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Pony hunter experts out there....

Hunter/Jumper
#1

I have a few questions. I have a 3 year old registered half welsh large pony.

Just starting him undersaddle and He will do light work this year. He is proving to be very easy and with just 4 rides is already walk/trot/cantering like he has had 90 days on him.

So my thoughts are light work this year and maybe starting some shows next year and possibly the green pony hunters. Will win the model and hack probably in the middle of the ribbons at bigger shows. (Although he moves better every day I watch him!) jumps adorable. Only downfall is he will probably finish around 14 hands. He has a big step but he doesn’t look like some of the barely pony Larges out there I sometimes see.

So my question is, what price range does a smaller but fancy large pony go for at 4 years old that is green but showing promise to be a top A show pony?

Also, what sites do you post on? I used warmbloods for sale for my yearling and found a great home, but because he is a pony hunter, are there better options out there? Would posting with the welsh registry get any play in the hunter world?

I am just checking out my options. Haven’t been in the pony hunter circle and was just curious about all of this for next year.

#2

For sale sites when I was looking for a pony I looked at the Thermal Classifieds on Facebook; bigeq.com; hunterjumper exchange and the warmbloods site. How safe he is with a kid will make a difference, as will his lead changes. Also, will you or a kid put any show mileage on him? I’d say the $15-$25k range depending on those factors and how tall he ends up. Maybe more if he’s super fancy.

Here’s an example of something priced in the “mid 5 figures”
https://bigeq.com/horse/listing/secretive-welsh-pony-hunter-22717/

and a lower priced one:
https://bigeq.com/horse/listing/hillary-connemara-hunter-13394/

https://bigeq.com/horse/listing/charlotte-welsh-cross-hunter-22345/

#3

Not much. They need to prove they can pack a kid around first and foremost then show style over fences WITH a rider, preferably said kid.

Until then, even if dead fancy, there’s ton of them out there in a saturated market of unproven Ponies lacking accomplished pony jocks to jump them around in enough shows to get them broke enough for the average kid and build enough of a resume to attract any attention.

Unless a buyer is looking to breed, the Model doesn’t add much, or the Hack even if it has not proven it will pack buyers child around a course. 14h isn’t going to help. Great mover, big step are fine but very subjective and need to prove that in the show ring.

Not trying to be mean here, there’s so many just like this one out there and they are really, really hard to sell unless you have good contacts with trainers who handle Ponies, and even they can’t move them until they are jumping around with a child and get some show miles doing so. You can’t know what he might be worth until you reach that point.

Do you have a rider lined up?

#4

This cannot be stated enough. With a small large, his height is definitely going to be a turn off for many buyers, especially trainers. It can be tough to sell a small large unless they are uber fancy. Everyone wants something that is going to be top of the line. :wink: If he does indeed have a big step, he’s just going to need to prove himself a bit in the show ring and show the trainers he can indeed get down those lines gracefully. :wink: I also agree in regards to finding a good pony jock to get him around the ring.

Does the pony have good bloodlines or come from a top pony hunter breeder? If so, that can potentially help in marketing the pony.

As someone who has been selling pony hunters for 20+ years and appraises them on a regular basis, I have to disagree with the 15-25K stated for a 14 HH greenie. :wink:

Bigeq.com is a major one to use for marketing ponies, in my opinion. Hunter jumper exchange is a good place for the really fancy ones.

I think the most important question right now is, what breed is he, what height were the parents and what does he currently measure right now? Are you sure he’s only going to finish 14 HH? Is there a chance of him being larger? Smaller? For example, if he were mine and he was a Welsh cross, I would want to see him at at least 14.0 HH to 14.1 HH already at 3.

#5

Hunter Jumper Exchange checking in (and at this point I might mention, since after 10 years we are still referred to as HJ Exchange instead of ExchangeHunterJumper, we have now acquired the domain HunterJumper.Exchange - you guys win!)

Back to the OP: Do not break his green status as a 4 year old. Put him in the Short Stirrup or Childrens or anything but the Green Pony division.

He is a very, very long way from proving he can make the 12’ step and 3’ oxers when the kid buries him into the line, which is what the $$$$$ large ponies do.

For a whole lot of them that green pony year at Pony Finals is their glory year. They pin Top 10 in the Large Greens (and the kid gets fantastic rosettes to take home) but are never seen in the division. Because when it comes down to it, with an errant kid on board they actually aren’t a 3’ pony.

There is some value in a quality eligible green pony that a kid can take to Finals and have a good shot at ribbons on - that division is really a day-of toss-up of who’s on and who’s not. It’s not a lot of value, but it is some. But once he’s broken green then he has to go prove he’s a legitimate large, on your dime. If he’s not, then he has to go prove he can cart around a blind monkey in the Short Stirrup or Childrens, again on your dime.

