Yesterday we attended Chagford pony sale, the last of the big Dartmoor sales for this year.
Lots for the auction were entered up to 223 (ponies plus one donkey stallion) but 68 of the ponies were not brought to the sale, so there were actually 155 for sale altogether.
Walking around the pens there were lots of different stories. One breeder was there in desperation - she owns pure-bred ponies and all the pony keepers on her common had agreed that they were not going to turn out any stallions this year - they were all determined not to breed any foals. Then, someone turned out a big stallion on the neighbouring common and it jumped the wall and covered all the mares on their common - they were so frustrated because they tried so hard to do the responsible thing and stop breeding - again it's the Hill Pony breeders who caused the unnecessary problems.
Although the main ring area was full there were very few bidders. 113 lots were unsold mostly because there were no bids even offered. One very frightened pony that was in the main ring squeezed out through a small gap in the wood that makes up the sides of the ring. The pony was caught and shoved back through the hole that it had escaped through.
The donkey had a bid of £90 but the owner had set a higher reserve so it didn't sell.
At least 24 ponies were bought by a couple of local dealers - one in particular who was very open that he'd bought them to go for meat - presumably for human consumption as he'd paid to have them passported and microchipped. The 4 year old spotted stallion that he bought had been very tricky for the handlers to get through the crush for microchipping - it tried to jump over the side of the entrance of the crush and then out of the pen altogether. Once the stallion had been microchipped he was put in a small pen already full of mares and foals who had been bought by the meat dealer - the market staff were not concerned that the stallion was causing disruption and covering all the mares in the small pen - we asked for the stallion to be separated and were told that they should all be allowed to have some enjoyment before they are killed. We did manage to get the stallion separated after some rather disgruntled comments from the staff.
6 bidders bought just one pony each - so almost certainly to private homes. Two bidders bought 3 ponies each and another bought 6 but we're not sure how many of these went to FDHP (as they did at Tavistock).
Again, we were so pleased not to see any of the big scale, mass buying by unscrupulous dealers who used to buy huge numbers and transport the ponies abroad illegally, and as we've said before, most likely those with involvement in the horse meat scandal. It was at Chagford a couple of years ago that a driver was telling staff how the best direct route is through Spain and that's where he was heading - illegally.
This year at Chagford many of the breeders were lucky if they sold just one lot each. The auctioneer claimed that it is bureaucracy that's "bugg**red" up 170 years of tradition - but it's nothing to do with that. This is all a clear sign that the Hill Pony breeders need to respect the wishes of other pony keepers on the moor and respond to the current climate. We all want the stallions to be removed. People want to see a change and someone
truly championing and putting the ponies at the heart of Dartmoor...after all, the pony was chosen as the symbol for the National Park.
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| Only one of the ponies in this pen sold |
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| Foals that were born because pure-bred ponies were covered by Hill Pony stallions |
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| This foal was one of the lucky ones to get a private buyer |
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| Some of the mares bought by the dealer to go for meat - the stallion was added to this pen |
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| Another mare bought by a meat dealer |
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