Driving Ponies Powered by Dengie Performance Fibre

Hope and Star are two very special ponies who have proven that humble beginnings are no barrier to success. Every Autumn on Dartmoor, ponies are sorted into groups and are either taken to market to sell, sold privately, or given to charities to help to find them a new home.  Some are sadly sent for meat for zoos and human consumption largely due to the indiscriminate breeding of ponies on the moor.

Hill Pony Resources was founded in 2014 to try and find more of the ponies’ good homes and raise their profile and value.  Since then, over 100 ponies from Dartmoor have been rehomed including Hope and Star. In September 2017, Hannah and Matt Illston-Barsby offered Hope and Star a forever home with a view to them eventually become driving ponies.

“Hope and Star started their competition career with the British Scurry and Trials Driving group and we still have regular training with Robert Buck from GB Pod Training” explains Hannah. “We have just completed our first outdoor season where Hope and Star were crowned Certius Novice Pony Pair Champions 2024! It was a fantastic way to finish the season, and what an achievement after they secured the title of Midland Indoor Pony Pair Champions 2014 earlier in the year!”

Dengie Performance Horse Nutritionist Claire Akers visits the ponies regularly to monitor their weights and diet plans. Both Hope and Star enjoy Dengie Performance Fibre with a high spec balancer to help maintain the levels of nutrition they need for their workload. “Although they are in a lot of work, being native ponies, Hannah and Matt have to keep a close eye on their weight” comments Claire. “Hope and Star used to share a stable, however Star is naturally more of a good doer than Hope. I therefore advised that they are now stabled separately so that we can closely monitor their forage intake and manage their diet for their individual requirements.” 

“Hope and Star love their food, and they look amazing! They have gone from strength to strength. We are so pleased with how well they are looking and performing” says Hannah.