Via an Arab stallion, Beautiful Polly swept the board within the Fifties, successful championship after championship and making a legacy each within the display ring and by means of her progeny. Nicola Jane Swinney talks to those that take into account her as we have a good time Horse & Hound’s one hundred and fortieth anniversary in 2024
FOR the ones courageous souls who take at the execs in open pony categories, Beautiful Polly is their probability to face within the highlight – the categories offered by way of the British Display Pony Society (BSPS) for home-producers best.
What some “learners” would possibly not realise is that Beautiful Polly was once an actual pony; one that swept all earlier than her within the Fifties, ridden by way of the younger Davina Whiteman, lengthy earlier than she and her mom Joan Lee-Smith based Ponies Affiliation (UK).
Beautiful Polly was once foaled in 1945, by way of the Arab stallion Naseel out of a Welsh/thoroughbred mare referred to as Gypsy Gold, bred by way of Stephanie Nicholson of Co Meath. As Tom Absolute best says in his definitive e-book The Historical past of the British Driving Pony: “This pass highlighted the function of Arab blood within the breeding of the creating British using pony, at a time when there was once some prejudice towards its use.”
It’s price noting that, no longer lengthy after the tip of Global Struggle II, horse and pony breeding was once booming, and in some ways indiscriminately so, when put next with nowadays when breeders are extremely conscious about provide and insist.
Jennie Loriston-Clarke, of Catherston Stud, remembers: “They [breeders] have been experimenting with all kinds in the ones days. Folks have been getting children off the Welsh hills and crossing them. We had a thoroughbred stallion and we bred him to pony mares.”
Jennie has purpose to keep in mind Beautiful Polly as a result of she was once one of the crucial few to conquer the horse within the ring, on the 1953 Royal World with Royal Display.
“She was once an excessively beautiful pony,” Jennie (then Bullen) remembers. “Being section Arab, she had a fantastic head and he or she went rather well for Davina. And he or she had super presence; she had that uncommon ‘have a look at me’ high quality.”
Beautiful Polly with Davina
On that instance, alternatively, Jennie headed the category with Royal Display.
“The pass judgement on that day was once Main Faudel-Phillips,” says Jennie, “and he was once a stickler for limb. Royal Display was once a sturdier type, extra like nowadays’s display hunter ponies, and that’s almost definitely why we received.”
So it isn’t right kind to mention that Beautiful Polly was once unbeaten. However her victories massively outnumbered her losses.
As a four-year-old, she was once champion pony on the 1949 Dublin Spring Display on her debut. The pass judgement on that day, Horace Smith, commented: “She was once an impressive pony who was once ridden by way of a too-large jockey who coated her up.”
He wasn’t her best admirer at Dublin Spring; she was once noticed by way of Robert Hanson, who knew Keith Lee-Smith was once looking for a 14.2hh (148cm) display pony for Albert Deptford, one in every of his house owners who was once recognized on the time for breeding Suffolk horses and farm animals. However Beautiful Polly’s then proprietor, Mrs Grey, sought after £1,000 for her – a huge amount of cash in the ones days.
A deal was once struck: the horse can be delivered to England with a load of six hunters and, as Albert was once going to be on the Nice Yorkshire Display, he may just see Beautiful Polly there, ridden by way of Davina Lee-Smith. If he favored her, he would have first refusal.
Within the house reserved at Nice Yorkshire for the fastened police workout, Davina attempted the horse for the primary time.
As soon as she was once at ease in stroll, she requested Polly to trot on – and the sale nearly fell via there after which when Keith seen that Polly was once no longer stage.
Davina pulled her up, and the horse was once discovered to have one thick “carthorse shoe” on one foot and a gentle display plate at the different. No marvel she wasn’t stage. But even with this, observers famous her gorgeous floating trot.
The deal was once executed, and the tale that Albert Deptford had purchased a four-year-old Irish champion pony for 4 figures – greater than £30,000 in nowadays’s price – received traction. This kind of worth had by no means been recognized earlier than, so Polly had so much to reside as much as.
Royal Display ridden by way of Jennie Bullen (now Loriston-Clarke), was once one of the crucial few ponies to overcome Beautiful Polly.
Her first display was once the now defunct British Timken. Polly didn’t let somebody down; she seemed excellent and he or she went like a dream to win her elegance and the championship. She swept all earlier than her, successful championship after championship, and at Horse of the 12 months Display (HOYS) at Harringay in 1950 she scored 98 marks out of 100 for conformation and 100 out of 100 for manner of going.
