by Ritchie Rozzelle
It has been my long-held belief that any day that finds me unexpectedly wearing a helmet and moving at break-neck speeds, well, that’s a good day. I found myself in that exact situation shortly after meeting Sandy Rose, owner of Wynnbrook Farm and driving pony enthusiast. Sandy was expertly maneuvering a little black carriage through a course of tight turns, pulled by a team of extremely obedient Welsh ponies. I am the navigator. Hanging from the back of said carriage, it was my job to throw my weight around. As we negotiated through the course I leaned into the turns to make sure we stayed on four wheels. “Don’t worry, this thing has brakes,” Sandy reassured me. And with her at the reins and two superb ponies on the other end, I didn’t worry. I enjoyed the thrill of this good day. But I didn’t come to Wynnbrook to hang off the back of a buggy; I came to talk about the ponies.
Ponies. These little powerhouses are very versatile animals. The same pony can compete in the hunter ring, complete a dressage test, win as a show jumper, make a little girl’s birthday wish come true – and yes, deftly pull a driving vehicle. However, to own such a safe and obedient pony you first need to find a trusted breeder.
That’s where a woman like Sandy enters the picture. Sandy, working from her farm in Hamilton, Virginia, has been breeding for the hunter pony market, specializing in Welsh and half-Welsh ponies, for more than two decades. Over that time her farm has developed both a philosophy and a program that leads to consistently sound ponies and an equally stable business. How? They work really hard.
“We work really hard,” says Sandy as we flip through pages of a showbook full of past success stories. “We’ve been at it since the early ’80s and we know what we’re looking for in the way of appearance and we know the bloodlines that will produce trusted ponies.” At the front of the book is a page with the farm’s motto: “Wynnbrook Bred Ponies. The quality of our breeding program is proven by the performance of our ponies.”
Sandy explains the truth of that statement. “Our ponies have the beauty and the brains. They are trainable, tractable and able to compete.” Finding that combination in a pony is a notoriously daunting task. A haphazard breeding program can lead, unfortunately, to a stable full of cute looking little nightmares. But at Wynnbrook Sandy knows what she’s doing. “We put an awful lot of effort into choosing animals that have a very tractable disposition and we do our homework on the bloodlines.”
“Not all colts should be stallions and not all mares should be broodmares,” she says with a knowledgeable matter-of-factness. “So from the beginning I did my research and chose mares that had a hunter pony’s look and who had a nice temperament. The same goes with our stallions. They can be showy, but they have to be gentle. The other thing, too, is that we let them be babies for a long time. We don’t rush them at weaning time, we don’t rush them into work and we don’t expect a 2-year old to do what a 5-year old can.”
Next we go out into the ring to see exactly what one of Sandy’s well-trained 4-year-old ponies can do. Wynnbrook Pocket of Pearls, ridden by Morgan Darnell, smoothly sails over jumps with the same movement of her larger hunter/jumper brethren. “One of the goals of this farm is not just to produce capable hunters, but ponies capable in any equine discipline,” says Sandy. She brings up her driving ponies by way of example, “I want the kind of driving pony that can drive one weekend and roll over and go into a hunter ring the next.”
If you are considering breeding ponies, Sandy has some advice. “I encourage everyone before they get into ponies to educate themselves. If they intend to breed, that needs to be a thorough education. Get to know what breed you want, focus on what you want and remain focused.”
All of Sandy’s focus adds up to a top-notch breeding and training program that remains respected, sought-after and profitable, even during this uncertain economic turn. “Times are tough. That’s obvious. And the market is tough. We are fortunate to have wonderful customers who have taken our young prospects and turned them into stars. They are another part of our success and we appreciate their expertise and hard work.” But Sandy says that if you stay focused, have a business plan that assures you have income from multiple sources and don’t overextend your program, you can weather the adversity of the times and come out of this with a good sound line. “And people will continue to purchase a really good pony.”
For Sandy, however, the reward is not in the economics of pony breeding, it’s in the relationship between pony and rider. “It gives me tremendous satisfaction to watch ponies we have bred successfully compete for their owners, a lot of whom are for young people.” There’s a bigger reason behind all this work,” she says in a hushed tone that belies deep emotion. “It’s not money. And while ribbons are nice, they don’t compare to seeing a child gain self-esteem and confidence. That’s really what matters.”
Wynnbrook Farms proudly feeds Triple Crown® products and Legends® Pelleted Rice Bran. Sandy has worked at the Loudonville Co-Op for over ten years. Visit Wynnbrook Farm online at www.wynnbrookfarm.com.