HORSE BREED
is otherwise normally healthy. Their feeding requirements are relatively simply. They thrive on good pasture and/or hay, with some quality chaff and pony pellets when they’re in work. Rapid weight gain can lead to laminitis, so while it’s essential to ensure your pony’s nutritional requirements are met, a low sugar diet is probably optimal. You may need to limit their intake of high value pasture (a grazing muzzle might be useful), or if hay fed, soak the hay to reduce calories before offering it in a slow feed hay net to reduce the rate of consumption.
Interested in learning more? Goldenero IIU by WES Donadoni out of Golden Dancer, an Elite Westphalien mare (Image courtesy of Deveron Stud). after for both children and small adults. Breeders later became interested in creating the ideal dressage pony and their attention turned to the German Riding Pony (GRP), which is possessed of a slightly sturdier build but still with elegant movement and striking ridden performance. When the first GRP, FS Golden Storm, was imported to Australia in 2004 he caught the eye of many breeders. He sired a number of foals
deep and the shoulders flat but sloping. While the back is short, it should be well-coupled with enough scope to carry a saddle. The hooves are strong and neat, the coat silky with no leg feathering. A straight and smooth, free-flowing action is coupled with a calm and trainable temperament.
Health and feeding
To find out more about Australian Riding Ponies, visit the Riding Pony Stud Book Society. They have an informative website – www.rpsbs.com.au – which includes an extensive stallion directory, or for the German Riding Pony, go to www.germanridingpony.com.au. Deveron Stud specialise in German Riding Ponies, and can be contacted on 03 5852 1871, or visit www.deversonstud.homestead.com – while Whitmere Stud, the Australian
Like many ponies, the Riding Pony
Riding Pony breeders, can be contacted
can be prone to easy weight gain, but
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but was gelded several years later. Then in 2008, the first fully licensed GRP stallion, Don Philino WE, arrived to stand at stud in Australia. Sired by Dressman out of a part Warmblood mare by the renowned Hanoverian stallion Luxor, he gave the breeding program the lift it needed. Since then, a number of GRP stallions and mares have been imported, enhancing bloodlines and helping to generate considerable interest in pony dressage events.
General characteristics
A Riding Pony can be any solid colour, but paints are not acceptable. Overall, the look is elegant with finely chiselled yet sturdy legs, a long and slightly crested neck, and an unmistakeably ‘pony’ head with flat forehead and large dark eyes. The chest should be 84 | H O R S E V I B E S S E P T / O C T 2 0 2 0
Deveron Lets Dance ridden by Georgia Davenport winning at his second outing under saddle at Clarendon 2019 (Image courtesy of Nicole Davenport).
