History

Until 1958 no Welsh ponies were known in Holland, the only pony breed that had set foot on Dutch soil was the Shetland pony. There was, of course, a big difference between the large working and riding horses and the small Shetlander and more and more people experienced the lack of a somewhat larger pony, both for work and sport.

Enthused by pictures they had found, two horse lovers set out to contact the Welsh Pony & Cob Society in Wales, followed by visits to several breeders there. In those days this was a much bigger undertaking than today, but fortunately it resulted in the importation of a few Welsh ponies and that was the beginning of what would later become a thriving society.

After an experimental phase, in which many people were very skeptical about these ponies, enthusiasm increased and on May 15, 1959, the Dutch Welsh Pony Studbook was founded. The Welsh pony became more and more famous because of a very active PR policy and the new studbook grew prosperously.

In 1974, the Dutch Welsh Pony Studbook celebrated its 15th anniversary in a grand manner, with the Holland Welsh Show, which was shown at the Concours Hippique in Nunspeet, the Day of the Horse at Duindigt and at the Central Selection in Berg en Bos Park in Apeldoorn.The total group of 112 ponies and children from all provinces in the Netherlands, accompanied by 4 flag bearers with Dutch and Welsh flags have provided a folklore, from which it became clear, including by the costumes from the provinces and Wales, that the Welsh pony was totally ‘in“, and known throughout the Netherlands!

The next anniversary that could be celebrated was in 1984, the silver jubilee.

In 1994 the studbook underwent a name change, from that year the name is: Dutch Welsh Pony & Cob Studbook, and also the entire structure was changed as we still know it today. And to this day, the NWPCS is still one of the largest pony studbooks in our country, and the Welsh pony is now an integral part of the Dutch horse and pony world. But also internationally, the Dutch Welsh ponies are well known, achieve good show and sport results, and are exported all over the world.
In 2009, another anniversary was reached, the 50th anniversary, and this was celebrated in grand fashion!
The highlight of the anniversary year was the three-day Welsh Event, held August 20-21-22 in Kootwijk, a combination of central mare inspection, field day and international show. An event that delighted many participants and many spectators, and where there was a lot to enjoy for everyone!