Dartmoor pony breeder, producer and judge David Hinde has suspended himself from the council of the National Pony Society (NPS) after the RSPCA allegedly removed ponies from his stud in Leeds.
Mr Hinde has not returned H&H’s calls and the RSPCA cannot, for legal reasons, confirm if ponies have been taken from his Pumphill Stud in Aberford.
The breeder and former organiser of the Northern Horse Show was voted on to the NPS council on 13 March.
NPS chief executive Peter Durrant said: “David is a well-respected producer and breeder.
“He has suspended any involvement with the NPS and all judging. We didn’t ask — he did the honourable thing and came to us, thinking it was the best thing until it was cleared up.”
Mr Hinde is also a council member of the Dartmoor Pony Society, for which a spokesman told H&H: “We had a council meeting last weekend and David Hinde sent his apologies.”
This article was first published in Horse & Hound (1 April, ’10)
