Pony of the Americas three-year-old bay stallion with ideal conformation. Jared Katzenberger
Pony of the Americas Club, Inc.
3828 South Emerson Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46203
www.poac.org
The Pony of the Americas is the largest pony breed in the United States created exclusively for children. It was produced to be the mount for youth in their growth years. Initially, it was a special gift to the children of the United States, but it has become so popular that the breed is now all over the world. Its origins are derived from one of the oldest known American horse breeds, the Appaloosa. Today, many Pony of the Americas, or POAs as they are more conveniently called, look like little Appaloosa horses.
The purpose of the POA is to be a tractable and beautiful breed suitable for youth that bridges the gap between a small pony and a horse. A pony of this size provides an avenue for family participation that is wholesome and friendly. Due to its longevity of life, a POA can serve more than one generation, and many outstanding POAs are participating and winning in the show ring well into their twenties. They are useful in disabled riding schools long after their showing days are over. The reason for this fact, besides their pony heritage, may be the treatment they receive in the hands of their owners. With their connection to children, POAs are regarded as a member of the family.
In the show ring, emphasis is on versatility, as one POA can be asked to perform in a variety of extremely diverse classes, all in one show. This can range all the way from western pleasure, trail, reining, and western riding, to the English disciplines of pleasure, hunter under saddle and over fences, open jumping, pleasure driving, and gymkhana timed events. In addition to the show ring, the stamina and versatility of the POA has been found to be valuable on the farm and even for track racing. As a durable mount, it is perfect for trail and endurance riding, ranch work, and hunting. Its gentle, willing nature makes the POA easy to be trained, handled, and loved by children.
The goal was for a child-sized equine that could give boys or girls confidence and a sense of responsibility, qualities that would serve them well in later life. The POA motto is “Try hard, win humbly, lose gracefully, and, if you must, protest with dignity.” This, perhaps more than anything else, sets POA exhibitors apart from others in the world of horse show competition. Boys and girls cheer for one another, even though they are competing against each other. Deep friendships are made that last entire lifetimes for both parents and children from coast to coast.
History
In 1954, attorney and Shetland breeder, Les Boomhower from Iowa, acquired a black and white Appaloosa spotted mare that appeared to have some Arabian in her. At her side was her day-old foal, supposedly sired by a black Shetland stallion. The foal had the same basic white body color as the mother, with the same black spots that looked like paint smears. On his left flank, the spots appeared to form a black handprint, so he was named Black Hand. At the time Boomhower bought the mare, she was not registered with the Appaloosa Horse Club, although she fit the requirements. He named and registered her as Manitoba No. 454.
There was no more information about Black Hand’s sire until much later. In 1990, a POA owner named Julius Peterson stopped at a farm in Iowa, where he noticed and admired some spotted horses grazing in a pasture. Peterson talked with the owner, Bud Drape, and learned that he had been the breeder of the foal that was Black Hand. When Manitoba was a two-year-old, Drape bred her to a dappled chestnut Shetland stallion with a light mane and tail that he had purchased at a local sale. He knew nothing of the stallion’s lineage, but thought he appeared to have some Welsh in him. Before the mare foaled in 1954, she had changed hands about three times by the time she was sold to Boomhower, which accounts for the misinformation about the color of the Shetland.
When Boomhower was watching his children with Black Hand, he had an idea about a good kid’s pony—a breed for children who had outgrown the Shetland but were too small for a full-sized horse. He called a meeting of his Shetland breeder friends to discuss it, and in 1954, the Pony of the Americas Club was formed. Boomhower was elected the first president, and he registered the organization with the state of Iowa the same year. Prior to this, no western pony breed had been developed in the United States for a particular purpose.
Using Black Hand, now a coming yearling, as the type-standard, the group set the requirements for registration of equines with his characteristics: small ears, small, slightly dished Arabian type head, and body muscled like the Quarter Horse with Appaloosa characteristics visible at forty feet. Height requirements were set between 44 and 52 inches, which Boomhower was very adamant about enforcing because he felt there should be a distinct difference between POAs and Appaloosas. The age of a child showing the new breed was set at sixteen years old and under, for this was to be a breed for children to ride and show. Adults could only show a POA at halter or with a cart. So POAs must also be gentle and easy to train.
