of the ponies do well in the public light. To make things more interesting, Misty had only recently been broken to saddle and had been ridden only six times before going to this chaotic event. We did not know how she was going to handle the crowds, cars, running polo ponies, plastic tents, loud music, etc. We arrived at the event, saddled up, and Misty handled it like a pro. She never spooked or acted silly. She was the only horse that stood still and waited patiently the entire time. She was approached by many people who were intrigued by her looks, inquired as to her breed, all were incredibly impressed to know her age and training level. That in itself was a major impression, even above her good looks. She acted like a good Dales should, a true professional in a very handsome package.

Gulliver’s Mistral is a daughter of Village Hurricane and out of the mare Village Cargo. She was bred in the UK and imported as a yearling. She is currently in foal to one of our imported stallions, Manorian Marcus for a March 2010 foal. – Baroque Farm Dales Ponies

Equine Affaire 2009

One of the final events of the year for the Dales Ponies is the annual trek to Equine Affaire to display in Springfield, MA. This year New Portland Dales and Briar Hill Farms brought ponies to the event. Canadale Bronze Belle, Tudor Blue Bell and Canadale Raven represented New Portland Dales of New Portland, Maine and Dykedale Duke represented Briar Hill Farm of East Calais, Vermont. All the ponies were displayed in the Stable and Farm Exhibits as well as spending time in the Breed Pavilion. All the ponies also participated in the Dales Pony Breed Demo on Saturday afternoon. This is a very high profile event for the Dales Pony breed, and the opportunity exists to connect with many people and really educate the public about this fine breed. If this is something that any Dales owners would be interested in participating in, please contact the DPSNA. Not only will you be helping the breed, but the event itself is not to be missed by horse-lovers of all kinds.

For more information on Dales ponies or DPSNA visit www.dalesponyassoc.com.

DPSNA is an associate member organization of the Equus Survival Trust, a nonprofit dedicated to the conservation of endangered historical breeds of equines: www.Equus-Survival-Trust.org.