in 1901 english and welsh breeders established a [[breeders' association]], the welsh pony and cob society, and the first [[stud book]] was published in 1902. it was decided that the welsh stud book should be separated into sections divided by type and height. welsh ponies were originally only classified as section a, but in 1931, with the rising demand for riding ponies for children, section b was added. in the first stud books, the section b was the welsh pony of cob type, and the welsh cob was section c and section d. the upper height limit for section d cobs was removed in 1907 and in 1931 sections c and d were combined as simply section c. the current standards of cobs as sections c and d were finalised in 1949. until the mid 20th century, the [[british war office]] considered the welsh cob so valuable that they paid premiums to the best [[stallion]]s. after [[world war ii]], only three stallions were registered in section c, but numbers have since recovered.