About the Author

Dr Wynne Davies MBE is a leading expert and recognised authority on Welsh Ponies and Cobs. He has published many volumes relating to his expertise, and is a well known and respected figure in equine and agricultural circles. He has been a regular contributor to equestrian magazines, most notably Horse and Hound, for over fifty five years, and has undertaken the role of Publicity Officer for The Welsh Pony and Cob Society since 1978.

Reviews

This splendidly-produced and closely-researched volume is not a history of Welsh cobs and ponies in Ceredigion, although there is a wealth of history and a plethora of stories within it. Fundamentally, it is a chronological record of show champions from Ceredigion and yet offers much more than that. Natives and lovers of Ceredigion will know that the Welsh Cob and the ponies associated with it have been an essential element of our life and culture for generations; and just as every corner of Wales is blessed with its own story, so in this book, as farm after farm and family after family swim up before our eyes as one champion or another is nurtured and finished. Not even the finest breeders or most successful showmen are thrust to the front of stage or held long under the spotlight, but move through these pages with quiet dignity, easy in the company of their neighbours, as all Cardis like to be. Their cobs and ponies, similarly, often step lightly from between the shafts or beneath the saddle to take part in prestigious events. For initiates of this world, there are mines of knowledge and association here to explore and, for the amateur, it is a rich and rewarding experience. There is a splendid painting by Aneurin Jones, Brenin Gwalia on the cover, and one can feel that fine artist beside one, turning each page. Indeed, many of the photographs, especially the great stallions, could be his paintings rich in testosterone, hot breath and the thunder of hooves. Although the horses dominate the story, as they should, there are fascinating human stories here too, many of them crying out for further elaboration. There's Tom James from Llechryd, who returned from coal mining in the Rhondda to be a travelling stallion man, winning a series of medals at the turn of the nineteenth century. There's Stephen Jones, the horse-drawn coal merchant from Aberystwyth; and the Misses Pauline Taylor and Barbara Saunders, two professional musicians in the thirties, who bought their cob from a neighbour to enjoy a spot of gentle hacking, and almost by accident bred the world-famous palomino, Llanarth Braint. What biographies these would make, and what characters in novels they could become! Meic Llewellyn It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgment should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council. Gellir defnyddio'r adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatd Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru. -- Welsh Books Council