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Excerpt from British Breeder Issue 21 (May 2016)

SPSS UPDATE

Sports Pony

What's in a name?

by SPSS Studbook Manager, Lucy Sheldrake

Lochlanes Dreamweaver

(Debonair x Synod Rum Punch). An SPSS passported Gold Premium foal with her WPCS Sec C dam, SPSS graded Synod Galina. British-bred by Jean Feeney

Photo by kind permission of Julia Shearwood

One question we at the Sports Pony Studbook Society (SPSS) frequently get asked is ‘What is a sports pony?’

The answer is obvious … isn’t it? Well no, it’s a bit like trying to define the sea state. In a protean manner, just as you have found the correct words to describe it, another factor comes into play and it changes, requiring yet further definition. So in considering an ‘answer’ to this question (‘What is a sports pony?’) it maybe that we will come to appreciate exactly why it is so frequently asked.

That said, we (i.e. the SPSS) do somehow need to give our members, breeders, producers and all other interested parties some form of a definition in order to realistically manage expectations and work together towards achieving mutual goals. So here goes with as concise an answer as is possible, in the hope that it provides some form of clarity regarding what the SPSS considers to be a ‘sports pony’.

So as a first pass, a ‘sports pony’ is essentially a small equine athlete. But what do we mean when we say small? Well this leads to the first potential stumbling block and possible point of some confusion. Everyone will be aware that for competition purposes, a pony to be competed by a child in an FEI discipline must be a height of 148cm or under. Whereas we, at the SPSS, recognise and grade animals 158cm or under - so why is this? Well, whilst it might initially appear rather curious to be considering an animal standing at 158cm as a ‘pony’, you actually have to look at this from a breeding perspective. An animal which itself stands at 158cm may very well possess all the necessary attributes to breed a successful ‘competition pony’ (i.e. a pony 148cm or under). Indeed, it may actually offer otherwise unavailable qualities or bloodlines. Hence, these 158cm ‘ponies’ can prove to be extremely valuable assets to a competition pony breeding programme and sports pony studbook. Obviously, in attempting to breed 148cm competition ponies from an animal measuring 158cm very careful consideration needs to be given to their genotypes, rather than just assessing phenotypes, but realistically this is no different a consideration than those made by every conscientious breeder before every single mating. That said, how to breed the all elusive full-up 148cm is a totally separate topic altogether and definitely one for an article all of its own on another day.

SPSS Elite BKS Grand Design (Golden Moonlight x Black Boy) & Charlotte McDowell. British-bred by Francesca Walker with a German-bred sire & dam and has been placed representing GB at international level

Photo by kind permission of Qorum Photos

Ode to Shannon (Washington Postman x unknown) & Maddy Whelan. An SHB(GB) passported mare by a Weatherby’s NTR stallion out of Buckland Belle (breeding not recorded). British-bred by Mary Lewis and has achieved top 3 placings representing GB at international level

Photo by kind permission of Qorum Photos

So having dealt with size, we then have to move on to what we are going to consider when we appraise ponies against the term ‘athlete’? Conventional conformation assessments obviously have to be made as there are some very definite conformational no-no’s and equally there are also prerequisites to sporting success, soundness and longevity. At this point I know everyone can, and will, cite certain very successful competition horses/ponies whose conformation goes completely against convention and yet they have competed, won and (critically!) remained sound throughout. However, what we, the SPSS, as a studbook have to consider when reminded of these ‘freak’ cases is that statistically they are not the ‘norm’; they are very much the exceptions rather than the rule. Our responsibility is to support, enable and educate sports pony breeders in order that they stand the very best chance possible of producing youngstock able to compete well and remain sound. We would therefore be failing them in this role if we did anything other than apply a normal distribution approach to conformation evaluation.

However, as per the saying ‘beauty is as beauty does’, good movement and athleticism are usually very apparent when a young horse is free to move naturally. Hence, we place a lot of importance on the loose evaluation of ponies of all ages, plus we like to see them loose jump from 2 years of age and over (and mandate this when grading stallions). A purely personal observation is that, more often than not, a pony’s loose appraisal supports our judges’ previous conformational assessment of the pony stood-up.

Form and function rarely go against the grain. Big free athletic movement is also rarely an accident. That said, we are not only looking for the seriously big moving ponies. There is a very definite and important place in a sports pony studbook for the good honest straight workmanlike pony – one that will genuinely turn its hoof willingly and well to a variety of jobs, whilst also looking after its child jockey. I cannot stress enough that temperament is another very important consideration. There is little point having invested huge amounts of time and money to breed an FEI pony prospect which actually breathes fire and eats anyone under 5ft4.

Miss Luna Eclipse (SPSS Elite Classic’s Charmeur x Joldis Charmant). An SPSS passported Gold Premium yearling filly who was 2015 SPSS Supreme Youngstock Champion. British-bred by Emma Middlehurst

Photo by kind permission of Julia Shearwood

Finally, and I have purposefully left this topic until last, what consideration or importance do we, as an open studbook, place on bloodlines? How do we evaluate a pony’s pedigree and that pedigree’s worth to a competition pony breeding programme? Well there are now world renowned, proven and hence very sought after, competition pony pedigrees but, as mentioned in the last article, these quite often are bloodlines steeped in or originating from British Riding Ponies and our treasured native breeds.

We must recognise that the competition pony has been and will continue to be an ever evolving ‘beast’. We must remain mindful of this fact or we will fall short compared to those who are prepared to continually re-appraise and actively seek out alternative bloodlines for what they can offer. So in short, we are willing to consider ponies of any breeding (including unknown for mares and proven competition stallions) but it should be mentioned that we do not necessarily assess them against their own breed standards. Instead each and every animal is assessed on it’s own merits irrespective of breed. We always ask what could this pony add to our sports pony studbook and what does it offer our breeders?

Essentially, as a studbook focused primarily on the breeding and production of ponies for FEI disciplines, we need to be very open minded where pedigrees are concerned. You only have to look at the diverse range of pedigree combinations successful to date in producing top competition ponies to evidence the need for such open mindedness. Looking at top level pony show jumping there is such diversity with everything from pure native breeds e.g. WPCS section D Machno Carwyn (who was twice the European Individual Champion Jumping Pony) and lots of Connemara (pure and part-bred) ponies, right through to complete warmblood ‘horse’ pedigrees which interestingly produced a very small one e.g. the multiple team and individual medal winning mare Tixylix (Cavalier x Lauriston). Then, while German and Dutch studbooks have dominated the FEI Pony dressage arena like they have the horse equivalent, a cadre of dedicated British breeders are now seeing their ponies being competitive at this level too and the accompanying photos show some examples from a recent international.

In the end, however you decide to assess or define ‘sports pony’ one underlying driving force must remain prevalent - the desire to breed competition ponies capable of holding their own on an international stage. In the UK we are already truly achieving this, we just need to maintain a proactive approach and evolve rather than remaining static or, even worse, simply following - we will always be playing catch up that way.

Grayswood Orlando (Grayswood Magic Buccaneer X Admiral) & Jessie Kirby. A WPCS part-bred who was First Reserve for the 2015 GB Pony Euros team (ridden by Angus Corrie-Deane). British-bred by Mrs S Page

Photo by kind permission of Qorum Photos

Just as we welcomed a huge range of ponies on our 2015 Mare Grading & Youngstock Tour we once again look forward to such diversity on our 2016 Tour. If this article has got you thinking and you own or have bred a sports pony then please bring them along - we would love to see and assess them and continue this learning and development process together

Note that the SPSS Office relocated in April 2014 and the contact details at the top of the page should now be used for all contact with the SPSS
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