Founding Lines
Black Hand became POA No. 1. The second pony to apply for registration was a beautiful red, black, and white leopard colt from Arizona that was the product of an Arabian leopard stallion and a Welsh mare. His name was Siri Chief and he was 50 inches tall. After Les saw his picture, Siri Chief became POA No. 2.
Pony of the Americas blue roan gelding with blanket and spots, 51 inches tall. Jared Katzenberger
Applications for registration in the new breed came from all over the country. Among the firsts were Na-na Su-Kin (Little Chief) No. 14, whose ancestors came from the Nez Perce Indian ponies of Montana, and Corette’s Scottish Chieftain No. 18, found on a boatload of Highland cattle shipped to Canada from Scotland. In 1957, two Texas brothers obtained a wild mustang stallion named Dragon from Mexico, along with his band of mares. He became POA No. 103. From England came Stewart’s Danny Boy No. 282, imported by breeders in Pennsylvania.
Black Hand, Siri Chief, Na-na Su-Kin, Corette’s Scottish Chieftain, Dragon, and Stewart’s Danny Boy all became founding sires of the POA breed. As other applications came pouring in, each was carefully considered based on strict guidelines before registration was granted.
As the breed grew, a second generation of bloodlines joined the founding sires in prominence. Lady of Paint was a mare of only 50 inches at maturity and was a descendant of Kawliga (one of the founding sires of the Appaloosa breed) on her sire’s side, and she had an American Quarter Horse on her dam’s side. She became a halter and performance champion in her own right, but her greatest accomplishment was producing the Warrior line of performance POAs through her first foal, a colt named Lady’s Warrior. He became one of the first premier sires of the breed.
Pony of the Americas chestnut snowcap colt. Jared Katzenberger
The first Supreme Champion Stallion, Chief Little Britches, produced the famous Britches line of performance POAs, noted for their trainability and intelligence. Joining them was another Appaloosa sired colt named East Acres Double Tough. His balance and symmetry, as well as his substance and style, earned him consistent national halter championships in the 1980s. These qualities were passed on as Double Tough foals names were added to the list of International Champions.
A registered Appaloosa stallion named Gold Prince became a POA when the height limit was raised to 56 inches. He was bred to POA mares to produce halter and performance National Champions.
The Warrior, Britches, Double Tough, and Gold Prince lines joined the founding sires to lead the breed in producing outstanding POAs. The unknowns disappeared from pedigrees as POA lines became more established.
Progress
As the years progressed, the POA Club began to evolve and grow, and state and regional shows began to emerge. In 1959 the first International Show for the Pony of the Americas was held in Mason City, Iowa, and became an annual event. It also included a POA track racing with a 100-yard race. From that first competition, racing grew to 220 yards and gradually increased to 440 yards, with a grading and qualifications standard. The POAs raced in two divisions divided by size, and the jockeys were the children. The practice was discontinued at the International Show after 1967 for safety reasons, but the POA rulebook carried the rules and standards for track racing until 1997.
Other events were added to the International Show after racing was dropped. Freestyle reining (reining program to music) was held from 1990 to 2000. A versatility class began at the 1985 International Show, with contestants showing in four classes: western pleasure, English pleasure, reining, and barrel racing. (Each rider was allowed two grooms and had to change clothes and tack between classes without ever leaving the show ring and within a time limit.) A World Championship Show was added to the show schedule in 1976, but the International has remained the premier showcase for POAs every year.
In 1963, it was voted to raise the height limit of a POA from 44 to 46 inches at the lower limit, and from 52 to 54 inches at the upper limit. It was about this time when the Shetland began to disappear from the POA breeding program. Larger ponies, such as the Welsh, and small horses, like the wild mustang and the Arabian, were combined with Indian ponies, Quarter Horses, and Appaloosas by the breeders to achieve that little horse look.
