The Newfoundland Pony is an "all purpose" pony and has many desirable characteristics - strength, stamina, courage, intelligence, obedience, willingness, and common sense. Newfoundland Ponies are hard workers and easy keepers.
The ancestors of the Newfoundland Pony arrived with the Island's early settlers from the British Isles. These ancestors were primarily, Exmoor, Dartmoor and New Forest ponies and to a lesser extent, Welsh Mountain, Galloway (extinct), Highland and Connemara ponies. They were hardy creatures, already well adapted to the harsh climate of the islands of the North Atlantic. Over subsequent centuries, and with little outside influence, the hardiest of these early pony immigrants to Newfoundland interbred and eventually evolved into one common pony type, now recognized as the Newfoundland Pony.
In the past, the Newfoundland Pony was used to plough gardens; haul fishing nets, kelp and wood; gather hay; and provide their families with transportation about the Island. These functions were replaced by modern technology and the pony population plummeted. To protect this special and historic pony, the Newfoundland Government has recognized it as a Heritage Animal. The current Newfoundland Pony population totals less than 400 animals. An ongoing effort on the part of concerned individuals from across Canada has stabilized the population. However, the Newfoundland Pony continues to be identified as a critically endangered species by Rare Breeds Canada.
Today, the Newfoundland Pony is used for riding, driving and light draft work. They make excellent mounts for children and adults, and excel under saddle and in harness.
Origin of the Queen's Plate
The Queen's Plate was inaugurated, with royal blessing, on Wednesday, June 27, 1860, at the Carleton track in Toronto, located in bucolic surroundings near what is now the traffic-strangled southwestern corner of Keele and Dundas streets.
Sir Casimir Gzowski and Thomas Patteson were the two men who brought the race into close association with Buckingham Palace. Back on April 1, 1859, the Toronto Turf Club petitioned Queen Victoria to grant a Plate for a race in Ontario. The president of the club was Gzowski, a distinguished engineer whose father had been a Polish officer in the Russian Imperial Guard.
