Why Don't I Show on the Welsh Circuit?

Out of the 21 horses currently in my barn, nine are eligible to show on the Welsh breed circuit. The shows are said to be cheap and friendly. Why don't I do it?

When I first joined the WPCSA I was told there was a wonderful Yahoo! group I should join to get to know some of the other breeders and start learning my way around the breed. As is my custom on new forums or online groups, I lurked for a while to kind of get a feel for the posting and then I introduced myself. I thought the Welsh breeders would be thrilled that I was getting Welshes and Welsh crossbreds out there and seen by people outside the Welsh world. After all, their own breed website boasts how versatile these ponies are. Instead, I was urged to show my ponies on the Welsh circuit. When I politely declined because open hunters is what I know, I was told that my Welshes were going to waste and what a shame it was that they were "lost to the Welsh world forever". (That's a direct quotation, by the way, and it makes me laugh so much that I pull it out and use it tongue-in-cheek whenever I see a Welsh cleaning up in pony hunters.) I know countless breeders do what I do, cross with Arabs and TBs and WBs and show open, and apparently just do it quietly and ignore the uproar from the Welsh breeders. I'm in possession of the USEF top pony hunter sires list from last year and out of the top 29 stallions (the number on the first two pages I printed) only TWO are not Welsh or half-Welsh. (The other two are a Connemara and a Thoroughbred.) A couple people posted to agree with me that Welshes and Welsh crosses should be out kicking other pony butt on the hunter circuit (seriously, nothing else can come close) and a few people contacted me privately to tell me that the ones causing a problem for me were a particularly vocal minority but the damage was done. The whole business left such a bad taste in my mouth that I did not renew my membership and have never shown on the Welsh circuit.

I think that any time a group of people get together, show a single breed of horse, and place "type" high on the judging criteria, weirdness starts to happen. Initially I think halter classes were supposed to showcase the correct conformation and yes, the certain look, of animals who were at the top of the competition in that breed's chosen disciplines. Over time, however, the look takes over and the animals showing in halter are no longer capable of doing anything but stand up. Does anyone want to tell me that this http://www.magnumpsyche.com/ or this
http://www.bertonqh.com/index_bqh.htm is even remotely what these breeds were originally promoted for?

Wow. Yeah. It's Just a Fashion Show.

I haven't blogged in a while but I ranted elsewhere on the internet this past weekend so who am I to let a good rant go to waste? I shall paste it here.

I am so **** sick of hearing about the snobbery of the hunter/jumper world -- that it's just a glorified fashion show.

There is fashion in every discipline. Do you honestly want to tell me that I could wear any old thing if I wanted to compete at a high level in Western Pleasure? Saddleseat? Pleasure Driving?

In any sport, from baseball to competitive ballroom dancing, there are acceptable outfits and uniforms and wearing them shows that you respect and understand your sport (and in a horse show, that you respect the stewards and judges).

And the body type? Again, in any sport there is a body type that will give a participant a leg up. A ballerina is willowy -- a sumo wrestler is massive. A certain body type may allow someone to excel in sprinting but be lousy at throwing a javelin. Of course there are always exceptions but if you pick a sport that favors a body type that you don't have, you can expect to have to work a little harder. The body type favored in hunters and equitation is not just a fad -- the short torso, long legs and lithe body is the type that will make learning to ride a little bit easier. I see it again and again in my lessons, that the girls who are not blessed with this body type just have to work that much harder. When they are willing to put in the work, however, some of these girls can do just as well as the ones who had it a little easier. My own trainer does NOT fit the norm for body type and she won and won as a kid.

It isn't fair to dismiss the hard work of the kids who show hunters as a fashion or beauty contest. Drop your stirrups and jump a course with us before you judge the entire sport.