Magnolia (Makuba x Courtash Kotton Kandy) from Whispered Wish Weser-Ems.
“You don’t have to go to Europe anymore to get a great GRP, but I think that perception continues.”
fine-tuned for sport for generations. We in America need to use these genetic building blocks already in place, along with the top-producing ponies we have here already, to create our own outstanding ponies.” “There are some very nice ponies being bred here now. Riders and trainers need to
look first to the U.S.-bred GRPs for the hunter ring as well as dressage,” she adds. Dianna has her own example of a GRP licensed stallion bred for dressage that has
gone on to a successful career in the hunter ring. Antony Quinn is a 2004 imported Weser-Ems stallion (now gelded) sired by Antony Hopkins, the Polish pony eventing champion in 2008 who represented Denmark in the EU Championships in 2009. Antony Quinn was champion in the qualifier and was runner-up in the 2008 Weser- Ems 4-Year-Old Materiale Championship. He also had sired six foals in Germany before making the trip to Fox Creek Farm in Kansas, where he changed gears to become a winning pony hunter. “The pictures of Antony in Germany, and then here in the U.S. ridden by a 12-year-
old, say it all—these ponies are athletes with the most amazing minds. They can go in whichever direction we ask them to go.” Heather Luing, owner of Whispered Wish Weser-Ems, stands the licensed German
Riding Pony Highlife’s Burberry, by Bodyguard–Black Boy, out of a linebred Constantin mother. She began breeding GRPs in 2002, and while her passion is producing dressage ponies, she has seen about 50 percent of her foals go into hunter careers. “I have found that many of the ponies are multi-talented. I have a good idea
early on if a foal has potential as a hunter. What I have found interesting is that many times the dressage and hunter people end up liking the same ponies. The only real exception would be if the pony has a ton of knee action,” she explains. How does a GRP differ from an American-bred Welsh pony in the show ring?
Heather thinks that overall they tend to be more horse-like in their proportions. Although in Germany they are not bred for hunters, but they are bred to be athletic in sport. “I have yet to meet a GRP that was not a fairly good jumper, and most are great jumpers. They tend to have quite a lot of scope over fences since in Germany they often compete over much larger fences,” she says. Heather thinks the pony trends are following the horse trends. Where the
Warmbloods used to be unusual, they are now more the norm in the hunter ring. “I can tell you that of the ponies I have sold to hunter careers, the buyers were specifically looking for a GRP. So they are gaining popularity for sure, and I expect this will continue to grow. It is not overnight though,” she adds. For breeders, Heather finds selling ponies to the dressage market is a little more
user friendly. “Dressage buyers are often willing to invest in a youngster and bring them along themselves with the help of a trainer. They also tend to shop on their own and be quite independent in their decision making. They tend to look at classifieds, websites, etc. I have found breaking into the hunter market as a breeder to be extremely challenging. They want a made pony or close to it and often trainers seem to shop by networking—it is hard to break into that loop. To some extent advertising seems to be frowned on and it is hard to get your name out there without spending a fortune on showing. As a breeder, you simply can’t afford to do that,” she says. “What I wish is that hunter trainers would become more interested in working with
Cannavaro, by FS Champion De Luxe, in Germany (1), sold to Cindy Bohn, ridden by Abigail Russo. (2) Laurel Bennett owns him now; his US name is The Foreigner.
breeders,” she adds. “You don’t have to go to Europe anymore to get a great GRP, but I think that perception continues.” Whether bred here or abroad, the German Riding Ponies are clearly providing
an exciting alternative for pony hunters. As more and more young riders have the chance to ride these miniature Warmbloods, the effects on the discipline will likely be profound.
86 January/February 2013
Courtesy of Chad Keenum
Courtesy of Chad Keenum
Courtesy Heather Luing
Courtesy Heather Luing
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108