We do not and never have (as far as I know) used ASPIR here in Canada. We have the Canadian Pony Society (CPS) which registers Shetlands and some other pony breeds. Here is the requirements for CPS registration:
SHETLAND PONIES – Standard 44 inches
a. Animals the sires and dams of which are recorded in the Canadian Pony Stud
Book.
b. Animals imported from any country must be recorded in a registry recognized by
the Canadian Pony Society, and must show at least three successive generations of
purebred registered ancestry on both the sire and dam side. Note: Animals recorded in
Section B of the American Shetland Pony Club Stud Book and their offspring are not
eligible for registration in the Canadian Pony Stud Book.
I confess that I do not know what other breeds are eligible for CPS registration--and it doesn't matter to me what they are. There are a number of Canadian breeders who have imported ASPC ponies and registered them with CPS. When they breed those ponies they very often register with CPS only and do not get ASPC papers on their foals. Somewhere in the future these CPS ponies can obtain their ASPC papers. In the event that one of these ponies is bred to a CPS pony that is not ASPC eligible, then the resulting foal and any future descendants of that foal are not eligible to get ASPC papers. I have no problem with that. I personally do not register my ponies with CPS--all it amounts to is an extra expenditure--CPS papers get me nothing. Our shows are ASPC and anyone wanting to show their CPS ponies at these shows must first obtain ASPC papers on those ponies. If someone wants to get ASPC papers on their 4th generation CPS pony and show against us, I have no problem with that. If someone wants to get ASPC papers on their CPS pony that is half ASPC & half Dartmoor, they won't be able to do it. I don't think that the ASPIR ponies that are half ASPC and half German riding pony are eligible for ASPC papers (I'm quite sure they are not?) and I don't think they are eligible to show in ASPC classes? There would have to be ASPIR classes for those ponies?
If someone wants to raise 1/2 ASPC 1/2 Dartmoor ponies with CPS registration papers, that's no skin off my nose. That is something different than a full ASPC pony, and if there is a market for that Dartmoor cross then more power to them. There is absolutely no point in a Shetland breeder complaining that the Dartmoor cross is ruining the Shetland market. If there is an open show that provides a class that is open to any pony 12.2 hands and under and you have to show in that against Miniatures and English Shetlands and ASPC/German riding pony crosses I'm afraid I don't see that as being any different than here where we can go to some of the open fairs and compete in the open pony class--it might be 12.2 hands & under where we would compete against Welsh and whatever small mixed breed ponies might be at the show, or it might be 14.2 hands & under where we could find ourselves competing against a hackney or a small Quarter Horse or Morgan or Welsh. It happens a lot, and if we want to show we show where there are classes available. It was the same back when we were showing Morgans--there wasn't much for Morgan shows available here, so we showed at the open shows, and won against QH and Appaloosas and Arabians and Paints. Open shows where you find yourself showing against anything and everything have always been kind of a way of life here and I always enjoyed those shows.
I am well aware of predjudice against certain breeds or registries. When I was a kid showing in 4H it was a QH world--and I was showing a Morgan. It was sometimes difficult to win and when I did win there was always someone in the club who was upset about it. When I got my first ASPC pony there were no ASPC classes available here. Then the local AMHR show organizers were kind enough to allow a small list of ASPC classes the next year, and now we have two rated ASPC shows held in conjunction with the AMHR shows. We don't have a great Shetland entry either--most pony owners here have ASPC/AMHR horses and show in AMHR. The CPS owners in the province don't bother with ASPC registration and so cannot show--and I'm not sure that they would have any interest in showing anyway. ASPC ponies are rare here, and people are interested in seeing them--so even though we are often showing against ourselves it is still fun to take the ponies out & show them off to people who may not have seen ponies of this type before. Here in Manitoba there are still so many people who hear "Shetland" and think of the small, dumpy little pony they knew when they were kids--those people are always so surprised to see our ponies! Like I said, I can name off one AMHR show committee that is absolutely opposed to allowing ASPC ponies to have classes at their AMHR shows. It's the same registry--ASPC/AMHR--yet an AMHR show won't agree to add any ASPC classes, not even when ASPC owners offer assistance with setting up the class list and not even when there is someone who has offered to sponsor the ASPC class ribbons. It would cost that show committee nothing to add those classes, and still they refuse. So, owners in that area have to show at open shows or they have to haul miles and miles to get to shows that do offer ASPC classes. Or they don't show--that's just the way it is.
): ASPR ponies must have 1 shetland or 1 hackney parent and must measure under 48" WITH shoes?
