The Germans have been breeding and campaigning these little dressage dynamos for the past 45 years, and slowly, American breeders and riders are starting to follow suit.

In Germany, the development of the German Riding Pony began nearly 50 years ago, when the word pony was nearly synonymous with Shetland, according to Bernhard Tschoepke, former judge, breeder of Welsh Cobs and honorary member of the PRPS verband in Germany.

"Interest was building in those early days in developing a German breed of pony suitable for the sport disciplines," Tschoepke says. "Some early attempts were made crossing Haflinger with Arab or Thoroughbred. This was not too successful. They had a little better luck crossing the Dülmener, a native German pony, with Arabs, but still this was not really successful. And so they began bringing in the British ponies - the Welsh, mostly Section B's, the New Forest pony, as well as some Eastern European ponies, and crossing these with the Arabs and Thoroughbreds."

A breed was slowly taking shape, but it would take much work and dedication from breeders and registries to create the unified type, size, movement and temperament that characterizes the modern German Riding Pony.

"If you can imagine a field of 50 ponies, all colors and sizes, and one man, a pony expert from Rhineland-Nassau, directing traffic," Tschoepke remembers. "He would ask, 'What are you? A riding pony? Ok, go that way. You? Welsh A? Go this way.' That was in 1969. Everything that had no paperwork was a riding pony! So everything was not clear and beautiful in the beginning, but the foundation was made."

"People back then were very proud to own a purebred pony. The early German Riding Pony in our region was for people didn't have enough money for a purebred, and the pony shows were for English-bred ponies only," Tschoepke says. "The German Riding Pony had no shows or sport, at first. But all this changed when people began to do sport with these ponies, and they won! Very fast after that there were some high scoring German Riding Ponies, and they just took off. All the societies embraced them."

"Over the years, the societies established rules, and eventually the FN, which is like a governing minister, oversaw the books." Tschoepke explains. "The goal was to produce a real riding-type pony. And so it was agreed not to allow the cross of Haflinger or Fjord with the German Riding Pony. These breeds have their own books, and their own brands."

"It took many years to establish the studbooks and type for the German Riding Pony," Tschoepke says. "First there was little or no warmblood, and now there are pure warmbloods in, and the German Riding Ponies are becoming more and more like little horses. Many people like this, but they must remember not to lose the pony character, so that they become little horses, and not for children anymore, not so sane, and not so hardy."

So how is the German Riding pony continuing to develop, here in the USA? RPSI Studbook Director Otto Schalter says there are some outstanding ponies already here in the states, and more being bred, much in the same way that their German cousins were developed - using a base of Welsh, and other British pony breeds, on small warmblood, Thoroughbred, Arabian and Anglo Arabian mares. But care must be taken, Schalter warns.

"Some people think if you just crossbreed Welsh B with Thoroughbred, and again, cross that on Welsh B and Thoroughbred, that you eventually get to the riding pony. But without some care, this cross can go in any direction," Schalter says. "You need a really good small warmblood, or WB x Arab mare, and use a Welsh B stallion on her. And then you bring that resulting mare to one of the good German Riding Ponies in this country already, one with a good, strong mother line, and you are going in the right direction."

History shows that a successful riding pony breed can be developed, with care, time and expertise. Time will tell how the American market will respond to the increased number of quality sport ponies being bred in this country. If the success of the German Riding Pony in Germany is any measure, then surely these talented pint-sized equines are poised to make a splash on this side of the Atlantic too!