SarhasMom,
Thank you :).
Your ponies are adorable too. The grey looks like a real love bug and the chestnut looks so sweet, you got a deal on her.
WHOLEY CATS!!!
She might just actually BE a pony!!! My little roan, I mean. Well that will just kick A$$ !!!
Funny, I never thought to measure her… untill now…
These statements are not true and are not the reason to buy a pony versus a horse. In addition, many adults who show at the higher levels can’t use a pony becasue they dont have the stride to the the AA’s or A/O’s. Ponies have and do compete successfully in the specials/mod adults. As for pleasure riding, most ponies are a hell of a lot harder to deal with on a regular basis than horses. I think it depends on your target market and type of pony.
Well I breed German Riding Ponies and since my oldest foal is coming three…I will soon be riding them too. German Riding Ponies have big gaits ideal for dressage and alot of scope over fences. They also have very good temperments and are not in anyway like a steriotypical pony (except size of course) Yes, they are somewhat expensive (like WB’s are…generations of selective breeding does have its costs)…particularly if you have to import them (tack on 7-15k for importation alone)…but more and more breeders are producing them in the US now. So, if you want a GRP…look for some of the US breeders producing exceptional foals and get a bargain:)
Pony Power!
Sport Pony?
Did anyone read the lovely article in the pony breeding issue about sport ponies (and the commentary, too) ahem?
I’m 5’3" and reguarly compete ponies. I’ve been competing my mare in Training level and children’s/adult jumpers and most of the time I’m the only one on a pony in the division. Now, I’m not a junior, so I couldn’t show her in the pony hunters like I used to, and practically as far as I can see and with loads of research, adults can compete ponies in loads of disciplines! I do believe taht the “baby boomer” market is hugely into the ponies… for lots of reasons. Read the articles and you’ll know why. :winkgrin:
Connemaras are my forte and I’m throwing in a picture of my mare and I competing at the AECs for good measure (we were the only ponies in my training level division).
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h74/EmilyDaily/_KIT5057.jpg
Trust me… this pony and many Connemaras do not have “pony gaits” and can easily get down the lines. With comfort too!
Here’s her 2 yo daughter by our stallion. She also DOES NOT have “pony gaits”. Don’t underestimate the ponies, if you’re small (like me!) it just makes sense! 
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h74/EmilyDaily/tagbabies029.jpg
[QUOTE=GreyDun;2032469]
Did anyone read the lovely article in the pony breeding issue about sport ponies (and the commentary, too) ahem?
Whisch article was this? In chronicle? If so, nope I have not gotten a chance to get a copy. Can you summerize? What is the commentary that you mentioned?
Thanks
I’ve got all y’all beat!!
http://s11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/syoung78/20060719/?action=view¤t=2.jpg
(not me in the pic, but I have also ridden this pony!!) She sticks at 8.3 hands 
Oh wait, you said small adults on ponies, not adults on small ponies…
In all seriousness though, I’m such a pony addict. That’s really what I feel most comfortable on. And I’m so hooked on haffies right now - they’re really just like hairy warmbloods. Movement, selective breeding, all of that. And of course their great temperment. And a price tag I can actually afford 
Here’s the articles… I hope you can see them!
Irinbessflint –––– LOVED the pics! too funny!
[QUOTE=goponies;2022554]
I’ve often wondered why thare aren’t more adults riding ponies. I’m 5`2`` and was put on behemoths when I was taking lessons. One was 18 hands!!! And I never had fun riding one of those giants…[/QUOTE]
Because we know there is something between 14.2hh and 18hh.
