Welcome to www.dressage4ponies.com. The mission of this site is to bring together all of us who breed, train, ride, and/or are interested in promoting ponies in Dressage.

My interest started by chance in 1975 when I started riding Seldom Seen, a TB/Connemara cross, for his owner/breeder, Peggy Whitehurst. Although he was 14.2 _ he was always called “The Pony”. He won national championships at all levels from 2nd through Grand Prix, competed well in Germany, and was short-listed for all Olympic, World Championship, and Pan Am teams during his Grand Prix career. He was the subject of much PP (pony prejudice) from the judges and officials, but was a hero to the average person who couldn’t afford the big, expensive, extravagant moving warmbloods that were starting to invade the US. Next came his relative Last Scene, another extremely successful Grand Prix “pony” who is still competing at age 24. Thanks to these two wonderful equines I found myself to be the Dressage Pony Person.

I now take great pride in the 7 – 9 years olds that I teach on their ponies who are truly serious about Dressage; and the 60+ year old whose interest in riding has been rejuvenated since she started riding a safe, “her-size”, pony; and the 22 year old who is bringing her Connemara stallion to Grand Prix and starting him eventing in the same year.

In my efforts to promote ponies in competition, I started the Ballywhim Pony Awards with the help of Nancy Burr Montanaro. After four years we discontinued the awards since people were starting to do awards in their own areas. I imported 6 trained Dutch ponies to get people to see and understand that ponies and dressage was a good idea. Some of these ponies are now teaching their third US rider. I put together the first US FEI Pony Team in 2002 and they competed at the Coupe des Ameriques near Montreal (and won the Individual Gold). CDI’s in my area are holding pony classes. Local shows are offering FEI pony classes and giving high score awards to ponies in any level. I had three ponies compete in the Freestyle Competition at the National Horse Show in New York City.

Are you all aware of the difference between the pony world here and in Europe? There, mostly children 12-16 ride ponies in competition. Ponies are 148 centimeters and under (about 14.2 _). This difference in measurement has caused some headaches for people who imported a “pony” from Europe and then were unable to get a USEF card for it. Most children grow up riding their ponies in both dressage and jumping. The FEI Pony Dressage Test is equivalent to our old Third Level Test 1. The actual tests can be ordered from USEF. There is a hotly contested European Pony Dressage Championships every year with teams from England, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden.

Before we have children riding good quality 3rd level however we need someone training these ponies. We need schoolmasters! I consider a schoolmaster to be a pony with a temperament that a child or beginner adult is safe handling and riding, has three comfortable gaits, is easy to ride on the bit, and is “idiot-proof” in all the Third Level movements (flying changes not required). We are fortunate in the US that adults can show ponies in USEF shows (not in FEI shows – they can ride ponies in FEI classes at USEF shows!) That means we should have experienced adults schooling and giving mileage to young ponies who can then become schoolmasters. Right?

The North American Young Rider Championships have been going on for 25 years or more; the first North American Junior Championships was held in 2001. My dream is that there will be a North American Pony Dressage Championships in the US in this decade.

This site will be a place to disseminate news important for Dressage ponies, to tell everyone about your pony, share a picture, share ideas and concerns, advertise Dressage ponies for sale or wanted, create a dialogue about ponies in dressage, help us develop a mailing list.

I expect that discussion board will be the most active part of this board. However I would be pleased to have articles and reports to post. Please let me know your thoughts and what I might do to improve the site.
Lendon Gray graydresge@aol.com