Showing & Competitions
Today, Darshill Exmoor Ponies is one of the most successful Exmoor pony studs in the country, producing multiple Exmoor Pony of the Year winners, County Show champions and ridden ponies that have competed at the highest level.
Showing Success
Although I started riding as a child, I had very little experience of showing horses before becoming involved with Exmoor ponies. After joining the Exmoor Pony Society, I began attending Society breed shows, initially as a spectator before helping other exhibitors show their ponies and learning to steward. This growing involvement led to helping establish The Somerset Exmoor Pony Show, where I later served as Show Secretary. The show enjoyed considerable success before I moved to Lancashire in 2012.
As I began breeding my own Exmoor ponies, I quickly realised that showing provided an important opportunity to demonstrate the quality, temperament and breed characteristics of the ponies we were producing. I therefore started competing in-hand at area breed shows before progressing to larger County and Agricultural Shows, as well as mixed Mountain and Moorland classes. Over the years, the stud has achieved significant success, producing numerous champion ponies and gaining recognition for the consistent quality of its stock.
One of the most prestigious competitions in the breed calendar is the Exmoor Pony Society's Pony of the Year Competition, which brings together champion ponies from qualifying shows across the country to compete for the title of Supreme Exmoor Pony of the Year. Darshill-bred ponies have achieved the remarkable distinction of winning the title in four consecutive years:
Exmoor Pony of the Year — Four Consecutive Wins
Darshill Agent Romanoff
Youngstock Section Champion
Darshill Shuri
Adult Section Champion
Darshill Shuri
Ridden Section Champion
Darshill Kitty Pryde
Adult Section Champion
In addition, Darshill Agent Romanoff was placed in the top six of the Price Family Semi-Final Championship at the National Pony Society Great British In-Hand Show in 2023.
The Exmoor Pony Society awards the Peter and Susan Dean Memorial Trophy annually to the breeder whose ponies have achieved the greatest success at County Shows during the preceding year. Since its introduction, the award has been won by only three breeding programmes: the Dunkery Stud, the Anchor Herd and Darshill Exmoor Ponies. This recognition reflects the consistent success of Darshill-bred ponies at county and national level.
Darshill ponies have also excelled under saddle, producing ridden champions across a wide range of classes, from Lead Rein and First Ridden through to qualifications for the prestigious Royal International Horse Show (RIHS) and Horse of the Year Show (HOYS). These achievements reflect our commitment to breeding correct, versatile and temperamentally sound Exmoor ponies that are equally capable of succeeding in the show ring and becoming enjoyable lifelong partners for their owners.
Today, while we remain proud of our successes, our focus continues to be on preserving and promoting the Exmoor pony breed through careful breeding, responsible ownership and the production of quality home-bred Exmoor ponies that embody the very best characteristics of this rare native breed.