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Studbook - NEWS
It’s a Treasure & Emily Grace
www.qorum-photos.com
The Sports Pony Studbook Society
Terrific Tours...
2018 saw another successful grading
and evaluation tour, starting in
Scotland then zigzagging down the
country to finish in the South five
days later. Once again, Hans-Heinrich
Brüning (an international judge &
breeder of Hanoverian dressage and
jumping horses) flew in from Germany
to join SPSS Chairman & Director,
Jacke Mathieson (who has competed
successfully in jumping, eventing
& dressage, is a stallion owner and
breeder of competition horses &
ponies) and together, on our tour
this year, they judged more than 100
gradings and evaluations.
The SPSS was also one of the
studbooks to actively support the new
Elite Foals Registration Tour and foals
registering with the SPSS on this tour
were also assessed for SPSS Premiums.
Across both tours, British sports
pony breeders presented some truly
outstanding youngstock to the SPSS,
with 34 of them in particular wowing
the judges with their athleticism,
elastic gaits and modern sports type
so that they scored 80% or higher and
were awarded a coveted SPSS GOLD
premium.
To the delight of the SPSS Studbook
Manager, Lucy Sheldrake, of the
youngstock awarded Gold Premiums
– and the evaluations were entirely
open, so there was no requirement for
any SPSS connection in the breeding –
over 60% of them had an SPSS graded
sire and 17 also had an SPSS graded
dam – showing that success at grading
is linked to success at evaluation.
The SPSS stallion responsible for the
highest number of Gold Premiums
this year was Jennifer Gilchrist’s SPSS
graded stallion Boss Junior who had 5
progeny forward for SPSS evaluation
and a total of 4, a foal, 2 yearlings
and a 2 year old, gained Gold
Premiums.
The next highest achieving stallion
was Penny Walster’s British-bred SPSS
graded stallion Bathleyhills Monet who
also had 5 progeny evaluated with 3 (2
foals and a 2 year old) achieving Gold
Premiums.
42 | BRITISH BREEDER www.british-breeding.com