In 2003, when Simpson and Katsarelias set up their farm in Trachy, they had but one horse. Today they have 40, with names taken from Greek mythology: Jason, Zeus, Orpheus, Icarus and Nephele, among many others. The only exception is a pony named Norman after Amanda Simpson’s father, who passed away two days before the beautiful male pony’s birth.
Everyday life is no picnic. Work begins at daybreak and ends well past sundown. The ponies must be fed and groomed and the stables cleaned, while the extended “family” also consists of 13 cats, two dogs, two goats and a great number of chickens.
“Horses are like children. They need stability. Change is unsettling to them,” says Simpson. During the summer months, the couple hosts courses for the benefit of visitors. They work mainly with children, teaching them to ride but also to communicate with horses, while learning constantly themselves, thanks to their daily contact with the ponies.
“Time spent with them is time gained. They understand you, they can see through you, they are a mirror: if you are happy, so are they,” explains the couple.

FROM THE PARTHENON TO SCOTLAND

Visitors to Skyros will be smitten by the beauty of its beaches, the richness of its folk art and its gastronomic variety. But few are aware that its diminutive ponies are the ones gracing the Parthenon’s frieze as horses drawing carriages in the Panathenaic Procession. Even fewer know that the ponies’ ancestors sailed from the island’s eastern shores bound for Troy, where they would carry Achilles’ warriors on their backs.
Skyrian ponies are usually brown or reddish and do not exceed 116 cm in height. Their hoofs are hard – so they don’t need to be shoed – their mane is long and rich, their legs strong and sinewy, and their bellies slightly distended, as though after a big meal. Seeing them up close, they remind more of Arabian horses than ponies.
“The breed once thrived all over Greece, before disappearing. Only a small number of individuals survive in Skyros today,” says Nikos Kritikos, head of the local Skyrian Horse Society, founded in 2006 to protect the breed and compile its genealogy. The society’s census has recorded 297 ponies, 182 of which live on Skyros. A small number are cared for at the Agricultural University’s farm in Thessaloniki, the Silvaland Riding Center in Corfu, the Amfikaia Farm on Mount Parnassos and in Scotland.
“Skyrian ponies are an endangered species as any animal numbering less than 1,000 individuals is considered to be under threat,” explains Kritikos. Apart from Simpson and Katsarelias, the difficult task of conserving the breed is carried out by the team of Mouries Farm, run by Manolis Trachanas, thanks to their controlled breeding program, while a handful of ponies continue to roam free on Kochylas Mountain.
Greece’s dire financial situation has presented new unexpected obstacles in the two teams’ conservation efforts. The lack of funds has meant a decline in the breeding rate. State subsidies have stopped since 2002, while the yearly upkeep of every single pony in feed alone stands at 700 euros. Some locals have released their ponies into the wild, being unable to care for them, knowing that Kochylas Mountain doesn’t provide a safe haven or a conducing environment to breeding.
The mountain’s flora has been ravaged by goats, while Kochylas is also home to a population of mules known to be aggressive towards male Skyrian ponies. Inbreeding also threatens the species’ uniqueness.
The Skyrian Horse Society is doing its best, having compiled an exhaustive list of all individuals falling within pedigree parameters, photographing them and equipping them with electronic tracking devices. At the same time, Athens Agronomical University laboratories are carrying out genetic tests, using hair from the ponies’ tails or manes. A team of university veterinarians visits the island periodically as Skyros lacks a permanent vet.