Hey, babe, we here in Morganland got some big-@ss movers, and we don’t ever call 'em ponies, 14:0 or no! :lol:
Seriously, though, a round enough body (hello, Morgan) will take up a lot of leg, and if they’ve got freedom of movement and talent, most good riders under 6’2" look fine on them.
[QUOTE=jcotton;3265132]
I have been riding cobs lately and because of their quickness, I have gotten really sticky in the saddle for my other green horses that spook. And that’s a good benefit to have. Yes, ponies or small horses are very quick in their actions compared to a 16-17h lumbering moose, I like riding the compact cob.
Be open minded looking at arab-crosses, welsh cobs, morgans, grp’s. Watch all gaits, the small ones can beat an average moving warmblood anyday and especially if you are dead- on accurate in your test as well as forward moving (but not running off or rushing through the gaits).[/QUOTE]
That lumbering moose comment made me laugh. I was riding my friends (about 16.2 tall and just as wide) horse and he is the herd leader and bit hot because this other horse was in ‘his’ field while he was working. He cantered off a few strides and my first thought was ‘whatever, he can’t hold a canter for more than a few strides anyway!’. I don’t fear bucks or rears either - because really, can he get his huge front or hind end up more than a few inches? I doubt it. Not the same on the 14 HH pony I am working with - I am sure he could hold a canter if he wanted to - and I have seen him buck and rear…good thing he’s a sweetheart.
Ooh-oh, watch out thinking a big horse can’t move quick. I have a 16.3h Stb that could dump you in a minute. Lucky for me he is a sweetheart, but that boy can shake a leg when he wants to. 
I’d love to have a pony. Maybe someday I’ll find one around 14h that is stout enough and long enough for me not to look silly.
If you like ponies and honies look at lIpizzans. Average height is 14.3-15.2 but the range is wide, from 13.3 to 16h+. The largest tend to be from countries that breed driving horses like Hungary abnd Romania. The classical airs type tend to be smaller. They are substantial enough for larger riders and bred for collected work.
Hiya,
Well, I’m certainly one of the ones pushing the limit with this topic. I’m 5’9 and my Welsh cob Cardi is just 14.3, but it hasn’t stopped him from being very successful up through Third level - competing, and winning, in the Open division against other trainers on big “fancy” WB’s.
As stated above, I think there are two important parts of the equation. One, the pony must be a size that your body can ride effectively. Just as a trainer wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) recommend an 18h for your petite self, there is a limit to how SMALL you can go and still feel like you can, quite literally, ride them. I’m quite tall to be riding him, but his deep barrel lets me put my leg on…
Second, they have to move and train the part. Since you say that showing isn’t everything, there’s some flexibility here. A “good” mover might suit you just fine, especially if it’s trainable and reliable. If you wanted to be “very” competitive in the open shows, your mount - regardless of size - must have the gaits, balance, elasticity, etc expected in a dressage horse. It must have the gaits and balance to carry you well.
And I’ll say it again - there is a significant trend toward more appropriate sized mounts and the judges are starting to come around to it. There are a lot of petite individuals with plenty of talent out there winning!! Join the fun…
I’m 5’ 6" and ride Chardonnay, a 14.2 Weser - Ems pony stallion, in open shows at Prix St. Georges, against ‘big’ horses, and he’s ALWAYS in the top 3!!! The size of the mount isn’t as important as the size of the gaits, and if you do YOUR job well, the judges won’t ‘pony score’ you - they’ll be too busy scoring the good ride! Have fun and good luck!
amen!!!
I’m 5’2" and ride a 13.2 hand pony. I do it because she has a really lovely trot when she’s going well – she has a beautiful passage and lengthenings (not that we’ve done passage on purpose :lol:). Her walk is pretty good too – not warmblood by any means the way her trot is, but better than most ponies her size. Her canter is better under saddle than at freedom. She’s Half Arabian and I’d give her spook a 7+. So it’s a good thing she has a really nice trot, otherwise it’d be like banging my head against the wall.
I took her to her first show a few weeks ago and found myself riding beside a 17 hand monster in the warmup. :lol: However the big horse had a gorgeous collected canter and his rider was in complete control so it wasn’t intimidating. Needless to say everyone there immediately suggested a pas de deux.
We have never found that Adults are penalized for riding ponies. We raise and train Connemara Ponies and compete in both dressage and combined training…they are wonderul & competitive even with us amatuers I think you have to be careful though when considering a pony as a competitive partner as some can be too narrow to suit even a small adult.
Its one of the things I really like about Chardonnay…he at least on film appears well sprung despite his Pony size.
Another welsh cob (well and Arab too) person who rides everything from 14 hands to 15.2 in competition. I am 5’2" but my daughter is now 5’8" and we both ride her 14.1 hand welsh cob x morgan mare. Neither of us look out of place on her. My welsh cob gelding is competing and doing well at fourth level, hopefully going for Prix St. George late fall/early winter; so, [shorter] height hasn’t prevented our journey up the levels. I have ridden more than a few “ponies by height” and have never been scored at a disadvantage because of the height of my mount. As others have said, if the critter can move well and you present a balanced, relaxed, elastic frame/picture no one is going to give a rat’s behind as to how tall it is when you’re out there by yourself; but, having said that (and living it) I do understand the issue of vertically challenged height against others of the same breed, particularly if taller heights are valued. I have a 14 hand mare who in a rail class might get lost except for the fact that she has some of the most eye-popping gaits that so far have prevented her from being missed. There are those judges/people though who would discount her on size/stature alone. Still I have had so many people come to me totally amazed when I dismount to see just how short she really is because while I’m on board and from a distance, no one would ever guess (at least that is what I’m always hearing). Ride what you feel most comfortable on <period>.
