Good Stallions Make Great Geldings

Originally published March 2013

‘When in doubt, geld him’.

I am not an elitist, but seriously, the world has plenty enough stallions readily at hand.  Yours, unless supremely exquisite or of the rarest genetics that the world cannot live without, would make a very nice gelding. 

This, coming from a person who becomes practically giddy when I learn of a new German Riding pony stallion available in the USA.  But over the last several years, the more I learn, the more I realize that we (as Americans) are not disciplined enough in deciding when to geld.  In fact, there are stallions I’ve seen and met in person for whom I would strongly recommend a good, solid geld.  Of course I didn’t say this to the owner, but nevertheless, a lens of objectivity needs to be applied.

That is where I believe the Germans (and Dutch) currently and will likely always have the advantage.  Their well-established system of inspections, rating and annual competitions keep their breeders consistently improving…which also means removing some genetics from the pool, thereby continuing to sharpen the focus on the ‘desired’ result.  As subjective as that is. 

Will Americans ever get there?  On the Warmblood side of things, I believe we’re well on our way.  But with a breed that is emerging in popularity (American Dressage pony) a small registry in a very large geography, my inclination is no….at least, not for many more years. 

So until then, keep a keen watch  for those stallions that ought to be geldings….I think you’ll know them when you see them.  It helps to keep a visual in your mind’s eye of what ‘good’ looks like.

What 'Good' Looks Like

Originally Posted 02/10/2013

For every endeavor, a person needs a goal…a representative or embodiment of what 'good' looks like.

For us, it is Rembrandt DDH - http://rembrandtddh.com/

Enough said.

Well, ok - just one more thought.  Our fingers are crossed that he will eventually ship frozen to the states.

Research, Research, Research!

Originally Posted 02/10/2013

It has only taken the Germans 45 years to come up with the perfect dressage pony….the German Riding Pony.  A combination of English Thoroughbred, Welsh and Arabian, the breed has been infused with warmblood stallions along the way.  For us, learning the ins and outs of this breed has been a casual undertaking over the last 10 or so years, often in the background of day-to-day life; school, work, riding, home purchase etc.

Learning blood lines of a breed that has, up until about the last 5 years or so, been considered exotic in the USA has been nothing short of a scavenger hunt.  Thanks to the internet and recent instant translation capabilities (thank you Google Chrome) our efforts have accelerated exponentially.  In addition, the breed has taken a foot hold here in the United States; more and more German Riding ponies are being imported and bred.

Through our research, we have found some of the more notable stallion lines are:

FS Don’t Worry - the 'Donnerhall' of ponies available in the US via frozen from Superior Equine Sires.

Champion de Luxe - a strong sire with the ever-popular bucksin coat, also available via SES.

Dorink B - a strong sire whose impact has yet to be felt here in the USA. You'll find him in many pedigrees of high-profile ponies.

Dressman - another influential sire who is often found in the second or third generation of many successful dressage ponies.

Power Boy RP 112 - the cornerstone stallion of many dressage pony breeding programs.  Power Boy RP 112 is most known as the sire of the famous competition pony Power and Paint. He is an example of the early success of the Welsh, Arabian and Thoroughbred combination.

These are merely a few of the many foundation sires of the modern German Riding pony and the landscape seems to shift and change with each new foal crop.

It is also worth mentioning that the Dutch have developed their own pony breeding program, one that is just as wonderful as the German Riding pony, albeit smaller (perception or reality?).  Their standards are extremely high and enforcement of the breed appears to be very tight.

Here in American, we are still rather new to breeding ponies for dressage, and we as Connaught Green Farms are very excited to be a part of it!

FS Don’t Worry

An Introduction

Originally Posted 02/03/2013

It seems only appropriate to introduce who we are and why we’re on this adventure!  We are sisters – Miare and Megan – on a journey with our mother, Jan.  Lifelong horse owners and enthusiasts, we only discovered the brilliant sport of dressage in 2000.  Raised on a small hobby farm in a ‘bedroom’ community in Minnesota, nearly all of our horses were given to us or purchased for a nominal sum of money.  We didn’t have the opportunity for riding lessons until we were able to pay for them ourselves; our parents provided us with the horses and it was up to us to go make it what we wanted!

When it comes to our love of horses, one of the most influential people in our lives (aside from our loving and supportive mom) has been our Aunt Betsy.  At one time, she bred Arabians and it was a number of years before she discovered the Pony of America (POA).  A longtime reining and stock horse enthusiast, Betsy ceased her Arabian adventure and transitioned into the POA world, around the mid 1990’s.  At that time, we (sisters Megan and Miare) were young enough to ride and show, but Betsy was just getting started.  She purchased a few mares from a breeder and a stallion prospect.  Over the next several years, we watched and learned as she grew her program and expanded into the world of POA’s.  The breed as a whole is amazing for children.  Quiet, easy to work with and very willing, the POA is a breed born of stock type and not highly compatible for the sport horse world.  For a few years, we tried to find a way to develop a niche POA suitable for dressage, but alas, it was a fruitless effort.

I don’t actually remember how we got in touch, but sometime around 2002, I email-met a woman who was selling frozen doses of a stallion named Power Boy RP112.  We were blown away by his movement despite his short stature. Since then we’ve been fans of the German Riding Pony, a breed specifically developed for the sport of dressage.

As the name implies, the German Riding Pony was developed in Germany, some 45 years ago to provide the children a suitable mount to learn the sport of dressage on.  The foundation of the breed is English Thoroughbred, Arabian and Welsh with occasional warmblood mixed in.  The combination took a few years to get right – the athleticism of the Thoroughbred, the gentle nature of the Welsh pony and the smarts of the Arabian, all in a pony sized package.

It is the knowledge we have gained from our experiences plus research that has led us down our current path; one we wish to share with you as our story unfolds…..

Anticipation

Originally posted 01/05/2013

The long winter is filled with anticipation for us as we await May and the arrival of our first sport pony foal from MKK Worth the Wait (Tess) by Ridley (Rotspon x Walt Disney 1).