RITCHIE Longstaff has been around Dales ponies for as long as he can remember.
He was “thrown on one” by his father John Robert – who was instrumental in the survival of the breed in the 1930s – before he could walk.
For the past 40 years he and wife Freda, the longest serving members of the Dales Pony Society, have bred more than 70, first at their former Lowhouses Farm, near Newbiggin, and more recently at their smallholding at Mickleton.
Dales ponies, it has to be said, are not just a part of the couple’s life – breeding, showing and carriage riding – they are way of life and they count their herd of hardy horses as part of the family.
But when agricultural shows and horse festivals were cancelled due to the pandemic two years ago Mr Longstaff turned his attention to restoring a 120-year old, two-wheeled, horse cart.
He said: “I must have had it for 40 years and it was just a heap of scrap really, but I took it to pieces and the shafts and the wheels were in good condition.”
During the restoration Mr Longstaff discovered the well-bottom trap was made by coachbuilders, Bligh Brothers, of Canterbury, 1896.
Much of the cart’s woodwork was in dire need of restoration having fallen foul to woodworm over the years.
He added: “I finished it off during the Covid lockdowns. It was used for market days. It has a door at the back so you can load it with stuff for the market.” Unlike another of his carts this model has rubber trimmed wheels, which he says makes for a quieter and more comfortable ride.
He said: “I stripped it down and I’ve kept as much of the original as I could.
“Some of the wood was rotten, but the wheels and the shaft were in good condition, just a bit rusty.
“It was a bit difficult getting it all back together again and I’ve painted it now. I’ve had it out on the road and it is lovely to drive, because it flexes like an armchair.”
It is the first cart restoration Mr Longstaff has undertaken and it has ignited a passion to do more, if he is able to find one.
He added: “I really enjoyed doing it and I’d definitely do another one. The problem is carts are so hard to come by these days.”
The cart has been road-tested, but he is keen to show off his handiwork at next year’s agricultural show at Eggleston, where there will be a new crowd-pleasing carriage driving class.
He said: “We are going to get another class at Eggleston Show and it is for any other cart. It is far more for locals and it should go down well with the crowds.”
Until then the couple are content looking after their prize-winning horses, which are in big demand.
Mrs Longstaff said: “They are such a great all-rounder, but we only breed every other year now. We like to know how they are going and make sure the foals are going to a good home.
“We have sold them from Cornwall to Aberdeen and everywhere in between.”
The everywhere in between also includes America. In the early 1990s the couple helped export the breed, shipping off four ponies to Oregon.
Mrs Longstaff explained: “A couple came over from America and she had looked through a book of horse breeds and she wanted a Dales pony.
“The next year they sent us airline tickets to go to Oregon to see them, which was amazing because we had not been abroad before.”