Why can’t you? There are oodles of unrated divisions, many open to any horse/rider combination.
i’d like to hear more discussion about which pony breeds have the biggest,loftiest gaits. i’ve got a pony collection started, with a barn almost full with a pair of haffies,a 14’2 mustang and a 15’1 arab/draft cross. they all fit so nicely in my little barn and are so fun for trails and driving. i’m not small at 5’7 and 180 lbs,but i only feel big on the smallest haflinger. i’m taking a break from lessons this year and spending tons of time hacking and occasionally jumping small logs,and trying to use the principles i’ve learned from dressage.
eventually i’ll go back into training ,and of course i’ll need another pony when i do,so i’d like to hear more opinions about which pony breeds excell at the those comfy gaits. i loved the smooth rocking horse canter of my big saddlebred (rip),and have been on a 17 hand perch/paint that had an incredible lofty trot. that’s what i want in my next pony,without losing the handiness and personality traits of the pony. i particularly apprciate the combination of a drafty/cooler head plus pony antics. mine are sensible,darn near bomb-proof and forward enough to be fun. only the mustang is too pokey for me(go figure!) while the haffies and arab/ctross are eager to get going.
edited to add that new pony must also be comfy bareback!
Add me to the list of adults who ride ponies. I just bought a lovely 13.3 Morgan mare. A horse, i know, but pony size! I just love the big guys, my retired guy, Woody, is a 17h Hanoverian, who has been retired for 4 years now. I bought a Percheron as my next horse, as a 2 year old, and by the time he was 4, he was 17.2h. I am little, 5’1, and had a heck of a time getting on him. I then was in a car accident, and found out that I had the bones of a 50+ year old, and was likely to shatter if I fell off or got had a bad fall. The Perch is now the mount of a 6’4 gentleman in Vermont, and they are the perfect match.
My new little mare is the perfect match for me, she loves to trail ride, will go through anything, loves the cross country stuff, will jump the moon, and even drives. I plan on teaching her some low level dressage this spring.
My daughter’s mare is 14.3 and is a little wonder girl too. Versatile, fun, and just the right size.
Look into Connemaras, German Riding Ponies or Welsh crosses. All are bred to be rideable and athletic with out putting too much distance between your bum and the ground :).
My 13.3 quarab (Arab quarter-type cross) had GREAT gaits; so smooth you didn’t NEED to post. Nice and long and LOW. Great SHOULDER, too.
Quick Question?
So my mustang will probably end up being somewhere between14.1-14.3 (Which is fine because I am 5’1".) Since she is a horse I can still show her A/O, as an adult right (even though the WB’s and T.B’s will tower me)? I know I would be able to event her and do dressage, but what about hunter-jumpers?
Thanks guys.
[QUOTE=GreyDun;2032469]
Did anyone read the lovely article in the pony breeding issue about sport ponies (and the commentary, too) ahem?
I’m 5’3" and reguarly compete ponies. I’ve been competing my mare in Training level and children’s/adult jumpers and most of the time I’m the only one on a pony in the division. Now, I’m not a junior, so I couldn’t show her in the pony hunters like I used to, and practically as far as I can see and with loads of research, adults can compete ponies in loads of disciplines! I do believe taht the “baby boomer” market is hugely into the ponies… for lots of reasons. Read the articles and you’ll know why. :winkgrin:
Connemaras are my forte and I’m throwing in a picture of my mare and I competing at the AECs for good measure (we were the only ponies in my training level division).
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h74/EmilyDaily/_KIT5057.jpg
Trust me… this pony and many Connemaras do not have “pony gaits” and can easily get down the lines. With comfort too!
Here’s her 2 yo daughter by our stallion. She also DOES NOT have “pony gaits”. Don’t underestimate the ponies, if you’re small (like me!) it just makes sense!
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h74/EmilyDaily/tagbabies029.jpg[/QUOTE]
Cannot say enough about Connemara Pony Gaits.
They are NOT pony gaits at all. Do not tell my stallion that he is not 16 hands :lol: he’s completely convinced he’s a big boy and is extremely comfy and smooth.
Loves to jump too - if you turn him out in the arena with a jump he’ll jump it for fun. Our friends in Ireland who kept him for us prior to his importation used to laugh at him - ears up and enjoying himself.
In fact jumps are the only way to wake up that lazybones - he’ll plod around the arena at a snails pace but the second he ses a jump his ears go up and he becomes animated :lol:
The fences are now about 5 foot at our farm because he was popping over them and visiting the mares - if he can get his head over it he can jump it seems to be his motto.
