One of my aims at all times is to promote British breeding and breeders – first and foremost are always those ponies who are passported or overstamped by the SPSS so are “British Sports Ponies” but then I also feel it’s important to include other British-bred ponies, especially when it’s our wonderful native breeds (as pure-bred natives must have their own breed passports so can’t have SPSS ones).  So it really was an unexpected bonus to discover that the smart dressage pony I’d assumed was German-bred is actually a pure-bred WPCS Section D, who was bred in Cambridgeshire! With his presence and power, I look forward to seeing him impress in the Team Test tomorrow at 12.24.  The other Briitish-bred ponies I've identified so far in the dressage, RFS Socrates and George Clooney B.S. compete on Thursday.  

Tara HAYES (IRL) & THORNEYSIDE KESTREL (WPCS D; Thorneyside The Gladiator x Thorneyside Flyer). British-bred by P. J. Gray & Sons

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Then having waited all day for the “trot up”, it turned out that most appeared to be taking the American terminology of “jog” to heart and weren’t exactly showing off their ponies paces!  However, as the important thing is to pass and proceed to the actual competition, this approach  of did work as well as the more traditional charge away and be lucky to stop at the end tactic and all ponies forward were accepted :-D  Sadly though, one of the Swedish eventing “ponies” did not measure within the 151cm height limit allowed on the day and so can take no part in the competition – such a shame for the rider and for the rest of the team, who now have no discard score and so the pressure is on the remaining three riders.