Mary Etherington

Picture of two Exmoor ponies
Exmoor ponies, like the ones conserved by Mary Etherington

Mary Etherington was an English horse breeder from Withypool credited with reviving the Exmoor pony population after World War II[1][2][3]. She was married to James Grant Speed (1906-1980), a Professor of Anatomy at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, who founded the Exmoor Pony Trekking Society at the University of Edinburgh[4].

Immediately following World War II, the Exmoor pony population had dwindled to under fifty, as hundreds of ponies had been shot by soldiers during the war and others had been stolen from fields and killed for food[4]. Mary, who had inherited a herd of Exmoor ponies from her family[4], rallied breeders together to restore cattle grids and secure boundaries to the Commons in order to reestablish their herds[5], proclaiming in 1947, "The coming generations will have good reason to call us unfaithful stewards if when we are gone there are no little horses on the Exmoor hills."[6] In 1948, Mary also exhibited two Exmoor ponies at the London Zoo in order to raise awareness of the threats they faced[2][7].

In 1952, after hearing about a research project at the University of Edinburgh led by Speed, Mary took her herd of twenty ponies on the train to Edinburgh and donated them to the veterinary school for conservation and research[4]. She and Speed were married soon after[4].

Mary was also consulted in government discussions on increasing the sheep and cattle population in Exmoor in 1949[8].

References

  1. ↑ "Wild and Tame - Exmoor Magazine". Exmoor Magazine. 2010-11-15. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  2. 1 2 Ltd, BIZISERVE. "Conservation of the Exmoor Pony". The World of Exmoor Ponies. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  3. ↑ "Exmoor Pony Centre - History". www.moorlandmousietrust.org.uk. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Persecuted Exmoor ponies trot back from the brink". Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  5. ↑ Ltd, BIZISERVE. "History of the Exmoor Pony". The World of Exmoor Ponies. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  6. ↑ "Best of British: 60 things that make Britain great - Page 2 of 60 - Country Life". Country Life. 2015-07-14. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  7. ↑ Fran., Lynghaug, (2009). The official horse breeds standards guide : the complete guide to the standards of all North American equine breed associations. Minneapolis: Voyageur Press. p. 471. ISBN 9780760338049. OCLC 1007567492.
  8. ↑ "I wish to ask an important question...: 1 Jun 1949: House of Commons debates - TheyWorkForYou". TheyWorkForYou. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
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