A child is in a serious condition after being kicked by a pony at Roundhill campsite near Brockenhurst in the New Forest over the weekend. The child kicked by new pony incident has prompted fresh warnings about keeping clear of the animals that roam the area.
Andrew Parry-Norton of the New Forest Commoners Defence Association said he was saddened by the incident and sympathised with the child and the family. “We don't want this to happen to anybody,” he said.
Roundhill campsite incident
Parry-Norton said, “It is an appalling thing to happen to anybody and it is something we have to think about, which we are doing.” He added, “Our deepest sympathy to the family.”
The incident was understood to have happened over the weekend at Roundhill campsite near Brockenhurst. Hampshire Police said two children had been kicked by ponies in the New Forest during the summer of 2025, adding a second recent case to the same wider concern.
New Forest pony warnings
Thousands of free-roaming ponies live in the New Forest, and visitors are warned not to approach, feed or attempt to pet them because they can react unpredictably if startled or threatened. Parry-Norton said people must keep a safe distance from the ponies, and that the association were not being “killjoys” or awkward by asking visitors to avoid going close to or touching them.
He also said, “We have got to try and get this message out somehow better than what we are doing.” For anyone visiting the New Forest, the practical point is simple: keep back from the animals rather than trying to interact with them, especially around campsites and other places where people and ponies come into close contact.
Hampshire Police summer cases
The police figure puts the weekend incident in a broader pattern for the summer of 2025, with two children now having been kicked by ponies in the New Forest. For families in Brockenhurst and elsewhere in Hampshire, the warning now carries the force of a recent injury rather than a general reminder.
