watch out for, though, is that they keep in mind the pony standard for the future. It’s lucky for U.S. breeders that the oversized ponies (14.3–15.3 hands) are so popular here in the states, because some will always overgrow whether you want them to or not! But U.S. kids will want to compete at an international level someday, and in those competitions, like in the pony hunter ring, 14.2 is finito. “Rideability and character is the point. Otherwise, there’s
nothing worse,” Schalter continues. “If you need a professional to train the pony so that your son or daughter can ride him, then what’s the point?” He also adds, “We need to watch out with the ponies that their gaits don’t become unrideable by children. We don’t need the Weltmeyer gaits that wow everybody which nobody can ride.”
Breed DEVELOPMENT “It takes time and generations to consistently produce ponies of a certain type, size, character and athletic ability,” Schalter says. “In America, you have the Welsh ponies and the good Thoroughbreds and Arabs as well as the small Warmblood mares. It is possible to build up a breed like the German Riding Pony this way, but it takes time.” “Some people think if
you just crossbreed Welsh B with Thoroughbred, and again, cross that on Welsh B and Thoroughbred, that you eventually get to the riding pony. But without some care, this cross can go in any
direction,” Schalter says. “You need a really good small Warmblood, or a Warmblood-Arab cross mare, and use a Welsh B stallion on her. And then you breed that resulting mare to one of the good German Riding Ponies in this country already, one with a good, strong mother line, and you are going in the right direction.” “Remember, there’s still a fair bit of Welsh B in the
German Riding Pony, pretty close up,” Schalter says. “One of the more popular stallions in Germany was Constantin, who is pure Welsh B. He sired a good stallion now here in the United States as well—Chardonnay.” In Germany, the development of the German Riding
Pony began nearly 50 years ago when the word pony was nearly synonymous with Shetland, according to Bernhard Tschoepke, former judge and breeder of Welsh Cobs and honorary member of the PRPS verband in Germany. “Interest was building
in those early days in developing a German breed of pony suitable for the sport disciplines,” Tschoepke says. “Some early attempts were made crossing Haflinger with Arab or Thoroughbred. This was not too successful. They had a little better luck crossing the Dülmener, a native German pony, with Arabs, but still this was not really successful. And so they began bringing in the British ponies —the Welsh, mostly Section B’s, the New Forest pony, as well as some Eastern European ponies, and crossing these with the Arabs and Thoroughbreds. “People back then were very proud to own a purebred
pony. The early German Riding Pony in our region was for people who didn’t have enough money for a purebred, and the pony shows were for English-bred ponies only,” Tschoepke continues. “The German Riding Pony had no shows or sport at first. But all this changed when people began to do sport with these ponies, and they won! Soon after that there were some high-scoring German Riding Ponies, and the breed just took off. All the societies embraced them. “Over the years the societies established rules, and
eventually the FN, which is like a governing minister, oversaw the books.” Tschoepke explains. “The goal was to produce a real riding-type pony. And so it was agreed not to allow the cross of Haflinger or Fjord with the German Riding Pony. These breeds have their own books, and their own brands.” “It took many years to establish the studbooks and
type for the German Riding Pony,” according to Tschoepke. “First there was little or no Warmblood, and now there are pure Warmbloods in, and the German Riding Ponies are becoming more and more like little horses.”
v v v So where do you go to buy a German Riding Pony?
They’re becoming easier to find right here in America, and many registries can help connect buyers directly with pony breeders. Options in Germany abound with many districts offering top riding ponies at their traditional auctions. The popular Pony Forum sales in Germany are perfect if you’d like to see and try 30 or 40 sale ponies at one location and negotiate with silent bids within each pony’s listed price category. However you find the German Riding Ponies, or they find
you, be aware that your riding life could change forever in a big way! These ponies tend to make a big impact on their owners of all ages. Next time you see a pony or cob with Warmblood type gaits at a dressage show, there’s a good chance it’s a GRP which, by the way, could also stand for Great Riding Partner.
WT
Top left: Brio by Beaujolais by a St. Prem. Hanoverian mare (Photo by Shorthorse Studios). Bottom left: Popstar is a filly by Popeye out of a small Oldenburg mare that won the ISR Sport Pony class at Devon 2009. Top right: Sterling by Beaujolais out of a GRP/Cob mare.
Warmbloods Today 35
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