LOOKING BACK, Part 2
As Tansy, the part-bred filly, grew so did the need to have someone work with her. That person was a talented, down to earth young woman named Lexi Aho. The year was 2009. Lexi helped a great deal and that silly filly firmly planted her hooves on our hearts.
Before long, Tansy's registered full-blooded sister was looking for a new home. Five years old, Mandy was adorable but was also trained under saddle. Lexi looked her over and approved. During that purchase, Lexi's father took an interest in the ponies.
Call it serendipity, but George and I fell head over heels for each other. It was no longer just me, it was us on this pony ride, both having no idea what lay ahead but excited to find out.
6 months later, the girl's mother came up for sale. Heather was 10 years old and stunningly beautiful. There was no doubt in anyone's mind, Lexi, myself, and George, that she would come to live with her daughters.
We had no idea what the Newfoundland Pony actually was at that time. This was 2010 - there was next to nothing available for information on the breed.
What we knew was what the seller told us - the breed was rare.
What we knew was that they were like no other breed we had experienced before.
And at that time, what we knew and what we cared about was having 3 very nice ponies. here to edit.

Pictured top to bottom - Applewood Highland Heather, Brynshires Mandolyn, Wild Tansy, Emily and George Aho.

​LOOKING BACK - Part 1.
And this is how we started, innocently buying a part bred, 10 month old Newfoundland Pony as a companion for an old gent of a draft horse. Born in 2008, this is Stone Gait's Wild Tansy.
The thought was that buying a pony as his companion would be easier, simpler, than getting another horse. You can see how that bright idea worked out, eh? Hahaha.

The Newfoundland Pony was created over hundreds of years by its isolation on the island of Newfoundland, which until 1949 was never a part of Canada. Key word there is “isolated”. This pony belongs to the people of Newfoundland; it is their heritage, not Canada’s, not the USA’s, not even just the breeders. Every Newfoundlander’s pony. But the effort to preserve it and most importantly, in its native home, has been a struggle for a long time now.

This breed isn’t just a pony found on Newfoundland. It IS Newfoundland, a breed created by the rigors and demands of its harsh, rugged environment. Born of a rock, it is a rock, in every way except fitting into a modernized human world that has moved forward without them.
​
We have always been an advocate for the Newfoundland Pony thriving in its native home of Newfoundland. And we will continue to be, even to the point of exporting our foals there as needed.© Emily Aho 2021

The world has turned upside down and inside out since 2020 came to town. Up and down and all around; an invisible danger lurks near everyone.

NPCC had ups and downs too. The downs inspired our certified Heal The Heroes™ program for health care workers, and it thrived, helping frontline workers from many places of employment. People and ponies in the program shared the ups and downs, from tears to smiles, and everything in between.

The pandemic stopped the center's opening in the spring but it did not stop two foals from being born here, a colt and a filly, two stunning examples of all that the Newfoundland Pony is. We gently opened for tours but they were very limited due to the pandemic and risk factors.

We were offered a farm, located in another state. It was an opportunity that we simply could not turn down. Relocating an entire farm to another state is a huge undertaking; we poured our hearts, souls and sweat into that move, when, at the very last minute, the move didn't happen. Never mind turned upside down, we were on a Tilt-A-Whirl. We did not walk away unscathed unfortunately, but survive we did.

Back in New Hampshire, the new owners of Monadnock Farm were willing to rent the farm back to us to allow a bit of time to find a suitable location. Overall that misadventure caused the loss of 3 months of programming, volunteers, fundraising, and all preparations for winter.  Since then we have been scrambling to get hay when the drought has made it quite scarce. Most of our ponies are out to fosters to ease the load on the farm. We are living with the minimum, packed and ready to go.  

The pandemic has raised its ugly head again; we are closed to the general public.  And like the rest of the world, we are waiting to see just what the future brings. 

In the meantime, members of our community have come forth, helping us  find a suitable new location in the area. We can't wait to get our feet firmly planted on the earth again, this time better than ever. 

This waiting period gives us time to reflect. Brushing aside the negatives, we can see the good, the hope, the caring, the camaraderie between ponies and people.  But we also clearly see the need for our Heal The Heroes™ program, more than ever. 

To sum it up - just like the ponies, though we've been greatly effected, we are not gone. We are alive and well. Our mission is the same. Our ponies are the same.
Heal the Heroes™ and our partnership with True Hope Therapeutic Horsemanship is primed and ready to roll.   Public access is on hold, but that's not going to stop us.
​We are adapting, and making the most of the situation at hand.  Announcements to come.

Side by Side, People and Ponies™, together we will weather whatever the winter brings.

From our friends at True Hope Therapeutic Horsemanship -  We are so excited!!

"True Hope Therapeutic Horsemanship is thrilled to announce the creation of a new, un-mounted, life-skills development program with the Newfoundland Pony Conservancy Center (NPCC) in Jaffrey, NH.
The NPCC is a breed specific organization dedicated to saving and preserving the critically endangered Newfoundland Pony individually and the breed as a whole.
We are still working out the details, but we plan to offer 6-week sessions to adults and kids using the endangered Newfoundland Ponies as co-teachers with Emily Aho as the facilitator.
Emily is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Newfoundland Pony Conservancy Center and she is a Certified Facilitator through the Equine Connection Academy of Equine Assisted Learning. Over the next few months, True HopeTherapeutic Horsemanship will be working with Emily to develop a program tailored specifically to our True Hope clientele.
This new program will be a type of EQUINE ASSISTED LEARNING (EAL), an experiential learning approach that promotes the development of life skills for educational, professional and/or personal goals through interaction with horses. Un-mounted interaction with horses can help children and adults build self-confidence, respect towards others, groundedness, quiet and calm assertiveness, gentleness, emotional connection, and embodiment. Horses are very sensitive to the energy and mindset of the people near them, and a skilled guide and teacher can use what the horses are telling her about the participants to facilitate learning and growth.
We can’t wait to begin working with the beautiful Newfoundland Ponies. For more information on the NPCC, go to https://www.newfoundlandponies.org or contact Emily at [email protected].
For more details on this new program, check in with our Facebook page and website, or contact us at [email protected]."

Check out True Hope's website and Facebook page.  True Hope rocks!
TRUE HOPE WEBSITE          FACEBOOK PAGE