Zim’s Ponies - revisiting

[Valerosa]

I’m interested in starting up a new chain about Zim’s ponies. I broke and trained and showed many of them each year from 1965-1972 when I rode for Mrs Zimmerman ( Ira and Richard’s mother). At the time I joined her, I had my own large pony hunter, Lacy Grey, and Ira was getting ready to age out of the junior level at 18. So she asked me to show most of their new stock each year.
To correct some of the misinformation that has been on this board- the Zim’s Ponies were only named with the prefix “Zim” if the sire was Fox Hollow Singing Star. She had an arrangement with that farm that she would take anywhere from 5-20 two year olds each winter that were his off spring and train, then show and sell them. If you bought a Zim pony you knew the sire was Fox Hollow Singing Star and the pony or horse was broken and trained , shown via Mrs Z or Richard when he was under 18 and then Ira til he was 18, or me.

No one else could use the name- including Richard.
The ponies were true show stock: and knew they were special.
Some of the ones I helped to break and train and then show were : ZIM’s Starlet ( sold to Maria Shriver), Zim’s Sing Along, Zim’s Boy, Zim’s Personality, Zim’s Touch of Magic, Zim’s Magic Moment, Zim’s Magic Touch, Zim’s Available, Zim’s Little Pal, Zim’s Little Fella, Zim’s Flower Drum, and my favorite: Zim’s Perfection. Others were Zim’s Forget Me Not, Zim’s sunny Day, Zim’s Pretty Girl, Zim’s Shadow, Zim’s Chimney Top, Zim’s Snowstorm,
Many of her ponies were renamed by the new owner but were Fox Hollow Singing Star babies and originally trained by Mrs Z ( Ira) and were national champions: Lacega, Needles N’ Pins, Foxwood ( shown as Junior Hunter), Top Quality and Perfection.

I was only 11 when she asked me to start showing her ponies and I knew it was a great honor as no one else was entrusted with the task- and I continued until I was 18.

They were very special ponies.
After 50 years away from showing hunters/ jumpers I came back to the world of equestrian sports. Last year I bought a lovely horse as a dressage prospect, training her with a renowned international trainer in Wellington.

[Stono_Ferry]

When we were kids my sister had a nice pony that she outgrew and he was sold to Richard Zimmerman, pony was renamed “Zim’s Hit Parade” I don’t recall that he was registered or that we had any clue about his breeding so not sure how that worked.

[Valerosa]

Yes, I remember that pony. But I didn’t train or show that one. What years did you own Hit Parade?

[Valerosa]

There were some ponies that Richard would just put the name “ Zim” in front of trying to sell it under that name. His mother did not like that- she had built up the franchise and reputation on those ponies and she would be livid. He thought that being anttached to training by someone in the Zimmerman family was enough to make it marketable as a Zim pony. Again- I remember that name but I think it was after I stopped riding for Mrs Z when I turned 18.

[TWilson]

I had a pony out of Zim’s Flower Drum. We bought him as a coming three year old in the late 1970s. He won every model we entered in the pony hunters.

[Valerosa]

Wow! So good to know that Flower Drum had a foal and passed on those gorgeous genes!! She was beautiful and so sweet. What a gorgeous mover also. What did you name him? And where did you live ? ( was Flower Drum still in MD at that time?)

[Valerosa]

And was he a good hunter jumper? They all had a natural ability once their jumps for a perfect take off.

The last I saw of Flower Drum was when carol and Sue White bought her from Mrs Z and then Sue out grew her after Carol did —- never knew what became of her. If I had the money back then I would have bought her.
She was finer boned than most of the Fox hollow singing Star large ponies- she must have had an Arabian or a large Welsh mother

[Valerosa]

Flower Drum and my large pony, Lacy Grey, could have passed as twins. My pony was often mistaken as a Zim pony.

[TWilson]

I don’t know much about Flower Drum. She was at the Devon Horse Show on pony breeding day in the broodmare class the year we bought my pony - that was the only time I saw her. She was handled by Gerry Goldman and I think she was second in the class.

My pony had a lot of talent but he was a bit bratty and very green, but we did well at the shows. I outgrew him pretty quickly so I didn’t have him very long. He was sold to the west coast and I was on the east coast so I never saw him again.

[Valerosa]

What year was that?

[TWilson]

Not sure exactly. I said late 70s before but after thinking about it I think that was a different pony. This one might have been early 80s.

[Valerosa]

That ( early 80s) would have been about the time she was breeding.

[TWilson]

That was when we bought him, so he would have been born in the late 70s.

[neigh]

You forgot Donnie

[Valerosa]

Makes sense I showed her when she was a 3-4 year old around 1968-69

[Valerosa]

But Donnie did not show that much— his brothers Ira and Richard outshined him and Donnie was quiet

Jimmy showed also— but not like Ira and Richard. Jimmy went into show jumping setups and course designs

[neigh]

Donnie showed Nutcracker in the pony jumpers. Then he went to the racetrack. Donnie was quiet ciz he had a speech impairment.

[neigh]

Wasn’t there a sister as well???

[Valerosa]

Yes, Carolyn. Very nice.

When I was riding for Mrs Z, Carolyn’s son, Brett started to learn to show. He was about 8 and I was 11. He showed some, but it just wasn’t his cup of tea. The hope was that he would be able to fill the shoes of Ira but it never came to be.
when I stopped showing at age 18 I hadn’t seen him in years.

Donnie was a great guy. Nice as could be and very sweet. But the best riders were Richard and Ira. Ira had very good hands and a nice temperament, and always kind to the horses.
Of course, when I started with Mrs Z, all of the children, excepts Ira had left home and were living their own lives. Richard started and ran Variety Horse Center in Columbia Md and he had a big following. He was a lot like his father.

Mrs.Z knew the horse world- Mr Z was more from the tracks and the way of race training. But she knew how to teach horses to jump and how to pick good hunter prospects.

[Valerosa]

Starting the summer I turned 10, she asked me to stay at her place all summer. My parents lived right outside of Washington DC and my dad was not well- so the arrangement worked well. And I kept my ponies there as well. I learned a lot those years. Things are so different nowadays with trainers and pupils and families.
Make no mistake- she was the business man of the family, and what she said, people did. Mr Z had a few horses as his project each year but he pretty much stayed out of the headlights and had very little interaction with students and families.