Take a look at the picture of Rugged Lark the year before he died at age 22 (its at the bottom of the page):
http://www.bobettfarm.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=31
I have not competed much on my QH, not due to any of his limitations, but because it has never been in the cards while I’ve had him. However - at 5 years old Cesar Parra saw him and wanted his client who was seeking an FEI prospect to buy him. At 6, I did show him and he stroked out during all his tests - and I was amused that he still got good scores for a horse who refused to canter in the ring that day - and great comments… Dennis Callin has taught me on him and loved him. Same for Paul Belasik. Basically he is a very well built (uphill, big, good neck, ginormous engine) good moving, decent minded horse. And he loves, loves, LOVES dressage. He is a very reactive horse, so he has a spook, but it’s honest and he is forward. Sensitive. And… he likes my kids :lol:
People always ask me when they see him going… are you SURE he’s a QH? Yes, I am. I have his papers :winkgrin:
Besides him, we have had some really lovely QH’s over the years who did excell in dressage and could have gone as far as anyone wanted to take them. My baby is 3/4 TB, 1/4 QH and he will be a lovely dressage horse or a great childrens hunter. QHs blood truly adds versatility to a lot of other breeds.
Patrick Marley showed Honey Bright Dream in fall of '08 at Grand Prix level, and got his USDF Gold Medal. In the accompanying photo, this AQHA mare looks like she’s got a heck of a toe flick! 
His quote: “She’s a blast.” From green broke to Grand Prix: 4 years. Dressage is not my discipline, so maybe I should shut up, (I’m just a fan of OH’s) but I wonder if you could do that with a horse with no apptitude, physically or mentally? What I observe is a lot of physical differences within the breed. I have a very hunter-type one. Not sure where it particularly came from looking at his bloodlines. But there it is. I think you can find lots of physical elements in different ones. And their minds are extraordinary. I was not a fan until I owned one. OP, enjoy your golden-hearted girl. Performance is as performance does. 
And there’s a lot to be said for a sane partner.
[QUOTE=PennyRidge;3913888]
Take a look at the picture of Rugged Lark the year before he died at age 22 (its at the bottom of the page):
http://www.bobettfarm.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=31[/QUOTE]
I dont want to hijack this thread but I wanted to thank you PennyRidge for that link. I got to see Rugged Lark once at the World Expo in KY years ago and I will never forget it. He did a GP musical test without a bridle, just a blanket of flowers over his withers. It was powerfully beautiful.
~ Jen
Rugged Lark certainly was a magnificent horse–what a great tribute to the quarter horse breed. Thanks for sharing the pics and video link! Maybe someday I’ll try riding my girl with a wreath of flowers :). (Of course, I’d need to be able to ride like Lynn Palm, hmmm).
I was trying to think of Honey Bright Dream— my boss always brings me in QH articles as encouragement for my quarter horse mare I bought this spring. There is also Smart Sonofa Chic “Tommy” that is competing at prelim in eventing! QH’s can get out there and compete with the big boys and girls in dressage and it always inspires me. Once we get this foal on the ground we’ll be getting back into work for dressage and eventing with my girl.
I love to hear about the QH’s out there doing great things in the sporthorse world.
[QUOTE=EqTrainer;3913928]
I have not competed much on my QH, not due to any of his limitations, but because it has never been in the cards while I’ve had him. However - at 5 years old Cesar Parra saw him and wanted his client who was seeking an FEI prospect to buy him. At 6, I did show him and he stroked out during all his tests - and I was amused that he still got good scores for a horse who refused to canter in the ring that day - and great comments… Dennis Callin has taught me on him and loved him. Same for Paul Belasik. Basically he is a very well built (uphill, big, good neck, ginormous engine) good moving, decent minded horse. And he loves, loves, LOVES dressage. He is a very reactive horse, so he has a spook, but it’s honest and he is forward. Sensitive. And… he likes my kids :lol:
People always ask me when they see him going… are you SURE he’s a QH? Yes, I am. I have his papers :winkgrin:
Besides him, we have had some really lovely QH’s over the years who did excell in dressage and could have gone as far as anyone wanted to take them. My baby is 3/4 TB, 1/4 QH and he will be a lovely dressage horse or a great childrens hunter. QHs blood truly adds versatility to a lot of other breeds.[/QUOTE]
would love to see a photo of him…!
I love Quarter Horses and showed nothing but Quarter Horses and appendix horses for many years and was very happy with how the horses were judged and how they did. They were inexpensive and were perfect for an amateur without a limitless budget. They had their limitations, but just about any horse can go as far as any amateur ever would go if they stay sound and are willing.
As far as ‘how far have Quarter Horses gone in dressage’ for many years, in America, people have used a great many quarter horses in dressage at the lower levels and a few have done well at upper levels.
It has never been a really large number of Quarter Horses at the top levels; there have never been any Quarter Horses that have excelled in international competition at the top levels, but quite a few have done well here in America in national, regional, local competitions.
There is so much variety among quarter horses that it’s hard to generalize about what success they’ve had in dressage overall as a breed, rather than individualsl, but some types do well and some do not. If the traits needed for dressage can be found in an individual Quarter Horse the horse will do well.
Some lines have poor conformation - sickle hocks, cow hocks, heavy front ends, ‘bulldog’ conformation that is very hard to keep sound. Some lines are too ‘well topped’ - a heavy body on legs with tiny bone and tiny feet, also hard to keep sound. Some are very hard to collect, and instead go slow and take small strides, but that’s something better training could address; some are limited at the trot and will ‘climb’ instead of extend even with the best training. Some have flat canters that are very difficult to get into a correct, bounding 3 beat gait.
