As early as 1912, two ponies, a mare, #71 Longmynd Lucy, and a stallion, #92 Roscoe, were brought to Central Point, Oregon by G.E. Aiken. These ponies were purchased from George E. Brown, Aurora, Illinois. Both had been imported from Wales. No foals were ever registered from these ponies and there is no trace of what happened to them. Thirty-four years passed before more Welsh made it to Oregon. Shoreacres Flash and Shoreacres

Sunbeam were from the R.C.Tway herd in Kentucky. They were purchased by Zoe Bauernfeind, Silver Star Pony Ranch, the first Welsh breeder west of The Rockies. The next breeder, Loren Kerr, purchased his first ponies in 1952. Early breeders, George North, Clement Sparks, Paul Berger, James Brown, Gail Caswell (and others) followed. The Welsh Pony World listed 21 Breeders in its September 1958 issue. In December of that year the Oregon Welsh and Hackney Pony Club was formed. Many fairs and Horse Shows held Welsh Halter and Driving classes and the popularity of the Welsh Pony was on the increase.

The demise of this club probably came in the early 1960's when the market for horses and ponies fell to an all time low. Only those who truly loved and realized the value of the Welsh pony, kept their best ponies and waited! It was heart breaking for those who worked so hard to build their herds. Many nice ponies went to the auction, most were sold without papers and good ponies just disappeared.

Those that held on for the “return” eventually were rewarded. In 1969, the Oregon Welsh Pony Society was for formed. In 1971, the first all Welsh show was held with 11 ponies. Twenty years later (1992), OWPS held the American Nationals with 150 ponies.

In the past few years our shows have been averaging about 95-100 ponies. At the American Nationals held in 2001, 171 Welsh Ponies and Cobs showed the great versatility and beauty of this breed. At one time within the past few years, Oregon was the third highest in Welsh population.