In 1973, the age of a child showing was raised to eighteen and under, and in 1985 the upper limit of the POA was raised to 56 inches. Adults could only show POAs at halter or pleasure driving, otherwise only children could compete with their POAs. Only for training purposes were the nineteen-and-over riding futurity classes instituted for young stock in 1987, as these classes were lobbied for by boys and girls who had aged out of POA showing. While a two-, three-, or four-year-old POA was being shown in these futurity classes, they could not be shown in eighteen-and-under competition, thus keeping the separation of child and adult.
Throughout all of these events, the POA has always been associated with family values, fun, and competition.
International Interest
Since the founding of the breed in 1954, the registry went from one pony, Black Hand, to over forty-five thousand POAs in 2003.
The breed also expanded into other countries. In 1997, Germany imported its first POA, named Bounce Back Val. As more POAs were imported to Germany, the first German Pony of the Americas Breeders Club was founded in Unteralpen, Germany, in 1999. POAs located in Canada now have affiliation with those in the United States. To address this situation, Canada and Mexico, along with other countries within the continents of Central and South America and Europe, are now included in the area elections.
The size and substance of the POAs was used in the formation of a new breed in Australia. Australia’s Palouse breed was developed in 1974 using Appaloosa studs and pony mares. Shortly thereafter, POAs and English ponies were imported to improve the stock. In 1978, the unbeatable POA, MP’s Jim’s Silverpiece, was sold to an Australian breeder. Silverpiece received the highest rating on the inspection score ever given an animal imported into Australia. The formation of the first U. S. POA Equestrian Team was finalized in 1993 through an exchange program with the Australian Palouse organization.
In England, an animal portrait artist and a director in the Spotted Horse and Pony Society, Adrienne Walsh, chose a leopard POA, Super Intimidator, for her painting depicting the perfect spotted equine to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the founding of that society in 2002.
Breed Overview
POAs are not small Appaloosas since they have a finer look. However, when someone asks, “What is a POA?” and a quick answer is needed, the easiest reply is, “A small Appaloosa.”
For show purposes there are definite height limits for weanlings, yearlings, and two-, three-, and four-year-olds. Permanent registration is only given at six years of age. Temporary registration is given if the pony fits the color, height, and conformation standards. There is also a hardship clause for ponies with unknown registry, or for Appaloosas that remain small enough to meet the height requirements if they fit the color and conformation standards.
POAs still must have color that is recognizable from forty feet, mottled skin, and white sclera to be registered. Sclera is the white of the eye and usually is readily visible, resembling the human eye. Mottled skin is a blotchy pattern of pigmented and non-pigmented skin (usually with black spots) found on the muzzle, around the eyes, and genital areas. Bold, vertical, clearly defined, light or dark stripes on the hooves are another POA characteristic, but are not required for registration.
Pinto coloration and bald faces are disqualifications for the POA registry as are white stockings that rise above the middle of the knee.
Standards
General appearance: Pony of the Americas should show beauty and symmetry. It should also be a balanced individual, regardless of size, and correct in all aspects of conformation, exhibiting approved color patterns and characteristics.
Quality of a POA: Quality refers to substance, style, and refinement. The ponies should be well proportioned and in good health and flesh (not too fat or too thin), with soft, pliable skin, and the overall appearance of refinement, style, beauty, and substance.
Size: The POA is between 46 and 56 inches in height at maturity.
Head: The head should be proportionate in size to the body, with clean-cut features. The symmetrical and smooth head is clean-cut and slightly dished, showing mottled skin around the nostrils and lips. The forehead is wide and sclera of eyes is white, adding distinctiveness to head’s appearance. The eyes should be medium size, pointedly alert, and well carried.
Neck: Showing style, quality and character, the neck should be slightly arched and clean-cut, with distinctly defined throatlatch and large windpipe.
Body: The body should be round, full ribbed, and heavily muscled with well-sprung ribs. The back is straight and both the back and loin are short, wide, and well muscled. The underline is long with flank well let down.
Forehand: The arm and forearm should show muscle; shoulders should be deep and well laid in, sloping 45 degrees. The withers should be prominent and well-defined with good saddle base.
