About us

It all started with two horses and a row of stables

In 2016, Helen wanted Holly and Seren to know which stable was theirs. So she did what any horse lover would do — she made them a plaque each. Hand-drawn, hand-cut, hand-painted. Two plaques became three when a friend at the yard wanted one too, and by the time those three were hanging on the doors, everyone else up the yard was asking for one as well.

Welsh Pony Plaques was born. Not from a business plan, but from a paintbrush, a jigsaw, and two very opinionated horses.

The people behind the plaques

Helen & Jonathan

Helen paints every piece by hand, bringing each animal to life from a blank canvas. Jonathan cuts the shapes and prepares the wood, sanding and base-coating everything, ready for Helen to work her magic. Every plaque is coloured to order, personalised with the unique markings, flecks, and features that make each animal theirs, then finished with a protective varnish to last a lifetime.

As Helen puts it: "I love painting personalisation. Taking a blank canvas and creating something that's unmistakably that person's horse. The little marks, the colouring, the flecks that are different to every other horse. When it's completed, it's just wow. That's theirs."

A life with horses

Helen had her first pony at 11 and hasn't been without one since. She bred her own horse Holly, who was born in 1994 and is the very same Holly who inspired that very first plaque all those years ago. Over the years Helen competed and hunted, until her daughter Amy took up riding full time and Helen happily handed over the reins.

When Amy was three, Helen went to find her a Shetland pony and came home with Jeremy. Jeremy, it turned out, had very little interest in grass and a great deal of interest in the kitchen. He spent most of his time in the house garden, wandering in to sit with Amy and Rhys, perfectly content as long as someone remembered the carrots. He would rather be in the kitchen in front of the fridge than out in the field any day of the week.

They have had horses ever since, and probably always will.

Proudly Welsh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Being based in South Wales is not just a postcode — it is in the work.
The majority of the horses Helen paints are Welsh or Welsh half-breds, and the Welsh Section D holds a very special place in her heart. With some of the finest stud farms in the country right on the doorstep, Helen paints these extraordinary animals every single day, and the love of the breed shows in every single brushstroke.

Every piece that leaves the studio has a little bit of Wales in it.