Ok....again, only my opinion. I'll try to keep it related to the Foundation stuff....lol
Black colt:
Extreme for a Foundation - nice length of neck, maybe a little longer backed with a juvenile back end. He has a nice hip that I think will continue to muscle out. He has a more pony look to his head. Based on his stance, I would think that he could easily show Classic if not even Modern Pleasure. He is built like many of those top-performing animals.
This is Texaco MGS, and I agree with your evaluation. This photo was taken back in April and he has greatly improved on himself since then. Obviously, NOT FOUNDATION TYPE, even though he carries the seal. An interesting historical note, his grandsire on his dam's side is Michigan's Action Jackson. And he currently measures 44"!
Pinto mare:
I would say - a perfect Foundation example. I love all this mares parts - she has a great show ring presence, alert eyes and ears, nice neck that sets well into her body, good shoulder. She has a little more coarseness to her bone structure, so I think she is a prime Foundation example. In this picture, she is showing a little more "parked" than some of the Foundation horses are showing as well. This would be a judgement call - she looks mature for her age. This could either help or hurt her in the class - she may look more masculine than another yearling filly in the same division.
I'm glad you like her! This is Heaven's Gate Special Design, pictured as a yearling, she's now a coming 3 yr old and will be shown Foundation. In the provided photo, she was showing in the Classic Yearling Over mare class at the '06 Congress where she placed 3rd in a very large class. I agree with your evaluation as well and only fault her with the coarseness of her head. She was very mature at this stage of her yearling year and very well conditioned.
Pinto stallion:
He isn't my favorite horse - he tends to have parts that I would consider in the "gray area". His head is plain - no "pop" when you look at him. He doesn't have an ugly head though by any means. His neck has nice length with a good set into his shoulder. He has a nice angle of shoulder. Nice length of body and nice hip. He looks to be a little weak in the rear end and this could be a level of maturity thing. He has a questionable thickness of bone - probably more thick than his counterparts showing Classic, but more refined than the Foundation ponies. IMO, this would be a colt I'd sit on. I'd see how he matured before determining where to place him. From a judging perspective, he would also be hard to place because of the faults I noted but also as he is one of those "tweeners".
This is Happy Hooligan O.K. and I wish you could see him now. This photo was taken last March and has since bloomed very well. Not the most flattering picture of his head, I agree. However, he has one of the nicer heads of his bloodline (Wilk Wind Walker x Georgetown Tom Cat daughter). I sat on him a lot this year and am very happy with his maturing (though not happy with his behavior! But that's improving as well). His rear end has filled out and muscled up nicely since this photo. I've shown him both Foundation and Classic, he unfortunatly did go over 42" yet seemed a little extreme for the class anyway. I'm happy to show him Classic. I am happy that he did received 2 Reserve Grands at the last show so he gets to stick around a little while longer for me to sit and watch!
I will note that even though you can not see from these angles, all 3 horses have extremely correct leg structure which is extremely important to me. Especially in stallions, if their legs aren't straight, they get cut immediately. The mare, believe it or not, has very fine bone structure of her legs(another fault for her IMO). Yet, both boys have some serious cannon bones. When you pick them up, you know you're grabbing a solid, powerful leg. Thanks for the evaluations and I would love to see you come down to Texas sometime.
