ISO a boring FEI prospect

I am in Ontario and do custom breedings :slight_smile:
www.muskokalakesconnemaras.com

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If you’re looking for an Arab-bred sport horse, I saw a really cute five-year-old Arab-Dutch warmblood last month near Ottawa, Ontario. He was 15.1 or 15.2. Very flashy and sweet, excellent dressage prospect. He’s at Avante-Garde Farm in Luskville, Quebec just over the Ontario border. They breed Arab crosses for sport. The Arab stallion there schools Grand Prix, I believe.
Muskokas Lakes Connemaras has also posted here and Janet breeds top quality Connemaras that do well in dressage and other disciplines!

There is a great group on Facebook Morgans in Dressage. A Morgan would nicely fit what you are looking for. There are some lovely sport Morgans out there and the breeding of them is taking off. They fit your size, budget, and type.

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As soon as I started reading your “wish list”, I thought, “she needs an Arab cross”. I’m a bit biased, admittedly, but you should really have no problem finding what you’re looking for in a Half Arabian, and your price range should be sufficient for purchasing a foal with those characteristics. There are LOTS of breeders producing Arabs and Half Arabs for sport these days - Sport Horse Nationals is going on right now, and most of the classes there will be MUCH larger than the “main ring” classes at U.S. Nationals in October. Join the Arabian Sport Horse Alliance group on Facebook, and you will be able to get connected with breeders, trainers, and owners who can point you in the right direction.

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Thanks for all the tips. I really appreciate it. I’m noting most (only leaving out leads I already have/know of), adding breeders and pages to FB. I know it can be a bit of a needle in a haystack, which is why I’m doing some legwork now.

Please keep it all coming. I’m open when it comes to breeds - I mention Connemara and arab crosses because they are two breeds I have some experience with and love. I would absolutely do a pre/Lusitano. But not much is off the table if it ticks most/all of the other boxes. I chatted with my trainer this evening so she’s got her eyes open too now.

My first thought when I read your post was North Forks Cardi, a Welsh Cob that competed up to GP. I’ve seen him bred with warmblood mares and the foals are exactly what you describe. http://winterlakewelshcobs.com/stallion.html Might be worth looking into!

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Have you looked into German Riding Ponies? I don’t know how tall you are but if you’'re under 5’6" they may be what you want.

And your’e in Ontario (which I realize is pretty big) but Christine Baker of Branley Ash Sportponies stands 3 (soon to be 4) stallions who are all just lovely. They have the movement of the big warmbloods, and can have the temperaments of a kids pony.

She is just outside of Ottowa.

Of course I am biased as I just bought one, but he’s the sweetest little guy at 16 months, and will be my driving (CDE) and dressage prospect.

There are not a lot of them in North America yet but there should be!

I just saw this KBC, thank you for tagging me! Sorry for the late response~

Yes, I do happen to have a gorgeous, Connemara X TB/Hanoverian (A Fine Romance Freiherr) rising yearling, an A Fine Romance grandson, out of a wonderful homebred mare, who was out of an imported Hanoverian mare by Freiherr…
He is very handsome, extremely agile, well-balanced and athletic. super smart, level-headed with charisma to burn. His sire is an Irish import, but this colt definitely takes after his dam’s side in every way - with his athleticism, his beautiful refined head, long neck, and long leg.

But, ‘boring’ he is not! :slight_smile:

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I have exactly what you are looking for But she’s Not for sale! I bought a short 2 yo Irish Draught/Connemara/Tb years ago. She’s now 15.1 hands, 13 yo and schooling all of 4th with a bit of PSG in there. She could be dead quiet, but the work/training definitely has spiced her up. I picked out three clean, but average gaits. She’s bred to jump and it shows in her ability to do changes and sit. Her trot is ok, she didn’t develop a medium until last year. I think she will go to PSG, possibly higher, and will be able to do some of the GP tricks. I recommend placing a wanted ad through the Connemara pony society. They are out there, if you want Irish. I recommend buying a great brain, with a solid walk and canter. Good luck and have fun! I would love to see more Connemaras at the dressage shows!

Besides WB I always liked riding Lipizzans. Some have a quite sportive conformation and nice gaits.

Wait a couple of years, save the $$ you would spend on growing your youngster, and go get a PRE in Spain that is already doing what you want to do.

The ones who have good basics but aren’t really that competitive with WBs can be quite affordable.

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I breed Connemaras in the US- very much for sport. And you’re correct, there are quite a few breeders who don’t breed for sport or who stand stallions that have never been proven themselves and/or whose get have only gone to pleasure type homes. This makes it a bit of a guessing game as to whether their young stock are going to go out and perform or be better as a low level/best buddy type. The Connemara is a fairly small breed. I only breed a few foals per year and honestly, most of my foals are sold at birth so I rarely advertise young stock. I show my stallion, Wildwych Wily Casanova aka Sly, in the jumpers but his get have gone to various different homes. Again, since I’ve owned him, it has been mostly sport homes. Sly has a quick and active hind leg (we do dressage clinics to help us in our jumping and its been remarked on by clinicians more than once- so not just my observation) BUT I can’t say he’s truly boring or quiet. He’s a lovely guy and he’s got the best temperament but he loves a good gallop- and his definition of a good gallop is probably 20 minutes longer than mine…and he does try to convince me that perhaps he should practice a good gallop on an almost daily basis. If I tell him no, he then moves on to trying to get us to practice other things he especially likes- lead swaps are a close favorite to a good gallop. If it’s not a day for gallops or lead swaps, he works on his “flair” in whatever we might be doing. Having said that, I can put visitors on him and he takes care of them but, yeah, when he’s fit and in work mode, he’s ready to WORK. Many of his get are this way. They have m definition of fabulous temperaments- willing and ready for pretty much anything, not spooky or silly, and are athletic and brave- but boring? Not so much.

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Just wanted to chime in on how nice it is to see some recommendations for Arab crosses. It’s tough pushing back against the stereotypes of Arabs and arab crosses, but lots of people have been producing some wonderful Arab crosses (often within WB studbooks) and purebred Arabs with great temperaments and sport discipline capability. (FWIW, I switched from WBs to Arabs 25 years ago because I fell in love with the sweetness and rideability of the CMK lineage Arabs.)

(I think the OP has lots of choices --Morgans, Connemaras, Arabs/Arab crosses, PRE, Lusitano, Welsh Cob, etc. )

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OP as a “neighbor” to your south, I encourage you to check out

https://www.missviewfarm.com/

And consider a Lipizzan. Kate is breeding talent with great temperaments. I have a 2015 Lip that has been the most fun baby to bring along. He’s brilliant, charming, brave and incredibly handsome. I have an Arab/SWB that Kate also bred so I am a fan of that cross. Although he’s an FEI horse now, he has never been what one would consider amateur friendly. Maybe more so now, but he’s also 15. The Lip on the other hand has been so easy and seems to have plenty of talent.

Just a reminder that general breed/breeder recommends are just fine, but please avoid listing specifics of individual horses available for sale.

I’m happy with my corgi clan, but if I were to return to riding, my wish list would probably be almost identical to yours. This farm has some Swedish warmblood/Arab crosses and came across my facebook feed recently https://www.facebook.com/HGEsquire/?tn=%2CdkCH-R-R&eid=ARDDc2k5QQ2M7YOEgdBdBO1Baj55LTRuiZWr00ExVBzD7rgW5kdvfve7sy-i2ZRyCdTRbH1MI6KA_AxO&hc_ref=ARTKDtylAQGa1z6pPpeofonDqoQU_3sVO1VMINyau-TAcFIeZsUdQr48z2VGNmvlASk&hc_location=group