New Forest Pony Owners and Breeders

The NFPO&B is the official Promotional Group for the New Forest Pony under the umbrella of the Australian Pony Stud Book Society. We aim to promote the knowledge and appreciation of the New Forest pony in Australia and encourage breeding, ownership, registration and participation of these ponies in all equine activities.

Committee elected at AGM on April 20^th 2013:

President:    Cheryl McMurray              03 54286564

Secretary:  Penny Prosser             03 57769596

Treasurer:  Melanie Maclachlan       03 97872018

Website 

Our website has information on the breed, registration, news, ponies for sale and coming events. If you wish to make enquiries please e: aylestone@yahoo.com.au

Website updates    Jan McBain        mcbainjanet@hotmail.com         07 40991856

Newsletter

Our newsletter is published 4 times a year with photos, stories and information for New Forest pony supporters Australia wide.  Subscriptions are available for 4 issues at $30.00 per year or $25.00 for payment made before the 30th April each year.  Enquiries can be made with the secretary e: newsletter@nfpob.com

Awards

We offer various Awards for New Forest ponies, ANF’s and Part bred New Forest ponies to participate in each year. These Awards are available to ponies Australia wide. Owners need to subscribe to the NFPOB newsletter.

	Purebred New Forest Performance Pony
	Entry fee $10.00
	Partbred or ANF New Forest Performance Pony
	Entry fee $10.00
	Pony Club / Adult rider club Achievement Pony  (open to purebreds and partbreds)
	No entry fee.
	Simply List 5 best club related achievements.
	Newsletter Contributor Award
	No entry fee.
	Winner chosen from all newsletter contributions received.
	Harness Achievement Scheme Levels 1 – 6
	Entry fee levels 1 &2 $10.00  Entry fee levels 3 -6 $5.00 each.
	Progress through levels at your own pace.   Awards for each level completed.

Enquiries  e: secretary@nfpob.com

State representatives:

NSW   Alison Charlton, 02 62380153

S.A.    Shirley Crossley, 08 86512351

Qld     Jan McBain  07 40991856

WA     Pat Smith 08  08 97531300      

First Association in Australia for New Forest ponies

New Forest Pony Society of Australia, now known as New Forest Pony Owners & Breeders. The New Forest Pony Society of Australia (NFPSA), our forerunner, held their first meeting in September 1973 with early New Forest importers coming together for the first time. The New Forest breed was granted their own section of the APSB Stud Book in 1981and the NFPSA became an APSB Promotional Group representing New Forest ponies. In 2004, we were required by the APSB to change our name. We are now known as the New Forest Pony Owners & Breeders. Our function remains the same - to support and promote the breed.

Historical Notes for Progress of New Forest Ponies in Australia Authors: Alison Charlton and Wendy James ref: NF History in Australia

New Forest Ponies: UK to Australia

The New Forest Pony is one of the native pony breeds of Britain. The harsh environment of moors, bogs and forests in the south of England, which has been their haunt for thousands of years, has determined their hardiness, agility and adaptability. New Forest Ponies are known to have come to Australia in earlier times, but were not recorded as a breed.

Australia 1969 - 1970

Several pony breeders in three states independently, and unknown to each other imported New Forest Ponies in 1969 and 1970. The New Forest Pony Breeding and Cattle Society (NFPB&CS UK) facilitated contact between the importers, so breeders were able to get together to discuss their interest in New Forest ponies. Their first meeting in September 1973 marked the beginning of the New Forest Pony Society of Australia.

Registration and Promotion in Australia

In 1981, the Australian Pony Stud Book Society (APSB) agreed to accept registrations for New Forest ponies as a breed with their own section in the Studbook. Prior to this, New Forest ponies had been registered in the Australian section of the Stud book which remained open to new entries. New Forest owners met and agreed that New Forest ponies in Australia must retain their characteristics as set out in the New Forest Pony Breeding & Cattle Society (UK) breed standard with all pony pedigrees being held in an exclusive register administered by the APSB and those pedigrees being directly traceable to the NFPB&CS (UK) studbook.

The desirability of promoting the breed by commencing a second register, with an upgrading system over four generations, to breed Australian New Forest Ponies was also recognized. This section would register the progeny of New Forest stallions and suitable mares. The two registration systems would remain quite separate. In this manner it was envisaged that interested pony enthusiasts would have easier access to ponies with the wonderful attributes of the New Forest pony, a system to encourage breeders, and a means to promote the ponies more widely.

At first, the APSB declined to accept this proposal from the NFPSA so our members decided to administer this new register themselves. Classes for the Australian New Forest ponies were sponsored at Agricultural shows and eventually at Royal Melbourne Show. The Australian New Forest ponies began to excel in open competition becoming great ambassadors for the New Forest breed.

New Forest breeders were elected to the State APSB committees in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and NSW, allowing the interests of New Forest ponies a voice within the APSB. In 1983, Federal Council of the APSB finally accepted the regulations of the NFPSA relating to the Australian New Forest upgrading system. All Australian New Forest ponies previously registered with the NFPSA were accepted by the APSB.

The NFPSA had also kept a third register of partbred New Forest ponies that were not eligible as APSB New Forest (section 1) ponies or NFPSA Australian New Forest (section 2) ponies.

When the APSB accepted registration of Australian New Forest ponies, this third register was disbanded. In more recent times the APSB has provided a partbred register for ponies with a minimum of 25% APSB breeding and no height limit.

During the 1970s and 1980s many more New Forest ponies were imported to extend the breeding of the purebreds (section 1)while many Australian New Forest ponies (section 2) were also bred. Since the 1990s the purebred (section 1) New Forest ponies have become more numerous and available as performance ponies.  Imported UK New Forest semen is now being used successfully for AI thereby further expanding the New Forest gene pool in Australia. In 2008, due to their declining registrations, the ANF section was closed to new registrations at entry level. Registration remains available to the progeny of ANF ponies currently in the upgrading system.

APSB Part-bred Register: Recognition of Breed of Origin

Following a motion put forward by the NFPO&B in 2007, Federal Council adopted a suffix to be added to partbred registration which identifies the breed of origin of the pony. This is an option to be requested at time of registration of partbred ponies.

The Future

With demand for New Forest ponies exceeding supply, with the ponies excelling in open competition in all disciplines of equine sports and activities, with parents and adults recognizing the physical and mental health benefits of owning and riding a pony of quality, and one with a placid temperament, the future of the New Forest pony in Australia is assured.