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Dartmoor Ponies in the Carolinas by Ann Joyner
When you think “Pony,” what goes through your mind? Irritable, stubborn, spoiled?
Not for the owners of a Dartmoor Pony. Ask them about their mounts, and you’ll hear about their calm demeanor, good
nature, and excellent work ethic.
“They don’t try to rub you off on trees or dump you on the ground like my first pony,” said Hannah Joyner, 12, who trains
Dartmoors with her mother at New South Swales Farm in Mebane, North Carolina (www.home.mindspring.com/~mcmoss).
Hannah and her mother breed and train Dartmoor and Dartmoor cross-bred ponies with an eye toward producing three-
generation ponies – a pony that grandparents and parents can drive and grandchildren can ride, jump and show.
Dartmoors excel at competing without getting overly excited, so they are excellent as children’s show ponies and
competitive driving ponies. Even the stallions stay cool enough to exhibit and show, in-hand, under saddle and behind a
cart. Susan Deutermann’s two imported English stallions “Cruanchan Valentine” (Valentine) and “Shilstone Rocks
Snowshoes” (Shoes) are both solid performance Champions and have sired winners in many disciplines.
Susan is the President of the Dartmoor Pony Registry of America (www.dartmoorpony.com). She and her husband Peter
have just moved their SingleTree Farm (www.singletreedartmoors.com) to 24 acres in Piedmont North Carolina near
Reidsville and Greensboro. “We intend to produce only two foals a year. Both boys, Valentine and Shoes, will still be
working,” Deutermann said. Valentine will have a few pasture mares; Shoes is available for outside mares and
Deutermann also ships cooled semen to accommodate larger mares using AI.
Helen Zucker co-owns Thistledown Rob Roy (Robbie), a 4-year-old 12HH bay Dartmoor stallion, with Dennis and Cheri
Lowdermilk of Turtletown, Tennessee. Helen’s Hurricane Farm in Hayesville, NC (www.hawksandhurricane.comis 125
acres in the Smokey Mountains. Her mom grew up in England, and she and her husband travel there frequently and had
seen ponies with 5- and 6-year-old kids on them, with no adults in attendance. “We don’t have a pony in America that
you can do that with,” said Cheri Lowdermilk, “so Helen would ask people ‘What are those?’ And about that time, my
husband, who’s a farrier and trainer, had been thinking about the same thing – no gentle ponies in America that you can
really trust with kids. We’d been talking about getting into the pony business. We have working horses – horses with a
head full of sense. And we reasoned that if there were a working pony out there, that they would have good sense. We
talked to Helen, and she said she knew just the thing. We looked around and found Robbie.”
“I had a good Walking horse mare that I was driving, and I decided that I would start Robbie. I went in and just intended to
have a beginning lesson, but in 20 minutes he was driving. In that 20 minutes, he had a weeks worth of progress –
ground driving and dragging poles – he did so well with that, we went ahead and hooked him to a cart. Twenty minutes!
And he was two years old!”
“Sometimes a breed’s reputation precedes it and you think, ‘Yeah, right,’ Cheri said. “But this has really been true about
these ponies.” I've got children and grandchildren. But my ambition is to drive them as a pair some day.”
While there are only three Dartmoor breeding farms in the Carolinas, there are Dartmoors out there competing, being
ridden for pleasure by children and being driven by adults. Lisa and Steve Smith and their daughter have been
successfully competing “Quill,” a Dartmoor mare, in Aiken, South Carolina. In addition to her success as a short-stirrup
and jumper pony, Quill won the Virginia Gold Cup pony race this past summer.
“We strive to produce steady, intelligent, and very human-oriented family ponies,” Deutermann said. “We make every
effort to fit the pony to the family, in terms of riding skills and experience in horses. If we can't provide you one, then we
can probably find you something through other breeders and owners in the Dartmoor pony world.”
The breed is hardy, willing, and calm. Excellent jumpers, they are stout but attractive. The breed began in ancient
Britain, when the invading Roman army brought the Dartmoor's forebears to the island kingdom to work in their tin mines.
Today these sturdy, gentle, and fun-loving ponies make ideal equine companions for everyone from beginner children all
the way to advanced FEI combined driving competitors.
There are now approximately 300 registered Dartmoors in the U.S., most on the East Coast, with Dartmoor crossbreds
(13-14.2 HH) rising in popularities for larger children and adults.
When you think “Pony,” what goes through your mind? Irritable, stubborn, spoiled?
Not for the owners of a Dartmoor Pony. Ask them about their mounts, and you’ll hear about their calm demeanor, good
nature, and excellent work ethic.
