I saw a draft x welsh pony at a show once. He was an accident - yearling draft stallion got in with the pony mare. He looked like a ~14H draft with some refinement. BTW, the mare was there as well (both showing in driving classes), she was ~12H.
Ladyj,
It’s unfortunate if you passed on a nice Friesian/Warmblood because of concerns about breed snobbery I’m going to try to share my love of Friesian Sporthorses with you
I own, ride, train and breed Friesian Sporthorses and I love them. I’ve converted almost entirely from Warmbloods to Friesian Sporthorses. I’m in Florida and I’ve competed all over the state, winning classes from White Fences to Canterbury riding Friesian Sporthorses. I haven’t yet encountered any breed bias that I’m aware of.
It’s also worth noting that Friesian Sporthorses (predominantly Friesian/Warmblood or Friesian/TB) make up only a tiny percentage of all of the Friesian crosses bred. So considering FSA’s have such small numbers, I think their successes are even more noteworthy.
My stallion (Friesian/TB, FSA registered/approved) is currently competing at Grand Prix. He just scored a 64% at Grand Prix this past weekend, and he only just turned 11 last week. This horse has won so many dressage classes and “high score champion” awards I’ve lost track – he’s definitely holding his own in open dressage competition. He’s also made it into the USDF Horse of the Year Top 20 twice – in 2008 he was 19th with a Training Level average of 72.45% and in 2012 he was 15th with a Prix St Georges average of 69.74%. I think your trainer would like him
And he’s not the only FSA holding his own in open dressage competition… FSA’s have made the USDF Horse of the Year Top 20 at Training Level, First Level, Second Level, Prix St Georges, and Intermediare II. A son of the legendary pinto FSA stallion Nico is also currently competing at Grand Prix – he’s ridden by Jim Koford (not a name to sneeze at) and has competed from White Fences to Lamplight. Again, I think these results are pretty impressive especially considering how few Friesian Sporthorses there are.
FSA’s are also holding their own in the USDF Dressage Sport Horse Breeding classes. The Southeast Region’s USDF foal champion in 2011 was an FSA, and the Southeast Region’s USDF foal Reserve Champion in 2013 was an FSA. And some shows have also started offering “Friesian Sporthorse (FSA)” breed classes at USDF DSHB shows too. My stallion was ranked #10 on the USEF “Leading Dressage Breeding Sires” list last year, surrounded by Warmblood stallions.
I recently attended the USDF Sport Horse judging seminar at Iron Spring Farm. The instructors were careful to caution against breed bias, and one of them even specifically mentioned having seen some Friesian/TBs and Friesian/Warmbloods who would hold their own in any competition. (As a breeder of Friesian Sporthorses, I could have fallen out of my chair from happiness to hear this validated like this.)
Anyhow, at this point I suppose my post is getting long…
I invite you to visit my website: www.RiverOaksFarm.net and browse my horses.
And here is Lexington’s page: http://www.riveroaksfarm.net/Lexington.html
and a video of him: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJOpDlAkETQ&list=UUJVwCVR56RemPbYVgunGw1w&index=1&feature=plcp,
and some of his offspring: http://www.riveroaksfarm.net/LexingtonOffspring.html,
and some of the Friesian Sporthorses I’ve bred: http://www.riveroaksfarm.net/RiverOaksFarmFoals.html
Lest anyone misunderstand – I’m not promoting the irresponsible crossbreeding of Friesians AT ALL. There are many (most?) breeds which just don’t tend to cross well with Friesians at all for creating offspring suitable for sport. But there seems to be a niche for adding Warmblood and/or Thoroughbred blood to the Friesian, perhaps because Warmbloods and Thoroughbreds are strong in areas where the Friesian is the weakest, and I’ve seen FSA’s which are as nice or nicer than their Warmblood counterparts. There is a huge amount of potential there for people who want to responsibly crossbreed Friesians. Friesian Sporthorses have definitely become my “breed of choice”, and I think as more and more people become familiar with them, we’ll see even more converts…
If you’re still reading – thank you. Thank you for taking the time to consider my view and my information and my links.
If you (or anyone!) ever wants to talk about FSA’s please feel free to email me at RiverOaksFarmFL@aol.com . I don’t visit COTH often, but I check my email regularly and I love to “talk Friesian Sporthorse”.
Happy riding!
I’m glad you posted. :yes: Your stallion is in a league of his own.