Owned by the Mitchell Family

In 1970, Creenagh and Bob Mitchell were planning a major change to their lives, having decided they would move to Exmoor. On the day they viewed Knighton Farm, a major unplanned event changed Creenagh's life in an unexpected way. She left the fields to walk out over the moor to look back on the farm and spotted a group of uniformly brown ponies, heads down, munching. She called out and a group of mealy-muzzled faces stared back at her. She would later say with such a smile, how she was instantly captivated at that moment and resolved to have her own herd.

Having settled in at Knighton, the next step was to obtain foundation stock to start her Exmoor pony breeding herd. Back then, there were less than 500 Exmoor ponies countrywide, and certainly no surplus of breeding stock, with only about thirty foals being registered annually. Creenagh knew that she wanted mares from the Clayford Stud, Herd 8, owned by Miss Helen Dashwood, but none were available. However, at sometime later, on Helen's retirement, Creenagh was offered Clayford Sweetworthy 8/13, Clayford Bracken Sweetie 8/33, Clayford Candy 8/35 and Clayford Badgworthy 8/7and these four mares came to Knighton. The same year, three Anchor mares, Kohinor A/178, Kumquat A/184 and Kiwi A/182 joined the new Knightoncombe herd, H8.

The selection of a suitable herd stallion was the next task and in due course, Dazzling Boy 85/32, aged two, arrived at Knighton, having been bred by Mr Harold Heard. Confirmation of a good choice was the fact that 'DB', as he become known, won his Colt class at Exford Show, the Exmoor Pony Breed Show, shortly afterwards. In time, after a few years production of foals, a recognisable 'Knightoncombe type' emerged, which persists today. Many Knightoncombe ponies have enjoyed successful showing careers, and equally, others were retained in the herd, living free on Withypool Common, where they thrive.

Knightoncombe Lackey H8/61, who is currently Herd stallion on the Common, shows the enormous adaptability of the Exmoor. He has lived free on the moor for the last ten years, yet came to the 2004 Annual Breed Show at Exford, behaved impeccably and, the same evening, was galloping across the moor to rejoin his harem.

Like most breeders, Creenagh had to decide on a theme for naming her ponies and chose initially to name them after moorland moths. As numbers grew, this had to be widened to all moths. This is why the Stud Book includes such names as 'Ruddy Highflyer H8/16', 'Grizzled Skipper H8/10' , 'Powdered Wainscot H8/14' and 'Dingy Footman H8/5'. A later acquisition of a Herd 10 mare, Strange Jay, has led to a second group of Knightoncombe ponies named after birds such as 'Knightoncombe Goldfinch H8/88'.

Knightoncombe Dingy Footman, who was born and lived free on the moor until his first autumn, had a varied career that demonstrated the full range of abilities of an Exmoor pony, with periods of work for riding and driving for the Disabled (RDA) and representing the breed at Olympia.

Perhaps the most successful Knightoncombe herd mare was Clayford Bracken Sweetie, both in breeding terms and show successes. Many of her foals were Best Foal at the Annual Breed Show. Now no longer with us, Sweetie is immortalised in the opening chapter of 'Survival of the Fittest' - a natural history o fthe Exmoor Pony, by Sue Baker (Exmoor Books) - as she was the mare walked back to Knighton in the moonlight.

Over the years, many a journalist or film crew received a warm welcome at Knighton and many of Creenagh's ponies undertook 'public relations work' on behalf of the breed. Creenagh herself was a co-founder of Friends of Exmoor ponies, now the trading wing of the Exmoor Pony Society.

Sadly, after thirty years of passionate support for the Exmoor pony breed, Creenagh Mitchell died in 2004. Her husband Bob and daughter Lindy look after the Knightoncombe herd today. As a tribute, the Exmoor Pony Society have an annual Creenagh Mitchell Memorial Bursary scheme to encourage others in their work for the good of the Exmoor pony breed.