Originally Posted 12/28/2016
September 2, 2015 - We all lived to tell the tale of Seamus's (pronounced Shay-muss) inspections.... not that it was a harrowing experience or anything but it was quite the ordeal.
We had had no previous experience with RPSI but we knew when we bred Ella that we would want to take she and her foal to them for approval/inspections. They have a very good GRP program and, they are one of only a few that have reciprocity with the German books. As in, when a foal bred and born in North American is registered with RPSI, they are registered in Germany, held to the same standards as the German ponies; a fantastic measuring stick for any American breeder.
Sadly, the closest RPSI had historically come to our area was either a 5 hour drive East or a 7 hour drive West. When I contacted the registry to ask about a site any closer to home, it was kind of amazing! Coincidently, there were people in the Des Moines, IA area also interested. Long story short, we settled on the Mason City IA fairgrounds (a 3+ hour trailer drive for us).
Dad and Miare (one of two sisters involved in this pony thing we do) took the truck, trailer, mare and foal down the evening before inspections. Mom and Megan (second sister) stayed at their respective farms to do chores that night and very early the next morning. Inspections began at 9 AM and with the 3 hour drive, they had to wake, shower, chore, eat, drive to a meeting location and leave by 6 AM to get there in time. Thank goodness for Starbucks.
Although extremely hot and humid, the weather cooperated and driving was no trouble. Once we were all on-site in Mason and had paperwork complete, the final baby prep began as we were 3rd in the order of go. Miare had bathed and braided that morning and though baby Seamus's patience had been very much tested, he managed to be a good boy through the ordeal.
The nice thing about Mason City is that we didn't have to drive a ridiculous distance to get there .... the not-so-nice thing about Mason City is that it's a fairgrounds, not intended to host mares and foals running at liberty as per the RPSI inspection protocol. The fence around the arena was about 4 feet high and not at all secure. The first mare and foal combination to go were a lovely Warmblood pair. Though it was without incident, the mare showed us all that the liberty phase of inspections was not a safe bet for this facility! The protocol was amended and only the in-hand portion of the presentation was made.
When it was our turn, both Ella and Seamus walked obediently into the arena. Both were a bit on edge but trusting us. The highway nearby was whizzing with traffic and Seamus was enthralled with all the activity. He showed himself well, but not great. The stress of a long drive the day before and a night in a strange place appeared to have caught up with them both. Despite his half effort to show off, he scored very well being awarded a SILVER PREMIUM! Here's how the scores shook out:
Breed and Sex Type, Quality of conformation: 7.6
Movement: 7.6
Total Score: 7.5
Otto's comments came fast and furious as my brain worked to process the numbers! I was a bit in shock with how well he scored, but I remember comments about his good topline, nice modern pony type and strong hind end.
More mare and foal sets were inspected along with a lovely 3 year old German Riding pony mare who was gaining her approval for breeding. After that, there was lunch, socializing, site awards and good byes. Ella and Seamus loaded right back into the trailer like pro's and the drive home was uneventful and full of smiles. This had been our first exposure to RPSI and we were very happy. In fact, happy enough to consider the organization as our base for our future breeding endeavors.