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And it seems he can. After


earning his lifetime approval from the Oldenburg/ISR while still in Germany with a stallion index score of 227.5 points, which ranked him among the top 20 of all ISR/Oldenburg NA stallions (horses and ponies), Popeye went on to win 2007 Reserve Champion of the USDF/GAIG East Coast Stallion Final. He was a star in


the Westfalen breeding class at Dressage at Devon as well, winning with a score of over 80%, one of the highest of the entire weekend. Popeye didn’t stop with the breed shows though. He


continued his winning ways through second level in 2008, winning the East Coast Pony Cup as well as multiple USDF All-Breeds awards. In 2009 he came out in the fall at third level with scores in the high 60s. Popeye’s healthy self image was further reinforced when he was chosen as cover pony of the 2010 USEF Dressage Pony Handbook. Popeye is licensed for breeding with the ISR/Oldenburg, the Westfalen Verband and the RPSI. “Popeye moves just like a Warmblood,” DiBerardinis


continues. “The German Riding Ponies are so horse-like in how they move and in their conformation, that if you don’t have some perspective, or something to compare them to, they look just like horses. If you miss that he’s 14.2 hands, you’d think he’s just like any of our other stallions.”


Amateur APPEAL “But where you see the pony is in the personality and rideability, as well as the hardiness. These ponies have good survival instincts, and they are just sensible.” DiBerardinis agrees that the Americans riding German Riding Ponies are generally adult amateur women who have ridden the big horses much of their life and are ready for something a little closer to the ground. Mare owners booking to Popeye are choosing him either to downsize their big Warmblood mares, hoping to create that perfect-sized prospect for themselves down the road, or to complement their talented sport pony mares. DiBerardinis credits Lendon Grey with helping put ponies on the dressage map in the United States thanks to her acclaimed FEI dressage ponies Seldom Seen and Last Scene.“No one’s worked harder than Lendon in highlighting interest in dressage ponies in America,” DiBerardinis says. “She proved that ponies can be competitive at the highest levels of dressage. And now we’re proving that it’s a mistake to limit ponies to child riders. Both children and adults can have real successes on these ponies and enjoy every minute along the way.”


34 July/August 2010


“Rideability and character is the point. ...If you need a professional to train the pony so that your son or daughter can ride him, then what’s the point?”


Getting ORGANIZED Luckily, opportunities to show have expanded for dressage ponies in the United States in the last few years. While ponies are still excluded from CDI competitions such as the Olympics, any child or adult may compete a pony of any height in open dressage shows through Grand Prix level. And while Germany has long held separate Pony Championships, America is just recently following suit with the National Pony Cup held in Cincinnati, Ohio. The National Pony Cup, scheduled for July 29–August 1 of 2010, brings together ponies of all breeds and ages, and offers divisions for both juniors and adults as well as materiale and breed classes. American registries are also jumping on the pony


bandwagon. Our two largest German-parent based registries, the German Oldenburg Verband (GOV) and the Rheinland Pfalz-Saar International (RPSI), both have separate books for their breed’s smaller cousins. The North American Sport Pony Registry and the International Sporthorse Registry (ISR) both register and brand German Riding Ponies. The Westfalen registry in the U.S. brings in German judges to brand and inspect their ponies as well as horses. Finally, the Hanover Pony Registry also registers German Riding Ponies of Hanoverian descent in the United States, although they have no affiliation with the American Hanoverian Association. Most Warmblood and riding pony


breeding organizations in the U.S. now sanction the North American Stallion Test at Silver Creek Farm


in Oklahoma as the official site of stallion 30 and 70 day tests, including a scaled-down version specifically for pony stallions, according to the official FN standards (Germany’s equestrian association). Otto Schalter, Stud Book director of the PRPS, the


German parent organization for the Rheinland Pfalz- Saar International, claims that ponies are big business in Germany. He predicts that the market will continue to grow in America for both children and small adults. “These ponies are just brilliant for small amateurs and kids,” Schalter says. “One thing U.S. breeders will have to


Top left: Popeye standing at Hilltop Farm, owned by Summit Sporthorses. Right: Montgomery by Makuba out of a Holsteiner mare won the USDF First Level Horse of the Year with a median score of 75.556. Ridden by Kathryn Barry.


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