Secretary / Treasurer

Bobbie Sawyers

​

1st Term (2023-2024)

​

Thinking back over the years, I truly cannot remember a time in my life when there wasn’t a pony or a horse. Horses were just as much a part of my everyday life as dogs or cats were to others.  Some of my earliest memories are of my older sister and I climbing onto the back of a shaggy, fat Shetland pony named Snowball. 

My talent and love for all things equine comes directly from my mother. She exercised thoroughbreds as a teen, worked hard and grew her own training and boarding barn. At one point in my youth, we had nearly 80 horses. My mother helped in implementing the riding programs for girl scout programs, 4H programs and multiple other local riding programs. In the 90’s, she provided 30 horses to and she was the Director of the Equestrian Program at an International Sports facility in Westfield NC. She continued to do so for 26 years, while juggling her own lesson, competition, and training program at home. During this time, I spent my days and summers right alongside of her. As I was learning from her, I gained so much from interacting with, teaching (and learning from) other children and teens from all over the world... Sweden, France, South Africa, Columbia, Germany, and so many more. 

Fast forward, twenty years of teaching lessons, training, competing, and marketing hunters, jumpers and youth ponies and horses, as well as the addition of my own children who were riding…I began to see less and less of the qualities that I knew in my soul were absolutely necessary to have in the “right” pony! So, I did what my mother taught me from so many years ago… and “made them”.  The not-so-secret ingredient? Luckington Legacy! Owned at the time by Barbara Nelson, and just 30 minutes away from my Pinnacle, NC farm. I fell in love with him at first sight! My third breeding to Luckington Legacy, resulted in a spunky, people loving, intelligent, fancy black colt, whom we named Woodberrys Hot Topic (and affectionally called “Cadbury”). He would mature and grow to become the foundation of my own breeding program. He would also be the spark that grew my truest love for the New Forest Pony.

Today, my focus in on my family and on my breeding program. Woodberry Ponies utilizes Woodberrys Hot Topic with warmblood, Welsh, and GRP mares, to produce very versatile part bred New Forest ponies. They have shown themselves to be competitive with nearly every level and age of rider in every ring! The New Forest breeding contributes so much to each and every foal sired by Cadbury. I can see him in their eyes, their temperament, their phenomenal shoulder, and in their quirky fun-loving personalities. 

My hope is to see the New Forest Pony continue to show their versatility and suitability in all disciplines and at all levels. You truly never outgrow a New Forest Pony!