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[RC] ponies in distance riding? - Lucy Chaplin Trumbull

On the subject of ponies, have people successful used
them for distance riding?

I'm not talking about tiny juniors riding them - more small
adults successfully competing them? (not specifically racing)

Obviously there's John Parke and Remington and Skoldjur (sp?)
(before I get slammed, I know icies are technically "horses"),
and Meggie the Tevis pony with Jane Sheppard (and Jane's mum
with War Bonnet). There was also an arab/welsh with a junior
from AZ (? Elena?) who finished Tevis a couple of times. But
otherwise, I'm not really aware of ponies turning up for more
than a couple of rides?

Is this because there isn't the tradition in the US to use
ponies? (you see them a lot more in the UK, f'instance).
Or is it just that it "isn't done"? You so often hear "oh,
this arab is only 14:1, so too small for me" (and there's
me thinking that 14:1 is too tall <g>) - so the perception
is that a person should be riding a "big" horse and would
look embarrassing on a small one?

As a child, I rode welsh ponies and started day-dreaming
the other day about getting one, but I really don't know
if this is a ridiculous idea or whether it'd be practical.

From poking around on the web, it seems like Section B Welsh
ponies can be taller in the US. So what if I could find one
around 13:2-14 hh... how would that work out?

I'm 5' 2" and if I did it right, I could weigh-in with tack
at <150 lbs (OK, with a bit of weigh-loss on my part... but
having a pone would be a good incentive, right?). Is that
still too heavy for a pony to carry over distance?

My immediate concern was how well it would stand up to the
workload - particularly tendons (having had to deal with tendon
injuries with my arabs, it's my #1 paranoia right now). Having
a pony would be fun, but not if it meant continuous lameness
problems. Or is it really true - survival of the fittest has
meant that only the sturdiest welsh ponies still exist after
hundreds of years?

It seems like they are light enough that they shouldn't have
metabolic problems that I imagine you might get into with
heavier cobby ponies? But would they have to work harder
(with shorter legs) to maintain the minimum pace necessary
to complete, and therefore suffer more from that?

Just musing aloud. Any pony thoughts appreciated.


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Lucy Chaplin Trumbull
elsietee AT foothill DOT net
Repotted english person in the Sierra foothills, California
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