Chest: The chest should be fairly wide, deep, and full, and blend into well-muscled, sloping shoulders.
Hindquarters: The croup should be long, level, and muscular, and the quarters and gaskins, deep and muscular. The hocks should be clean-cut and supporting. Hips are smoothly covered, being long, sloping, and muscular. Thighs are long, muscular, and deep, blending into well-rounded quarters. Gaskins are long, wide, and muscular, extending to clean, clearly defined, wide straight hocks.
Legs: The legs should be set squarely under the body, straight and true at each corner so that the animal is well balanced and travels easily. They should be in correct position from front, side, and rear view. Forearm is well muscled, long, wide, and tapers down to a broad knee. Knees taper gradually into the cannon. Cannons should be lean, short, wide, and flat, with wide, smooth, and strongly supported fetlocks. The ankles should be firm, and the fetlocks are clean of excess hair. Pasterns are medium long and slope a medium 45-degree angle.
Feet: Hooves are striped, rounded, deep, open, and wide at heels. The feet should be proportionate to the size of the pony, of good shape, wide, and deep at the heels.
Gaits: This refers to a way of going. The walk should be straight with a long, easy stride, true and flat footed.
The western jog trot is soft, relaxed, and quiet with a definite two-beat gait. At no time should it resemble a running walk, nor should it be rough or stilted. The speed and stride should be compatible with the pony size.
The English trot should be a free-moving, ground-covering stride, executed in a long, low frame. Excessive knee or hock action is at no time desirable. Quick, short strides should be penalized.
Lope or canter should be rolling and comfortable with strong emphasis on a natural three-beat, soft lope. A four-beat lope is at no time desirable and should be penalized.
Manners: Good manners are demonstrated by the pony’s obedience to all commands and includes the ability to stand quietly, back readily, walk, jog, lope, or stop as requested and, in general, guided by a light mouth. Pulling on the bit, head tossing, breaking stride, traveling in a sideways motion, and wringing the tail are objectionable.
Presence: Presence refers to animation, self-assurance, alertness, and personality that stem from good breeding, good grooming, good care, good training, and good handling. Evidence of being a “professional” is also present, in that the pony senses what is required and readily expends the effort necessary to obey the demands of its rider, driver, or handler.
Colors: The seven basic coat patterns recognized for the POA breed are:
• Snowflake pattern—basic dark body color with “snowflake” type white spots over all or part of the body
• Frost pattern—basic dark body color with “frost” type white sprinkled over all or part of the body
• Blanket pattern—basic dark body color with white “blanket” over croup, hindquarters, loins, and back (or over parts of these); blanket may have dark spots
The tractable nature of the POA is demonstrated in this red roan mare with blanket and spots. Jared Katzenberger
• Leopard pattern—basic white body color with dark spots over entire body and neck
• White with black spots on hindquarters—basic body color white with dark spots over hindquarters, loins, croup, and back (or over parts of these)
• Marbleized roan pattern—basic roan body color (including neck), being a mixture of light and dark hairs with light color predominant and with “varnish” marks
• Few-spotted leopard pattern—basic body color is white with no or few spots on body. Areas of solid color or dark roan may be found on the ears, behind the elbows, the flank, and usually the underside of the neck. Strong sclera (the area of the eye which encircles the iris) and mottled skin are required.
Coat patterns vary widely, and over time, some ponies develop additional color. One of the most popular colorations is the blanketed pattern, which is characterized by white over the loin and hips with dark, round, egg-shaped spots. These spots may vary in size, from tiny specks to spots 4 or more inches in diameter. Others will show white over the hips without the dark spots. This variation on the blanket pattern is known as “snowcapped.”
Spotting over the entire body is commonly referred to as a leopard pattern. In both blanket and leopard patterns, the spots may be darker in the middle, with a lighter ring surrounding the spot. This unique look is called a halo.
When white hairs are mixed in the base coat color, the pattern is called roan. Often associated with this coat pattern variation are the descriptive terms of red, blue, and marbleized. Gray or roan ponies must have mottled skin and white sclera to qualify for registration.
Credit: Pony of the Americas Club, Inc.