On the other hand, LOL, one of mine constantly got comments like, ‘Is he a Hannoverian, or a Holsteiner’, LOL.
Not a Quarterhorse, but a Paint (so lots of Quarter Horse lines) got his rider her Gold Medal in Colorado… I see a lot of QHs showing into the mid-levels - are they as brilliant in their movement as some of the Warmbloods? No, but they have great minds, 3 pure gaits, and their riders are comfortable riding them. Many QHs are really very like Thoroughbreds (makes a lot of sense since they all line back to Tbred;)). I’ve seen a few Appendix horses that were actually brilliant movers. ANY breed can do dressage - but the quality of their gaits and the ability of their rider will limit how well they can score.
My QH about 50-100lbs overweight, out of shape, with bad riding, and without shoes on getting loosened up in his warmup. Still, he doesn’t look bad and becomes more up toward the very end of his trotting on the bit session before I let him relax his neck on a long rein. You can also see him go forward at about 2:35 in the video, but I immediately pull him back. He’s kind of scary when he’s forward, but, don’t worry, I ride him forward now. This was only his second ride off a long layoff, and the video is over a year old. A lot has changed in a year. He’s about 16.0 1/2 hands tall.
He was tied up to a trailer at a show one time, and someone actually came up to me and asked if he was an Andalusian:lol: Of course, they hadn’t seen him move yet:winkgrin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWjKPBx-hLw&feature=channel_page
This is a QH that I thought would have been awesome at dressage. So floaty.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=borl_0ASkfQ&feature=channel_page
QH Dressage
I’m fairly new to dressage, but the tests my QH gelding and I have done have gone really well. I even had a judge ask me to let her know if would ever consider selling my horse. She asked about his breeding, and when I told her QH her jaw dropped. He could go as far as someone who knew what they were doing would take him - I’m just enjoying the ride
I love these great posts about quarter horses! Thank you for sharing. And I agree that there is a great deal of difference among different lines of quarter horses, which makes some more appropriate for dressage than others. What I love about my girl, as one other poster mentioned, is her three very nice gaits, her willing attitude and sweet (and sometimes sassy–but in a lovable way) personality. She is a barn favorite because of her gentle and loving nature, with basically great manners on the ground and in the saddle (she does of course have her moments-she is a smart blond after all). Plus she fits me–I am a petite woman all of 5’ 2 1/2" tall and could never ever feel comfortable on something over 16 or 17 hands, although I truly appreciate the brilliant movement of the warmblood and warmblood crosses.
I thought, that despite being a popular Quarter Horse sire, Rugged Lark was “pure” Thoroughbred.
Rugged Lark is technically an appendix quarter horse in the sense that his sire was a Thoroughbred and his dam was a Quarter Horse.
On his mother’s side if you go back far enough you find Joe Reed who had two quarter horse parents, both of which had THoroughbred sires and Quarter Horse dams.
If you look back far enough most Quarter Horses have at least some Thoroughbred ancestors. That’s how they were developed, by crossing with Thoroughbreds.
If you look back far enough most Quarter Horses have at least some Thoroughbred ancestors. That’s how they were developed, by crossing with Thoroughbreds
Fascinating! Thank you so much for sharing your vast knowledge with us!
[QUOTE=slc2;3917531]
Rugged Lark is technically an appendix quarter horse in the sense that his sire was a Thoroughbred and his dam was a Quarter Horse…[/QUOTE]
Ahhh.
And with Morgans and Arabians, too.
I’m a Quarter Horse lover and owner, however I don’t believe any Rugged Lark foals have competed much over Second Level. I’m also pretty sure most of what Lynn Palm has done with QHs has been at Training/First, maybe Second (someone can correct me if I’m wrong), and demo stuff. She is, however, a huge proponent of the AQHA recognizing QH who do well in dressage through a points and ROM system.
I do, however, think Lindsey Anderson of Washington took her QH, Tigris, through the FEI levels.
[QUOTE=IdDynamic;3917784]
I’m a Quarter Horse lover and owner, however I don’t believe any Rugged Lark foals have competed much over Second Level. I’m also pretty sure most of what Lynn Palm has done with QHs has been at Training/First, maybe Second (someone can correct me if I’m wrong), and demo stuff. She is, however, a huge proponent of the AQHA recognizing QH who do well in dressage through a points and ROM system.
I do, however, think Lindsey Anderson of Washington took her QH, Tigris, through the FEI levels.[/QUOTE]
The Lark Ascending went to GP. Although, he was ridden by a different rider to the GP level even though Lynn Palm got him to the Superhorse level.
http://www.huntseathorses.com/articles.php?article=5
I am the first person in the world to tell everyone that my horses are QHs. I don’t care what anyone thinks about me to be riding them, and I am promoting the breed as a sport horse. I love their minds, diversity, versatility, and that dang blasted powerful hind end.
No one can convince me that there is a more versatile breed in the world. They can do pretty much just about everything;)
The article linked to makes an interesting read:
“Palm’s argument is that many quarter horse athletes do not have the natural suspension in their stride to do upper level movements such as passage and piaffe.”
There are many more ingredients than ‘suspension’ - but it might be more accurate to say the same things that produce suspension allow a horse to piaffe and passage.
