Barrington Pit Pony Training Centre

[Barton Lad]

Does any one remember or being told about where the NCB used to train their pit ponies at Barrington, before they were sent down the pits. Was this the only one training centre?

The location was at the end of Office Row, where there was a door way through a high brick wall, which led into centre. There were two large houses and the stables for the ponies. The back of the houses backed onto the football field, which we used to call the Park.

We used to call the training area the Galloway track. The ponies used to pull the tubs around the track.

The manager I remember was Cook, who had two sons and a daughter. Before Cook was a person called Taylor?

I can vaguely remember Mr Cook, with all the proper riding gear, riding down every week to the Station to collect the wages.

If anyone has a photo of this location it would very much appreciated

[bediesathome]

Does any one remember or being told about where the NCB used to train their pit ponies at Barrington, before they were sent down the pits. Was this the only one training centre?

The location was at the end of Office Row, where there was a door way through a high brick wall, which led into centre. There were two large houses and the stables for the ponies. The back of the houses backed onto the football field, which we used to call the Park.

We used to call the training area the Galloway track. The ponies used to pull the tubs around the track.

The manager I remember was Cook, who had two sons and a daughter. Before Cook was a person called Taylor?

I can vaguely remember Mr Cook, with all the proper riding gear, riding down every week to the Station to collect the wages.

If anyone has a photo of this location it would very much appreciated

I can remember a training track at Choppington (a) colliery during the 1940s and 1950s. My friends and I used to go and watch them being trained by a handler.

[Barton Lad]

I assumed that the training of the pit ponies was all done at Barrington for all the Northumberland pits, but I guess this was wrong. It would appear that each pit had there own training section, such as Choppington

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

Rafie whilst searching for 'Taylor' this old topic of yours was in the list. One of the pictures I found by the Barrington painter James Mackenzie is labelled "Breaking in the Riding Cob, Barrington Stables". There is no date to say when it was painted but this should prove that there were stables there, but nothing to say if they were associated with Barrington Colliery.

Never having worked in the industry I have no idea what breed of pony was employed in the mines. A quick Google on horses-cob gives the average height as 15 hands and Wikipedia = "The hand is a non-SI unit of measurement of length equal to 101.6 millimetres (4 in). It is now normally used only for the measurement of the height of horses".

So I don't know if the Cob was too big to be down the mines - 15hands = 5ft.

 

[Reedy]

Found this picture marked 'Netherton Pony Training 1930s'.

[HIGH PIT WILMA]

They used cobs at Bedlington A pit in the High Main seam,cos it was nearly ten feet high coal.

Shetlands,in the Harvey seam when I worked there in 1965-71,wwhen the pit closed.

At Choppington High Pit,conditions were very bad,with extreme roof pressure,twisting and lowering a 12foot wide,by eight foot high roadway,down to less than four foot high in places....scary when you see it for the first time. 

Consequently all the pony's were small Shetlands,not all of which were broken in and trained!!....we often had to take fresh unbroken ponies inbye and train them with a long rein to the bit.[not forgetting,it WAS a "tetty-pit"....!]

When they drifted down to the Top Busty seam,conditions were wet,and really bad on the coalfaces,but the roadways stood for longer than they did up in the Beaumont seam....so  it made it a bit better for the ponies,even though it  was still cruelty them being there.

[Alan dickson]

I remember

Mr

Cook the pony trainer had 2sons

Ronnie and

Billy also a daughter

Elsie.

Mr

Cooks.

Ass trainer a

Mr

Nicholson who lived in

Alexander

Row.

Previous trainer was a

Bill

Tait