[QUOTE=smokygirl;5911498]
How tall is your average (or tallest)? I know you primarily have imports, so I imagine most are in the 13.2 range. Though I guess the US would be one market for those in the UK who have an individual go over…[/QUOTE]
Actually, because 13.2 hands is the height limit, and if they go over, you canNOT show them over there, there are not that many “up to height” ponies in the UK. Tons in the 12.2 to 13 hand range though.
Most of ours are in the 12.2 to 13 range. I have had a few larger ones, including an imported mare that is 14 hands! She is an exception to the rule, however, as she is not coarse at all. She is a bit more TB looking, actually (the Downland influence in her pedigree) than the rest of my breeding stock, however. Interestingly, she also has a more “horse-like” coat also. I’m sure the TB influence behind her is the root of her height. She’s a lovely mare, though.
As for the “why” on why the US (and Canada) chose to do something different than the mother society… I suspect in the US it had to do with the hunter pony market and who that benefited. 
At every kitchen table I’ve sat at across the UK, breeders have expressed horror about the US society’s breaking away from them on that. People are really quite taken aback by it.