I used to own a 16.1 hand big barreled OTTB. When I now look at pictures of me on her (I’m 5.1) I look kind of silly. I now ride a 13.3-14 hand Morgan/Welsh Cob cross who is big barreled and I look great on him. Plus, I find that when I’m on him, it’s like he has grown to 16 hands because he moves big. My trainer is the opposite of yours; she encourages me to stick with him (at first I had a hard time adjusting to the idea of a pony). Now I am totally in love with him. He is the best thing that ever happened to me. I think your trainer will change her mind if she sees you on a good moving, talented pony. Stick to your guns. Also, I find I have never ridden as well as I do on this appropriately sized pony. I have always tended over the years to be a trend setter (why I don’t know, it’s kind of funny). Thus, I am totally convinced the pony trend will increase over the next few years!
I ride a 14.1 NewForest pony. She is wide barreled and fills my leg out better than my sporty Friesian.
[QUOTE=Horsepower;3266164]
Also, I find I have never ridden as well as I do on this appropriately sized pony. [/QUOTE]
That is exactly how I feel riding my 14.1 HH Pony…he finds dressage very easy so I have had the BEST TIME of my life riding my pony…he’s pretty sure he is much bigger though
So would you “pony” riders find much difference in riding and showing a stout 13.3h model versus a 14.3h model, both in terms of being comfortable on it and riding it well, and also having people on the big horses look down on you – literally and figuratively, LOL? I need to go ride it to even see if it works for me, but it’s current rider in taller than I am and doesn’t look too big on it. On video, it doesn’t look smaller or much smaller than a 14.3h barely horse who was in the video with it. I don’t know if it would have fantastic gaits or not, but then there’s also the whole question that someone here brought up about what do I really want. My teacher’s been asking me that, too. And it’s good to think about.
I own Popeye and he is competing at 2nd level - probably moving up soon. We haven’t really seen any prejudice against him in the ring from most judges. I think the “new” judges are sometimes a little more hesitant to score ponies just as they do horses
We expanded into GRP’s and sportponies about 8 years ago because we felt the market would increase for riders who wanted the big WB movement but wanted to be able to get on from the ground.
We currently have a “hony” by Makuba for sale who is schooling 2nd & 3rd level movements and he can have a rdier 5’7" on him and it looks fine. We are putting a 2 yo GRP mare up for sale and I’m sure she will be able to carry an adult with no problem. Our 2 4 yo pony geldings are medium and large and a woman who is 5/6" and petite started them and she looks fine on them in photos and video.
I think it’s a whole lot better to see people on large ponies or small honies than to see petite riders on HUGE warmbloods. Very often they are standing in the irons and because their arms aren’t long enough they can’t let the big horses come through - so the movements are often restricted. These GRP’s and sportponies are balanced and able to do all the movements and …honestly - I think ponies are just smarter. :))
Under an “S” judge a small pony beat my 16.3 hand (beautiful) SWB mare - and deserved to. 
If you show under “GOOD” judges you’ll have no problems. Bad judges mark down cause - its too small, its the wrong color, it not a WB,… :mad:
So just pay to show under an “S” judge and 99% of the time you probably won’t have that problem.
Wanted to aDD - SIZE REALLY DOESN’T MATTER. I look perfect on my 16.3 HAND mare and MY 15.1 1/2 HAND Dutch mare (Dutch mare is stouter)… so buy what fits you - what you can ride , feel comfortable on, and looks good.
I will be showing my larges in dressage (and have in the past). My yearling, whom I think will not be a pony even though she is out of two larges) is by Makuba, who was 3rd in the country at I-1 (don’t recall which year). I believe Stibby Me won a 2nd level (maybe 3rd?) at Raleigh last weekend.
I started riding my husband’s 13.2-hand driving pony to help with his dressage. I’m 5’3 and his round barrel takes up my leg well. He is a lot of fun to ride, but I do have to be very correct in my position in order not to throw him off balance.
He did his first ridden dressage test (USDF Intro B) in April and scored 66% under a judge who scores pretty tough. He also jumped his first 2’ stadium course that day.
My only problem–I don’t get enough time to ride him when we are doing a lot of driving to prepare for CDEs.
Here are pics of him at the dressage show:
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2528488490055731734QqkeAN
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2763782190055731734CjvXVk
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2017946610055731734KswZYl
My pony experience
A few years back I had a great time showing my 12.3 H pony at training and first level. We got mostly 2nds and 3rds, but beat numerous expensive looking large horses to do that. I had one trainer threaten to jump me in the warmup :>, but other than that we encountered no predjudice. And he was a lot more fun to show than my oversized and very lazy Oldenburg.
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