My family has bred Connemaras for 45 years in Ireland we have a farm back there still as well as one here in the States. My first pony was a Connemara mare who ended up a showjumper in Sweden. She did not have pony gaits at all and in fact probably would have ended up a Dressage pony had she not showed such aptitude for jumping :lol:
sass,your connemaras are gorgeous animals! i’ve always wanted one, but i’ve have heard frequently that as a breed they may be considered hotter than say a haffie. this is a concern,since i don’t bounce as well as i used to! what are your thoughts on this? i realise that we’re speaking in generalities,of course. dales and welsh cobs seem to thought of as a lttle cooler. i wonder…
and,i have a friend who recomends i try a peruvian paso! she swears that while they’re very forward and can be a little high,they are actually very submissive and willing. and very smooth to ride with the compact and muscular body type i like so much. hmmm,so many ponies,will i live to try them all?!
[QUOTE=suz;2035863]
sass,your connemaras are gorgeous animals! i’ve always wanted one, but i’ve have heard frequently that as a breed they may be considered hotter than say a haffie. this is a concern,since i don’t bounce as well as i used to! what are your thoughts on this? i realise that we’re speaking in generalities,of course. dales and welsh cobs seem to thought of as a lttle cooler. i wonder…
and,i have a friend who recomends i try a peruvian paso! she swears that while they’re very forward and can be a little high,they are actually very submissive and willing. and very smooth to ride with the compact and muscular body type i like so much. hmmm,so many ponies,will i live to try them all?![/QUOTE]
Thank you
We’ve bred Connemaras for 45 years and I will tell you that they are extremely quiet. The American ones have a bit more TB in them than the Irishbred which are our ponies - which might contribute to the rumors of hotness you have heard.
We brought our mares to their very first show this year and the one that won Supreme Champion was later kidnapped by our friends two little girls 5 and 7 and they were both leading her at the same time. Lady is an extremly young mare and was in a new place with very little children and she was a gem and EXTREMELY careful with her feet.
At the Inspection they raved about her temperament and used all of our mares as examples of type strengths and were poking and prodding Lady and she was falling asleep during it.
My first pony was a little 14 hander in Ireland who would jump as high as her head if you’d let her. She was a bit more ‘up’ than most Connemaras I have worked with but her former owners were idiots to be very polite and she was mishandled and extremely antsy around men but tried her heart out for me. She’s now in Sweden as a showjumper and doing well. She never quite lost her distrust of men but loved little kids and was very much a pocket pony. I still miss her :sadsmile:
We still have her mother who we bought with her 10 years ago and we had her for 5 years and she was a broodie the entire time when my father wondered if she’d ever even been sat on - so he tossed me up on her and I rode around her with a halter and leadrope bareback. Jenny is now our babysitter pony - put the visiting cousins on her and lead them around giving pony rides.
I cannot say enough good things about the Connemara temperament our mares were literally pulled out of a 70 acre field where they’d been living their entire lives as yearlings - 2 weeks of handling and then put on a plane and flown to the US and then a 17 hour trip from NY to our farm arriving at 2 a.m. and were saints. The driver couldn’t get over them especially after bringing around high-strung racehorses.
Our boarders all love them and want their own ponies and keep telling us to keep an eye on them or else they’ll end up gone! :lol:
Love my ponies wouldn’t want anything else!
My Grandpa has me well trained :lol:
Grandpa: What are the best horses in the world?
Me: Connemaras of course!
I remember about 15 years ago, Lendon Gray was riding a gorgeous grey pony at Dressage at Saratoga. She said that she much preferred ponies and small horses because the big horses took way to much work to get and keep them moving. I don’t remember his name, but I do have some lovely photos of him. I know he wasn’t the only pony that she competed on successfully.
Pam
His name was Seldom Seen and he was AMAZING.
He was, however, at least an inch over pony, because you cannot compete CDI FEI on ponies. I believe he was 14.3 and some fractions.
I would love, love, LOVE to see piccies of him. My “brush with fame” was holding him once while L used a porta-potty at a big NEDA show. (she knew the rider I was grooming for, we were there, she was next… :lol: )
![http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h74/EmilyDaily/tagbabies029.jpg[/QUOTE]](http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h74/EmilyDaily/tagbabies029.jpg%5B/QUOTE%5D){kind=link}