“They don’t try to rub you off on trees or dump you on the ground like my first pony,” said Hannah Joyner, 12, who trains
Dartmoors with her mother at New South Swales Farm in Mebane, North Carolina (www.home.mindspring.com/~mcmoss).
Hannah and her mother breed and train Dartmoor and Dartmoor cross-bred ponies with an eye toward producing three-
generation ponies – a pony that grandparents and parents can drive and grandchildren can ride, jump and show.
Dartmoors excel at competing without getting overly excited, so they are excellent as children’s show ponies and
competitive driving ponies. Even the stallions stay cool enough to exhibit and show, in-hand, under saddle and behind a
cart. Susan Deutermann’s two imported English stallions “Cruanchan Valentine” (Valentine) and “Shilstone Rocks
Snowshoes” (Shoes) are both solid performance Champions and have sired winners in many disciplines.
Susan is the President of the Dartmoor Pony Registry of America (www.dartmoorpony.com). She and her husband Peter
have just moved their SingleTree Farm (www.singletreedartmoors.com) to 24 acres in Piedmont North Carolina near
Reidsville and Greensboro. “We intend to produce only two foals a year. Both boys, Valentine and Shoes, will still be
working,” Deutermann said. Valentine will have a few pasture mares; Shoes is available for outside mares and
Deutermann also ships cooled semen to accommodate larger mares using AI.
Helen Zucker co-owns Thistledown Rob Roy (Robbie), a 4-year-old 12HH bay Dartmoor stallion, with Dennis and Cheri
Lowdermilk of Turtletown, Tennessee. Helen’s Hurricane Farm in Hayesville, NC (www.hawksandhurricane.comis 125
acres in the Smokey Mountains. Her mom grew up in England, and she and her husband travel there frequently and had
seen ponies with 5- and 6-year-old kids on them, with no adults in attendance. “We don’t have a pony in America that
you can do that with,” said Cheri Lowdermilk, “so Helen would ask people ‘What are those?’ And about that time, my
husband, who’s a farrier and trainer, had been thinking about the same thing – no gentle ponies in America that you can
really trust with kids. We’d been talking about getting into the pony business. We have working horses – horses with a
head full of sense. And we reasoned that if there were a working pony out there, that they would have good sense. We
talked to Helen, and she said she knew just the thing. We looked around and found Robbie.”
“I had a good Walking horse mare that I was driving, and I decided that I would start Robbie. I went in and just intended to
have a beginning lesson, but in 20 minutes he was driving. In that 20 minutes, he had a weeks worth of progress –
ground driving and dragging poles – he did so well with that, we went ahead and hooked him to a cart. Twenty minutes!
And he was two years old!”
“Sometimes a breed’s reputation precedes it and you think, ‘Yeah, right,’ Cheri said. “But this has really been true about
these ponies.” I've got children and grandchildren. But my ambition is to drive them as a pair some day.”
While there are only three Dartmoor breeding farms in the Carolinas, there are Dartmoors out there competing, being
ridden for pleasure by children and being driven by adults. Lisa and Steve Smith and their daughter have been
successfully competing “Quill,” a Dartmoor mare, in Aiken, South Carolina. In addition to her success as a short-stirrup
and jumper pony, Quill won the Virginia Gold Cup pony race this past summer.
“We strive to produce steady, intelligent, and very human-oriented family ponies,” Deutermann said. “We make every
effort to fit the pony to the family, in terms of riding skills and experience in horses. If we can't provide you one, then we
can probably find you something through other breeders and owners in the Dartmoor pony world.”
The breed is hardy, willing, and calm. Excellent jumpers, they are stout but attractive. The breed began in ancient
Britain, when the invading Roman army brought the Dartmoor's forebears to the island kingdom to work in their tin mines.
Today these sturdy, gentle, and fun-loving ponies make ideal equine companions for everyone from beginner children all
the way to advanced FEI combined driving competitors.
There are now approximately 300 registered Dartmoors in the U.S., most on the East Coast, with Dartmoor crossbreds
(13-14.2 HH) rising in popularities for larger children and adults.
Valentine, a
16-year-old
Dartmoor Pony stud,
has made a
contribution to the
sport pony world.
His winning progeny
include driving
ponies, a solid
preliminary event
pony, as well as
ponies which
foxhunt, pony club
and even dabble in
polo!
16-year-old
Dartmoor Pony stud,
has made a
contribution to the
sport pony world.
His winning progeny
include driving
ponies, a solid
preliminary event
pony, as well as
ponies which
foxhunt, pony club
and even dabble in
polo!
