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Re: [RC] ponies in distance riding? - heidiOn the subject of ponies, have people successful used them for distance riding? <snip> Is this because there isn't the tradition in the US to use ponies? (you see them a lot more in the UK, f'instance). Or is it just that it "isn't done"? You so often hear "oh, this arab is only 14:1, so too small for me" (and there's me thinking that 14:1 is too tall <g>) - so the perception is that a person should be riding a "big" horse and would look embarrassing on a small one?
One of the best ponies I remember in the sport was a little Welsh/Arab
cross ridden by Holly Gervais. She was a junior, granted, but that tough
little mare ran right up front with the front runners. I believe Holly
was Junior National Champion on that little mare, back when we still
recognized the horses that had the most points for the entire season. Am
trying to remember the pony's name (somebody will fill in the gap for
me)--she was a little palomino by Tezero, and her name was Tezero's
...something. I bet she was under 13 hands.
I sponsored Holly on this pony on a tough 50-miler in southern Oregon.
She asked me if I was going "slow" because she wanted to go "slow" and I
told her no, not really (I was running for points that year) but that she
was welcome to start out with me, and if I went too fast, she could change
to a slower sponsor at the vet check. Well, she went stride for stride
with me the whole ride, and we finished something like 3rd and 4th, or 4th
and 5th, and had a hair-raising race at the finish. (We used to do that
back then...) But her mom won the ride. I told her later that she didn't
want to go "slow"--just "slower than mom!"
I know Pat ("mom") rode some rides on this pony as well.
Heidi
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