The German Riding Pony has been bred overseas for the last forty-plus years. The breeding goal behind the formation of these ponies was to breed a small warmblood horse that has the movement, temperament, and athletic ability for the sport horse disciplines that could easily be ridden by children or small adults in the performance arena.

Selective breeding was implemented using the same principles as for warmblood horses. As with horses, the idea is to have a pony with a bred-in aptitude for the disciplines of dressage, show jumping, hunters, and eventing.European Sport Ponies have been bred from different regional breeds (in this case pony stock) with some Arabian influence and some Thoroughbred, just as the warmblood horses have. Trakehner and Hanoverian sires were also used to improve the breed.

As with the warmbloods, each region of Germany has its own Sport Pony, and they are inspected and proven just as the horses are. Foals are evaluated, mares must pass a mare performance test, and stallion candidates have the same requirements as the larger warmbloods, including appraisal at 2 1/2 years of age and a full 100-day test as 3-year-olds.

It is recognized in Germany that many Sport Ponies are actually closer to having an ideal conformation than the big horses. Ponies in general tend to have good feet and legs, and Sport Ponies are no exception.In most cases, the breeding direction has been handled by a Sport Pony division of the same registry which evaluates the horses. For example, registration and evaluation of Sport Ponies in Hannover is done by a division of the Hanoverian Warmblood Verband.

The result has been ponies with a very trainable temperament, and the build and movment to be really competitive. In Germany, the pony business is at least as big as the horse business, and the sepctator numbers are perhaps even larger. There are German pony championships in dressage, in jumping, and in eventing, and European Championships strictly for ponies.

In the US, the American Warmblood Registry and the American Warmblood Sociey both recognize the Sport Pony with a Sport Pony division, as does the Oldenburg Registry of North America. Sport ponies can be registered with the German Hanoverian Pony and Small Horse Breeders Association and the Rhineland Pfalz-Saar International.

Many US riders are finding that a German Riding Pony is the ideal mount. Smaller riders love having a competitive horse that isn't 17 hands, serious young riders love the quality of movement in a horse that fits them, amateur riders appreciate the temperament and work ethic that they don't have to fight. In fact, the German Riding Ponies seem to have reintroduced an idea that some riders had lost touch with: they are incredibly fun!