showing spsbs shetlands...

B

BobbieG

New Member
Aug 6, 2014
5
1
3
45
Hi, I'm just looking for some advice about showing shetlands ponies. I currently have a little skewbald 38" who I've got into inhand showing at local level with recently but she is unregistered, so I'm looking towards purchasing a registered pony. So my questions are this,
How do coloureds stand up in the show ring against solids at County Level?
Is there any preference towards an equal breakdown of colours each side of the pony?
Thanks
 
Hello
Hope Wally or Francis sees this - am sure they can advise. (Other people probably can just that they always spring to mind).
 
What area are you in?? Theres a lady I know who has shettys who absolutely dominates round our circuit. She buys reg from the sales and has a lovely little bunch. All are registeted.
 
Acorn is a 36" skewbald registered Shetland, so he is out of Mini but not upto height Standard, we have done lots of showing and been quite successful at local and county level, breed classes are slightly different, we do broken coloured classes where possible and as he is a gelding he ends up generally against the Mares , as gelding only classes can be far and few between.
He is now being ridden and once we get fully off the LR he should do better in the ridden classes.

Having a coloured gives us other options, CHAPs classes and coloured classes so we get more than the one breed class in other levels.

Much depends on what you want or how serious you are in showing, first decide on Mini or Standard and if you are looking in hand then I would go more towards 40" , Black generally covers browns, and coloured is everything but them, broken coloured = Piebald & Skewbald
Mare or Gelding is of choice - Mares do tend to come out well but thoughts are changing and Geldings are taken more seriously now.
Have a look on the SBSBS site and Shetland.com is a good site for seeing what is on the market and looking at the studs in your area, have a look at a few , different breeding gives different results - I love coloureds so I am a little biased, but maybe we should get a Black and then we would have every class covered, but I would put the limit on a stallion.

We have Nuts as a companion bought her at 18 now 20 and she has turned herself from a companion to a second show pony for the kids (when shes fit - a few health issues at the moment), she is chestnut so goes in the Coloured classes at Breed level but obviously not the Chaps, and we have veteran class option with her, we take them both so are busy through the day. although neither have been out this year thanks to injuries. First time in 7 years wall is not covered in Shetland Ribbons!

wouldn't worry too much about photo image markings, might make a difference in a coloured and markings class for Chaps but not at a county level breed show, its just a plus on viewing that's all.
A good pony is a good pony looking the same each side will not distract from that.
 
Thanks that was exactly the sort of reply I was looking for. I think I've already set my heart on a 40+" mare, simply because my son is a big 6 year old and I want him to get a lot of use it of her and also because he's expressed an interest in the Shetland grand national and having researched they are all bigger shetlands. He really enjoys his ridden showing too, so that would give us more classes to do. I've pretty much lined up 2 blacks to look at, I've seen a coloured advertised but she's not evenly marked and I was concerned as I'd over heard a comment to another competitor in a colored class that the judge prefers even markings. But this little coloured seems to have good breeding and a nice confirmation so is a nice promising pony for a semi beginner I believe.
I don't want to do huge things but I would like to do the county shows, maybe equifest, just get out and about really.
 
I hadn't purchased Acorn for riding he was my inhand showing project, however Grandchildren come along and heyho he is now theirs!

Emm is 8 next but slight built so even at 36" she is going to be able to ride him for some time, I have ridden him so its not that he can't take a bigger or heavier child - had I been looking for a ridden then it would have been 40+ , pref up to height.

wouldn't worry about the judge comment, every judge has preferences, some prefer solid coloured, some broken coloured, some blacks everytime, that's just part of showing - you are right to look at confirmation and character first as they are what count for me in childs riding pony, shetlands are just smaller horses however I find they do give you less room for error - they can take the mile if so much as think about giving an inch!
My farrier claims it is because they have the same size brain as larger equines but with so much less body to use it on have excess brain power to think and get themselves into bother accordingly! must admit evidence does point that way but I wouldn't be without them- When they are good they are very, very good but when they are bad..................... lets just say we know about it!
 
Haha your farrier has a good theory.
I'm just concerned that add my three sons grow up in going to be left with an array of ponies gradually increasing in size, all of whom I cant bear to let mive on as I feel I owe them so much for lookung after my boys. Ill be the crazy pony lady aged 70!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lemme
I started my daughter on a 40 inch skewbald and they regularly won ridden show classes from the (rider) age of 3 to 8ish but the mare was seldom placed in hand ( this was however many years ago!). The mare was a real small childs riding type but in reality too fine to be a great example of the breed, although several judges remarked that she was a good riding type. If you watch modern classes the riddens are often won by non black ponies who are very free moving, possibly because the judges are m&m not Shetland specialists? A big six year old however really needs to be up to doing First Ridden, Junior classes as the lead rein jockeys are inevitably tinies.

Racing Shetlands are very specialist, ours was bought for us by the lady who used to organise races but reckoned ours was too fine for that job but great childs show pony ( she was correct!), bear in mind the children have to be beween 9 and 14 and anything up to 5'1" so if this is what you are aiming for I would go for an up to height 42" gelding, perhaps approach someone currently involved for breeder recomendations?
 
If it's a good pony it will win no matter what colour it is. We have classes here for coloureds only and blacks only.

We have blacks predominantly only because we were having bother getting any other colour to come in the size and substance we were after. We have added broken coloured mares and bred some big tri coloured skewbalds and piebalds who have been way up to height.
 
BobbieG said:
Haha your farrier has a good theory.
I'm just concerned that add my three sons grow up in going to be left with an array of ponies gradually increasing in size, all of whom I cant bear to let mive on as I feel I owe them so much for lookung after my boys. Ill be the crazy pony lady aged 70!!
Click to expand...

well I am well on my way, I think the village think of me as the Crazy Shetland lady and I only have the 2 (at the moment) - I have had so much fun over the last 8 years with them and hopefully many more to come - I couldn't move them on - so when the Grandchildren are eventually ready to move up I will either go back to showing in hand or try and find small jockey local enough to continue his ridden even if its only hacking, he loves to go out ridden and is far better behaved hacking than he is in a field but I think that's only because Emm doesn't get enough time in and needs to read him a little better when he tries his antics, they have improved this year but it has been very limited thanks to injury - you are lucky to have them at home with the boys - I am hopeful next year I will have a small rider available for him to keep him going in between Emms visits - he far less prone to injury if kept busy.

do let us know what you decide and how you get on
 
  • Like
Reactions: BobbieG
Oh no don't be mistaken they aren't at home! Our little madam goes on full livery when I'm working, only the best!

I have made a decision and put a deposit on a little colt foal who will come to me in October. Very exciting!this one is for me though, im not sharing with the kids, hahaha !!
 
BobbieG said:
Oh no don't be mistaken they aren't at home! Our little madam goes on full livery when I'm working, only the best!

I have made a decision and put a deposit on a little colt foal who will come to me in October. Very exciting!this one is for me though, im not sharing with the kids, hahaha !!
Click to expand...

Now that's what I said, I managed it until he was 4 then he was claimed by the Grandchildren - ah well - best of both worlds!
 
  • Like
Reactions: BobbieG
newrider.com
Top Bottom
Back