Dancing Dixie's first blue ribbon

 History was made today. 

Dixie earned her first blue ribbon. What exactly did I have her so well trained for that she impressed the judge? 

Being herself. 

Dancing Dixie attended an inspection for the North American Sport Pony Registry. Now you may ask, what is a North American Sport Pony??

A North American Sport pony is a pony in the general range of 13.2-14.2h that looks and moves like a small horse, capable of competing in the Olympic disciplines of Jumping, Dressage, and Eventing, as well as in Driving. It is not your traditional Thellwell type of pony, but rather is much more athletic and horse-like in appearance and ability.  The term “NorthAmerican Sportpony” is considered a type, not a particular breed of pony (with the exception of ponies of Draft blood being excluded) and therefore sportponies can be made up of everything from Welsh to New Forest to Thoroughbred bloodlines. 

Here are a few pictures from today...

Waiting... look at that confirmation! 

trotting the triangle 

free lunging trot and canter

Awards... 1st premium!

Awards ceremony

The inspection site was beautiful and people were friendly. Even though I had no clue what to expect, I felt welcomed and comfortable. A big thank you to Hattie for hosting and her daughter for helping me through today. If you are interested in more information, check out their website! They have a registry for horses too... http://americansportpony.com/about/breed-standard/http://americansportpony.com/about/breed-standard/