United States Eventing Association

In her earlier eventing years, Molly Smith competed up to the Intermediate level primarily on off-the-track Thoroughbreds. These days, however, you can find her competing at the Beginner Novice level on a very different mount— Kimberlake Jophiel, a 12-year-old Fell Pony gelding (by Kimberlake Gabriel) who Smith co-owns with her mother, Beverly Patrick.

Patrick was the one who taught Smith how to ride, and at the age of 81, she still teaches riding and competes in combined driving. When she had to retire her competition pair several years ago, Patrick decided she wanted to promote a rare breed, and her search landed her on Fell Ponies.

The Fell Pony is a native breed to England known for their tough and versatile nature and their very hairy appearance. Like many drafts, Fell Ponies grow long, luscious manes, tails, and feathers around their hooves. They also get quite hairy in the colder seasons. It’s roughly estimated that there are only around 600 Fells living in North America, a large contrast from just the 20 recorded in the 1990s. The global population is noted to be around 6,500.

“She found one in New York,” recalled Smith, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. “Then she found another from Kimberlake Farms [New Franklin, Missouri] and had a pair of ponies that she drove. Then, when she was 75, she decided to drive a four-in-hand— had never driven a four-in-hand before in her life, didn’t buy a four-in-hand team that knew how to drive together, but she went back and got three more Fells from Kimberlake.”

Those three were just green broke, so Smith decided to help her mother finish them out by getting them under saddle first. And that is when she fell in love with “Joe.”

“He actually rides better than he drives,” she said of the 13.2-hand pony. “They are a lovely breed. They are curious and loving. They’re generally considered family ponies, so you don’t really see many eventing. I know there is one other in Florida, but I’ve not seen any other Fells out doing this.”

Smith’s first event with Joe was in 2019, but she felt like it all finally came together during the summer of 2025.

“It was a magical summer for him,” she shared. “I didn’t compete much [in 2024], I just did one recognized event, so this summer I thought, well— I turned 50, let’s do this. And [it] was the first summer that he stepped up and felt like he would actually be my partner.”

As their season went on and they racked up top-3 finish after top-3 finish, Smith noticed they were near the top of the USEA Pony of the Year Leaderboard.

“I didn’t have any aspirations originally of him winning that at the beginning of the summer, but then I really got excited and started tracking the points as the season went on. I really wanted it for his breeder— she is so proud of him— and for my mom. We are all so proud of him.”

Smith describes herself as a true amateur. A sixth-grade science teacher by day, she rides when she can sneak away from school, but the harsh Pennsylvania winters can definitely impact their season prep. Luckily, Joe was meant for cold weather.

“We don’t have an indoor or anything, so I don’t ride a whole lot in the winter. I enjoy my summers off from teaching, but last year I was able to get on him in March thanks to a pretty mild spring.”

Because of their dense winter coat, the Fells typically don’t need blanketing in the winter, but Joe did get the tiniest trace clip this fall so he could attend the Waredaca Classic Three-Day Event & H.T. (Laytonsville, Maryland) to contest the Beginner Novice Classic Series division, where he finished second out of 34 starters on his dressage score of 25.7.

“I hadn’t done a three-day since Essex in 1998,” said Smith, “so the Classic was a goal I had for him at the start of this year. It was so much fun to do that with him. My mom actually helped me get Joe in shape for the long-format because I was back in school. She drove him in the ring and did his trot sets that way with her older mare, Tabby, to get him fit.”

​Prior to the final horse inspection, Smith asked the Ground Jury if she could present Joe with his mane, which is typically in two running braids down either side of his neck, down and they agreed with enthusiasm.

​“He really is a curiosity. That’s why I love riding him. People cannot walk by you without saying, ‘Your pony is so cute!’ I once had an announcer say that I was riding a Friesian from the dryer.”

That second-place finish at Waredaca sealed the deal, and Joe was named the 2025 SmartEquine USEA Pony of the Year. Smith was able to be in attendance to accept Joe’s award, as well as his breeders, Paul and Kimber Bishop of Kimberlake Farm, her mom and her sister Megan, who rides and has groomed for both the eventing and driving events.

The win was so special to Smith for many reasons. Years of building a partnership have gone into Joe, and she gets to see him compete in the four-in-hand with her mother as well as compete with some of her mother’s riding students at competitions throughout the year as well. She describes it as seeing her child out there— “You better be good, I always tell him!”

“I am super proud of him,” she said. “He’s such a fun pony. I enjoy them very much. I enjoy getting them out where people can see them. So many people have said to me, ‘I’ve only read about them, I have never seen one in real life.’ I like when people ask about him, and I can tell them about the breed. I love how he builds a connection to other people when I am showing. He is definitely a conversation starter.”

While Fells might be hard to find because there are so few of them out there, Smith thinks they are the perfect lower-level eventing pony and hopes that by competing Joe and one of her mother’s other driving ponies, Kimberlake Samuel, she can raise awareness about the usefulness of the breed. And even if her mom decides to retire from driving Fell Ponies, Smith thinks she is in it for the long haul.

“I would absolutely continue to ride them,” she said. “They are so friendly and so people-oriented. I think it is important that people see them and know what they are and that they can do these things.”