Author: Owen Rees Griffiths
I’m a clinical pharmacist by profession, and currently undertaking my PhD in drug development. However, I also have a lifelong personal interest in Welsh ponies and cobs, an interest which led to the opportunity for a trip of a lifetime when I was invited to attend and speak at the Welsh Pony and Cob Society of America’s (WPCSA) Annual Convention in Denver, Colorado.
Around four years ago I listed a book about Coed Coch ponies on eBay. After some fierce bidding from across the world, the winning bidder was a lady called Winona Myers in Kansas, America. Winona was fairly new to the breed and we became great friends through our discussion of Welsh ponies. Our discussions must have made an impact, because nearly two years later I received an unexpected email from Lisa Landis – the secretary of the WPCSA – asking if I would address an audience at the WPCSA’s Annual Convention, and I can only assume was on Winona’s recommendation. As a young 28-year-old in a field of many experienced voices on the breed, my first thought was that they had the wrong person. However, they were serious, and after having isolated myself in a laboratory for the past three years, I knew this was a golden opportunity to escape the lab and to share my interest with peers in the US.
While I have experience of the competition scene and showing, specifically in-hand, it’s breed history and conformation that primarily interest me. To me, these are the basic building blocks with which every serious breeder should acquaint themselves before attempting to conceive a foal. For performance, which is my ultimate breeding goal, it goes without saying that good conformation is all important. This was the message I wanted to take.
I’ve always been told that knowledge is not an island, so I immediately reached out to those individuals whom I consider the best in their field and whom I’ve admired as breeders and judges, and most importantly, who’ve been responsible for helping me develop as an equine enthusiast. I spent hours with Dr Wynne Davies MBE at Ceulan, I corresponded with David Blair and Tom Best in Scotland, and drank copious amounts of tea at the kitchen table at Gellihen (Synod) with Cerdin and Doreen Jones, who generously provided a number of photos from their private collection. Their daughter, Amanda, also helped to produce professional footage of Welsh ponies on the coast of Wales. Along with some photos from the Derwen stud archive, Sarah Hayman and Gunilla Olesjӧ from Sweden, I was more than prepared with a wealth of material to share with our American friends.
Leaving a stormy UK behind, I flew out to New York City, the first of four stops on my trip. Here I met with an old friend, Wahab, with whom I used to work with on the surgical ward and on-call at Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth. Blue skies made for perfect sightseeing conditions but tired feet, and there would be no time to stand still in Denver. One consolation was that the WPCSA Convention was only 10 minutes from the airport. On arriving at the convention I was greeted by the president, Veterinary surgeon Dr Ruth Wilburn. Her first reaction: “We expected someone older with white hair!” Admittedly, that’s how I was feeling after the early start and long flight.
The warm welcome I received from both new and old acquaintances soon re-energised me and the following day I delivered my first presentation: two hours on breed history interspersed with several old and new clips of footage. This was followed on Day 2 by a 90-minute presentation on conformation which was mainly geared towards equine judges. In attendance was Natalie Norwood from United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), as well as several noted Hunter judges from across America. I was aware that I was not there to prescribe, but to engage with peers and facilitate discussion on how things are done differently and how we can all improve from sharing knowledge and expertise with one another.
On my final day in Denver, I was invited into the boardroom. Feeling like a contestant on “The Apprentice”, I had to remind myself that I couldn’t be fired with no current position in the society. I was very conscious that I was not only representing myself, but also those who had gone to great lengths to help me. I was therefore incredibly honoured and grateful when the Board announced their decision to bestow me with the title of “Honorary International Ambassador”.
From Denver I travelled further west, to Sacramento to meet up with the Kirtlan family. I originally met the Kirtlan sisters – Carrie, Alissa, Rebecca and Sarah – a few years ago when they visited Wales to buy Welsh cobs. The family’s warm hospitality was only matched by the California sun. It was a pleasure to spend time with the family, whose enthusiasm for the Welsh breed stems from their mother, Debbie. Though their father, Bob, was not a “horse person”, he expressed a great interest in Welsh history and culture and I would soon go on to discover a little more about some infamous Welsh history in the US during my final stop, Los Angeles, home to Griffith Park and Observatory, before my flight home.
I’ve always considered myself lucky to have met some of the best Welsh pony and cob enthusiasts, not only in the UK, but in the world. The Welsh pony and cob breed has been my lifelong interest and hobby, not a business or my livelihood, which is why I always aim to promote only the breed and its history. This is thanks to the hard work of individuals who have meticulously chronicled the life history of the breed in books, journals and reports. A firm foundation, the history, is what every successful institution is built upon. My talks were very much ‘an old message delivered in modern format’ and I was delighted to discover from my time in the US, that the breed’s history is something which continues to stimulate the minds of both old and young globally.
