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| "Ponies who will piaffe and passage and jump fences they can't see over." (Are they crazy?... Are we crazy?) |
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| Where is Chelsea? Can you find our foundation mare in this picture? She's a registered 11.3h 1/2 Arabian, 1/2 Classic Shetland, and if you can find her, you'll know why all of our ponies are her descendants. |
| Enthusiastic, athletic Thoroughbred-crossed ponies for highly competitive children and small adults. |
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| Where is Chelsea? |
| She's the one between the two large thoroughbreds. Put your cursor over the picture for an enlargement of her location. |
| For any equine to compete above average levels, something extra is often needed. For a pony to compete successfully against horses and do so beyond the average levels, something extra special is needed. It’s that extra and special that Sportponies Unlimited is striving to produce. That "Extra Special" Something After more than twenty years of serious research and observation, we’ve concluded that that extra special something, for a pony, can only come from Thoroughbred blood. Europeans arrived at the same conclusion many more years ago when they began refining their native coldbloods by crossing them on hotbloods to produce the modern “warmblood.” Moreover, riders and trainers at the top of the sporting world also recognize that oftentimes the temperament of horses that go above and beyond the norm isn’t what you might want for a backyard pet. In fact, if you did a survey of the world’s top sport horses over the years, you’d almost certainly find more champions that needed some kind of special handling, consideration, training or riding than champions who didn’t. Does this mean that we are trying to produce crazy ponies? Hardly. But we are trying to produce ponies which are willing to do MORE. More than average. More than is required. More than one would expect. And as we inspect our fourth generation of foals, we feel we are close to producing that “more-ness” on a fairly consistent basis.. Do all of our ponies have this “edge”? No, especially not those from the first generation. Will there come a day when all of our ponies have it? No, we recognize that diversification is a much safer strategy. To help visitors to this site distinguish between the quieter, hunter-type ponies we have and the hotter, more event/dressage- and jumper-types, we’ve instituted color-coded icons within the text. |
| The BROWN jumpers are probably “too much pony” for hunters or for pleasure: they love to run and jump and will do so with little or no urging. They are very sensitive and quick to respond, and while they are less tolerant of rider errors, they are have a kamakazee degree of courage and willingness that will take them beyond the expected and into the exceptional. These ponies are super-obedient--almost brainlessly so--never questioning the demands of rider or handler, even if those demands are unreasonable. As a result, they are suited only for the experienced horseperson who knows what they want or for those under the close guidance of such horsepeople. The GREEN jumper icons indicate ponies whose temperaments are ideally suited for today’s show hunter environment. First and foremost, they are quiet ponies. How can we guarentee this, even in the youngsters? These are the ponies who stand in the cross ties without fighting or fussing from the very first day they are tied. The ones who can be left in a stall forever and never get full of themselves; the ones who, once they learn what their job is, will do it no matter what mistakes their riders make. They are also the ones who will probably hold back a bit the first time you ask them to work harder, run faster or jump higher and who will think you are downright crazy if you ask them to jump a 3’6” fence followed by a steep drop into water…again. These are not ponies who will ever piaffe. These are the potential packers, perfect for the novice or intermediate to raise and ride safely and enjoyably. A few of our horses serve purposes in life not associated with any competition arena. These ponies are our culls or companions and are noted by GRAY icons. |
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| "Ponies who will piaffe and passage and jump fences they can't see over." (Are they crazy?... Are we crazy?) |
| Now located in Ocala, FL -- right around the corner from the Horse Park! |
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| Fox Ridge Ponies: Hunter ponies by Land's End The Colonel's Fox |
| As breeders, we have a natural interest in promoting performance ponies, but even more than that, we are dedicated to the idea that riders should not feel limited by the size of their mounts. Ponies can and do compete successfully against horses. So then why are they so rare? Because riders (and/or their trainers) are simply less inclined to try with a pony. And yet ponies make sense, especially for the ambitious small rider on a budget: They are cheaper to buy, mature earlier, train easier and stay sounder than horses. Success in the sports of eventing, dressage and hunter-jumpers doesn't take a big horse: it takes one with the speed, the movement, the stride and, most importantly, the will to win, regardless. Sportponies Unlimited: Ponies with aptitude and ATTITUDE. |