4 is very young for the pony market, which makes sense. These are small kids, 8 year olds are generally more appropriate for them. And as good as he is now you cannot imagine what 3 months with a hell-bent-on-missing kid can do to them.

Honestly, I’d consider putting him back in the pasture and bringing him back out at age 5. And then still not breaking green status, unless you plan to get him qualified. But I’m still iffy on whether that makes a difference.

#6

Excellent points! Agree 110% with all of them.

#7

I haven’t had him measured by a professional. Only at home. He is tad over 13.3 now. So I feel like he will be around 14 hands. I was hoping he would stay a medium. He was so close! But good thing is he has a big step and a great rhythm at the canter which I think is really important with a pony!!

I have no doubt he will be a good kids pony. My niece rides him bareback all the time and she is 6. He has a great mind so I don’t worry about that. Couldn’t have a better temperament.

Love all the input. I understand about his height might be an issue. I have tons of kids at my barn that will ride the pants off him, so he will have great rides early on. Right now he is in my backyard and I ride him a couple times a week.

I am also in a very small pony market so unless I go to California or east coast, he won’t have much competition. ( I am in AZ)mi think at the spring shows there were only 4 ponies in the green Larges.

I won’t put him in the greens until I know he will win. We are in very beginning stages right now.

His mom is 15.3 and dad is 11 hands.

I did look at all those sites. Thank you! Big Eq does give me some good ones to compare.

It does seem that there are less ponies on west coast compared to east. Hoping that is an advantage for me!! :wink:

I have even toyed with keeping him and just leasing him out once he has show miles.

#8

I am certainly in no rush with him. And he has a home with me forever if need be. I am not looking to sell him for a ridiculous amount. Just curious what prices are out there.

And that is probably a good idea to wait until 5 for the greens.

Thank you for the input. It does help me!!!

I am really smitten with this pony. So much so I am breeding my mare again this year to the dad again. Beside my pony being an inch too short, he really is perfect. Guess it’s better then being an inch too tall. :wink:

#9

I’m sure he is wonderful doing light work with the barn kids. But don’t hang your hat on that predicting future attitude. When they start the real work, learning things needed for getting around a course they may not agree with (like shortening/slowing down and lead changes)? Sometimes the wheels come off, less experienced the rider, more likely that’s where they are headed.

Folks who’ve seen enough uber amazing, expensive prospects turn into quirky Pro rides that will not tolerate average kid rides will want to wait. That goes double if it’s potentially shorter and might be a nickle short on step and scope for an honest Regular course in good company-you won’t know until you get there.

How is his Pony side bred? Whose his daddy? Some lines can be…warmer… if not hot, another reason not to buy one until it’s proven.

#10

This thread is useless without pictures.

#11

AND, we would like to know his pedigree please!! I think you got some good advice.

#12

[QUOTE=dags;8609897]
Do not break his green status as a 4 year old. Put him in the Short Stirrup or Childrens or anything but the Green Pony division.[/QUOTE]

100% agree with this. But the most important factor to his eventual value hasn’t been determined yet. How kid friendly will he be? There are a zillion fancy-moving and jumping ponies out there that are great with the adults on them. But they figure out fast what having a tiny-tot on board means. They stop or go around, get quick, hold a grudge when the kid misses, cut corners, skip lead changes, etc etc.
I think once you have the pony jumping around at home with you at 5/7yo, and have a kid doing the short stirrup or childrens with him successfully, that’s when you’ll see what his price point will be. The fancy ponies that pack the kids are worth a lot, and even if they are a little small for the division, if they can get the strides and jump/swap good with a kid, they are very marketable.

#13

I have a few pictures. I am riding him later today. Can get some photos.

Sounds like with ponies it really is a wait and see thing as far as how well he will tolerate a kid. So I can make sure all the kids at the barn ride him so he is used to everyone.

He is by Heavenly’s Final Revelation (pendocks larkspur) out of my 15.3 tb Candis Gold mare. My mare tied for high score mare in the country for Old/NA in 2008 and has had 3 premium babies besides this pony. Doesn’t really matter for this pony, but she is an excellent producer.

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#14

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#15

And yes thank you. All good advice.

I am excited to see him grow up and I keep all my homebreds and go slow with them until I feel they are ready. So he is no exception and will be with me until I find the right home for him!

He is dead quiet so far and his father was the same. Out of all my foals, he has been the easiest hands down. Loving his temperament which is why I am breeding back to the stallion.

#16

Here is mom and dad. Not sure why she is upside down. Anyone know how to fix that? They aren’t upside down in my photo files.

I would have liked to do HB with him but there is no pony breeding in my area. :frowning:

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#17

For those of you that look at thermal classifieds,

Is this a good place to bring a sale horse? Are there certain weeks that are better to bring them?

I have a young hunter too and haven’t been to thermal since it was Indio! :wink:

#18

Normally, Week 2 is one of the busiest. Although try-outs and sales can happen any day of the week, the most popular of those days are Mondays. :wink:

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