THE BALEDON STUD

1962 FORTY MEMORABLE YEARS 2002

photo by janneke de Rade

Mares and Barcud summer 2005

The BALEDON Stud was founded forty years ago with the sec: A mare Gredington Penlas,

Gredington Penlas

Two years later the sec:A foal Coed Coch Dunos and the sec:B yearling Gredington Blodyn joined the stud.

In 1972 Revel Janus arrived after the sad loss of Gredington Penlas's dun colt Baledon Midas.Janus was to have such a tremendous influence on the stud and the breed worldwide.

In 1973 Revel Venetia replaced Gredington Penlas after her tragic electrocution, when Venetia proved barren the following year, Emyrs Griffiths gave us the filly foal Baledon Dinah,

Basically over the past forty years ,most of the ponies in the stud are descended from this foundation.

Their Achievements speaks for itself 24 consecutive Royal Welsh Winners 8 Olympia qualifiers and championships at all the major county shows.

Baledon Commanchero and Revel Janus

These two stallions have had a tremendous influence on the breed, Revel Janus as one of the most influential sire's in the eighties and nineties and Baledon Commanchero brought sec:B 's to the fore in both Mountain and Moorland ridden and working hunter pony classes.

I feel so fortunate to have had the pleasure of breeding and showing Welsh Mountain and Welsh Ponies over the last forty years.

Looking back how things have changed forty years ago no one kept stallions as we do to-day most breeders sent their mares out to studs such as Coed Coch and Gredington, who were more like the stallion keepers in Holland now.

Showing has also changed so much, we all seemed to go the night before and make a real event of it and all that fabulous singing in the stockman's tent, (those were the nights ), we didn't have all this funky food we have now, feeding was an art form as we all fed straights there didn't seem to be the number of gross ponies in the ring then, and none of all this make up which seems to make grey ponies look more like pandas! It was not so intense we didn't seem to question the judging as we do now.

I also feel so privileged to have seen some of the great showmen in their hey day the likes of Dill Powell with Coed Coch Planned and Gredington Simwnt Shem Jones with Coed Coch Madog Big John with Coed Coch Bari and Coed Coch Pelydrog and Jack Havard with Coed Coch Siglan Lass to name a few and Emrys Griffiths with the beautiful Clan Peggy (who I was fortunate to have for a time and her dam Clan Prue died with me).

Also to have witnessed the genius of Jack Edwards as a breeder he was always 3 years ahead of what was wanted not like most breeders putting their mares in foal to breed what is winning in the ring to-day and being 3 years behind, I was told a very true thing when I started breeding by a tremendously successful breeder, breed what you like to see in your paddocks and what gives you pleasure don't follow fashion "In breed and standardize your own type" fashions change your type may go out of fashion but it will come round again!! and how true this statement was.

One thing that hasn't changed is the price we get for our ponies forty years ago (taking into account for the rate of inflation) we got much more for them than we do now , perhaps we should make our commodity scarcer are we suffering from over production? are we a product of our own success?

I would like to thank all the wonderful friends I have through the ponies both at home and abroad, I have been so fortunate to have had some super judging trips abroad to Holland Germany Australia Denmark Belgium and am looking forward to going to the U.S.A. and Holland this year, had it not been for the ponies I would not have seen so many interesting places and met so many kind breeders who have accepted me into their home and shown me their ponies with such enthusiasm there is much to thank the ponies for. It is such a shame ponies don't live longer they turn into memories all too quickly.

Carrying on from my theme of looking back over the last forty years I have compiled below some of the A's and B's I have liked a lot and I have been influenced by and have used as a roll model to base my ponies on , if you have different ideas do e-mail me with your choices.