Famend equestrian creator Pamela MacGregor-Morris, who wrote display stories for Horse & Hound, described her as a “completely made pony”.
Polly repeated the feat in 1951, and it’s rather imaginable that she’d have executed the similar in 1952 however for a now-defunct rule that supposed the former yr’s champion was once barred from competing. She was once champion pony on the Royal Display and the Royal World for 3 years working.
Beautiful Polly and Davina Lee Smith being introduced with the Queen Mary Problem Cup at Richmond Royal Horse Display in 1953 by way of the Duchess of Norfolk. Percent by way of Recreation and Normal
Beautiful Polly was so well-known that her title lives on, some 70 years later. H&H columnist Stuart Hollings remembers seeing her within the much-missed parade of champions at HOYS.
“I used to be fascinated to peer this mythical pony within the flesh,” he says. “She will have to had been in her twenties then and was once a broodmare, however was once being ridden for the instance. As quickly because the highlight went on, she pricked up her ears and it is advisable see her eyes illuminate.”
Jennie Loriston-Clarke confirms that the mare had that uncommon high quality: “Some ponies come into the hoop with their ears flat again, then simply develop. Polly was once like that.”
Mythical she would possibly had been, however Polly was once no longer a one-off. The Naseel-Gypsy Gold pass produced a brother, Eureka, and sister, My Beautiful Maid, a 13.2hh, amongst others. On the Royal World in 1950 when Polly took the championship – as though by way of proper – My Beautiful Maid stood reserve and Eureka 2nd reserve. The next yr, Polly was once champion once more, with Eureka reserve and My Beautiful Maid 2nd reserve. My Beautiful Maid went directly to be pony of the yr in each 1953 and 1955.
After her stellar occupation, Polly was a a success broodmare. Her progeny have adopted in her elite hoofprints and made their very own marks within the pony breeding global.
THERE is a quite pretty addendum to Beautiful Polly’s tale. Seeing the horse within the ring on the Royal World at White Town in London within the Fifties, a pony fanatic was once entranced by way of her, announcing: “She was once one of the crucial well-known using ponies on the time. Once I noticed her I believed, ‘What a fantastic pony. I’d like to reproduce ponies like that.’”
That pony fanatic was once Marlene Davey of the Ninfield Stud, which for greater than 50 years produced its personal legends. Marlene used Wingrove Minkino – a son of Bwlch Valentino – as her stallion and his offspring integrated Ninfield Nice Expectancies, Ninfield Minks Splendour, Ninfield Millionaire and Ninfield Minks Attraction.
Ninfield ponies are nonetheless competing nowadays, a few of them – fittingly – in the ones Beautiful Polly home-produced categories whose championship is on the Royal World.
The Arabian affect
AFTER Global Struggle II, Glenda Spooner – perfect recognized for her welfare campaigns – inspired using Arab stallions to supply youngsters’s using ponies.
She promoted “first pass” categories on the now defunct Ponies of Britain presentations. Her affect labored; a number of of the main using pony studs began the usage of Arabian bloodlines.
Within the Sixties and ’70s, Arab or part-bred Arabs, similar to Bwlch Valentino – whose sire’s dam Silverspray was once an Anglo Arab – had an important impact at the breeding of the British using pony.
They produced a finer, prettier animal, with extravagant motion, and plenty of pony studs used them on their mares. Amongst them was once Cusop, whose traces from Valentino by means of his grandson Cusop Disciplin nonetheless seem in trendy pedigrees nowadays.
Curiously, the Nationwide Pony Society has registered display ponies as a definite breed referred to as the British Driving Pony.
Top society
THE Nationwide Pony Society (NPS) was once shaped in 1893, in large part excited by registering polo ponies, maximum of that have been of Arab or japanese breeding and taken again by way of military officials to play the sport right here. Then small thoroughbreds have been used so as to add pace and, later, the peak restrict for polo ponies was once comfy. The smaller ones have been followed for youngsters to journey.
In 1949, the NPS was once requested to arrange laws for ridden pony categories however refused to take action, believing its remit was once registration best. Numerous pony fans due to this fact arrange their very own organisation, and the British Display Pony Society was once born. John Tilling was once chairman, Brigadier John Allen vice-chairman, and a committee was once shaped to canvass for contributors, amongst them Sybil Smith, Ronnie Driving force and Keith Lee-Smith.
A few years later, Keith’s spouse Joan and daughter Davina shaped Ponies Affiliation (UK). Davina, then Whiteman, kicked the bucket in December 2019 on the age of 78, having left a phenomenal legacy for the appearing global.
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