For decades, David Eccles has been the big name in Dales Ponies.
With more than 40 years of success at the shows, 24 of them from his current home at Hardberry Hall Farm in the hills above Middleton-in-Teesdale, he’s the go-to man for the breed.
But now there’s a new generation coming through – and despite the challenges facing English farming, David’s children Emma and Tom are forging their own reputations.
For Emma, 18, who combines her work on the farm with studying a two-year veterinary nursing course at East Durham College’s Houghall campus, ponies have been a life-long love.
Yet to start with she admits she wasn’t entirely comfortable around the animals.
“When I was younger, I was nervous,” she said. “I had to build up my confidence and the only way to do that was being around them.
“I started with a little Shetland and worked my way up through the sizes to the Dales. There was a little riding pony, after that there was a cob, and finally I started riding the Dales Ponies.”
Now Emma’s ponies are champions at the local shows. The farm’s living room is festooned with rosettes and trophies collected over the year – and 2025 brought a bumper crop, culminating in Westwick Lady Rose being named Champion at the Great Yorkshire Show.
“There’s something special about the ponies, I can’t really explain it,” Emma said. “When you win, it’s just crazy. It feels amazing.”
Now there’s a new project in mind, with a new mare set to be ready to ride in January.
“She has a foal on her at the moment and won almost every show this year as a brood mare.
“Next year I’ll be using my weekends and days off from college to start hacking her out and getting
her fit,” Emma added.
“I have just been given a bursary from the Dales Pony Society towards riding lessons.
“I’ll put that towards educating her and obviously me as well to improve.
“A lot of people use producers to get their horses ready to show, but this will all be done by us.”
And it’s not just ponies. Emma’s older brother Tom is building up a reputation with Swaledale sheep.
He’s also had a successful summer, scooping the overall champion at Eggleston Show alongside a raft of other prizes.
“I’m just trying to get into it now, but I’m having some success selling Swale tups,” he said.
“We had one at £2,200, others for £1,900 or £1,800.
“You need this sort of sheep up here, it’s what they’re bred for.
“Even coming up here from Middleton, it’s like another world. It’s so different from what’s further down.”
However, few of Tom’s peers are showing much interest in following in the family footsteps and continuing to graze Swaledales.
“We’ve just taken on next door’s farm with Tom,” David said. “The biggest factor with that, he’s the only young lad coming on who grazes.
“He knows where the sheep are and where to gather.
“It’s not everybody could just come up here and run a farm. Too many people wouldn’t know where to start.
“But Tom put the work in. He knows all the breeds and the pricing, so I can let him take responsibility for all the sheep.
“But he’s had to come up the stepping stones; nobody can just jump in at the top straight away.”
With a shortage of current funding schemes adding to the pressure, the hope is for better news next year.
But amid the challenges, there is still a strong and supportive community.
“I had good advice when I was younger,” said David. “The old farmers who taught me, they were clever people.
“You don’t realise how clever at the time but they guided us the right way.
“That community is still here. It’s a lot easier if you help each other than not.
“When we gather the fell, we gather it together. Somebody has to look after the hills, but people are moving out of farming.”
And there’s backing from the landowners as well.
“I think Raby Estate wants us to keep going like we’ve always farmed it, they don’t want change.
“That’s why I still think it will come alright in the finish.”
