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  • Pontypridd Museum Wild Escape's Pit Pony Project


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The Pit Pony’s Journey: From Pits to Paradise 



Ym mis Ebrill 2023, bu Amgueddfa Pontypridd yn cydweithio gyda thair Ysgol Gynradd leol; Ysgol Gynradd Coedpenmaen, Ysgol Gynradd Coed-y-Lan ac Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Evan James i ddysgu am fywydau a gwaddol merlod y pwll ym Mhyllau Glo De Cymru. Dysgodd y plant am yr amodau yr oedd merlod y pwll yn gweithio ac yn byw ynddynt, y dynion a fyddai wedi gofalu amdanynt a'r rôl bwysig a chwaraewyd ganddynt yn natblygiad diwydiannol ein cenedl. I gloi'r prosiect, croesawom Flossy and Boo Theatre Company, y bardd Mike Church a'r canwr-gyfansoddwyr lleol Matthew Frederick a Jessiie Jenkins, i hwyluso diwrnod gweithdy celfyddydol mynegiannol, lle gallai'r plant gyfuno eu holl wybodaeth flaenorol a chael hwyl yn creu darnau drama, cerddi a chân grŵp ar y cyd, i gyd er anrhydedd y merlod pwll.

Gwnaed y prosiect hwn yn bosibl diolch i'r gefnogaeth a'r cyllid a dderbyniwyd gan Gronfa’r Celfyddydau, ac rydym wrth ein bodd eu bod wedi hoffi ein prosiect gymaint, fel eu bod wedi dewis i’w gynnwys ar eu gwefan fel enghraifft i amgueddfeydd eraill. Da iawn i bawb fu'n cymryd rhan!


The Pit Pony’s Journey: From Pits to Paradise 



In April 2023, Pontypridd Museum collaborated with three local Primary Schools; Coedpenmaen Primary, Coed-y-Lan Primary and Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Evan James to learn about the lives and legacy of the pit ponies in the South Wales Collieries. The children learnt about the conditions the pit ponies worked and lived in, the men who would have looked after them and the important role they played in our nation’s industrial development. To conclude the project, we welcomed Flossy and Boo Theatre Company, poet Mike Church and local singer-songwriters Matthew Frederick and Jessiie Jenkins, to facilitate an expressive arts workshop day, where the children could pool all of their prior knowledge and have fun creating drama pieces, poems and a collective group song, all in honour of the pit ponies. 

This project was made possible thanks to the support and funding received from the Arts Fund, and we are delighted that they loved our project so much, that they chose to feature us on their website as an example to other museums. A huge well done to all involved! 


‘This is pointless all my friends are dying 


I hate this why can’t I live like a normal horse? 


I miss the colours of the world above 


I miss the crack of dawn and the setting of the sun 


I’m so tired and I miss my family so much 


I feel like a useless horse who doesn’t know what to do 


Every day I’m exhausted pulling trams of coal 


This isn’t fair 


Life is just so unfair 


I miss the feel of soft grass on my hooves 


It’s so tough down here I just want a day off 


I’ve forgotten why I even exist 


We all suffer as we pull endless wagons of coal 


If only a gleam of sunlight would light up my dusty face 


The miners all around me are fading away 


It’s so dark we’ve forgotten the sun 


We just want to go out and have some fun.’

‘I felt bad for the horses having to work underground 


I had a carrot in my pocket once 


I offered it to a horse that was lying down 


Then realised the horse had died 


But it was too late I’d already put it in the horse’s mouth 


I loved my horse and it loved me too 


I wish the horses had more of a holiday 


Sometimes I felt they needed it more than us 


I think I was actually allergic to horses 


There was a day I almost choked on horse fur  


Sometimes they seemed to be everywhere in the pit 


I would spend a whole day shovelling horse poo 


They used to work so hard 


I bet all they wanted to do was run around and eat grass 


I wish the horses could have had a better life 


We had a horse called Charlie that booted a rat down the pit 


There’s more I could tell you but I can’t remember 


I just wanted the horses to have a happier future 


Just like the miners.’  

‘I see nothing 


I am blind to the world 


I’m tough, I’m hard 


And I’m so sick of being dug up 


Stop with your shovels and pickaxes just leave me alone 


Why do you want to burn me so badly? 


I’m tired of being used 


You tell me I’m worth something every day 


But then I get slowly burnt away 


Please leave me in peace 


Is there anyone out there…..hello? 


There are so many alternatives to coal 


Burn charcoal or flint or ashes 


Why don’t you just go nuclear? 


Stop digging in the dark 


I deserve so much more than this 


It takes thousands of years for me to grow and develop 


Only to be exploded and burnt away 


When will this pain ever end?’ 

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