Originally Posted 05/19/2015
When people talk of the German Riding Pony, very often it is in the context of a 'breed'. But dig into some pedigrees and you'll discover this young breed is actually quite an interesting combination of other breeds of horses and ponies (Warmblood, Welsh B, Arabs, and TB), of which have been carefully selected. Pair pedigree with end result and you may find yourself considering this as more of a 'type' of pony rather than a breed.
Very often it seems, when people new to breeding select a 'breed' to produce, there is an assumption made that the animals within that breed are essentially the same so if you cross one with another you'll still produce a quality animal because, after all, it is 'purebred'. But what good breeders understand is, physical and temperament characteristic traits are what people should be looking to cross and compliment, more than pedigrees.
So while we at Connaught Green Farms are not breeding ‘pure’ German Riding ponies (GRP), in the sense of the product of 50 years in the making., we are still following a similar track What we aim to produce is an athletic pony with a reliable temperament that is physically capable of the FEI levels of the dressage sport. And while we may not have 'pure' GRP mares, we are utilizing the template from the Germans and applying the concept of hybrid vigor to create the best of both parents.
Take for example our coming 2 year old Katie. Her dam, Tess, by pedigree is a Shetland x Anglo Arab pony mare standing 13.2 hands. Athletic in her own right, with some very strong conformational attributes, Tess is also in need of some improvements in certain areas which would increase her level of athleticism
When looking for the 'best' stallion to cross, we were highly selective in choosing. The end result is Katie, who is a very athletic mare, with a solid temperament and possesses the physical ability to do the upper level work. We plan to take Katie to approved German Riding pony or similar type (Welsh, Connemara etc.) stallions to further improve her good traits and strengthen her weaknesses.
While it can be argued that we are not technically breeding German Riding ponies, what we are breeding the GRP-type, with an American twist.