Rosie Mai the Super Pony

The winsome Welsh Pony and Cob! We are celebrating these ponies as our September Breed of the Month on YourDressage!

Did you know that dressage riders who choose a Welsh Pony or Cob as their dressage mount are eligible for special awards through the Adequan®/USDF All-Breeds Awards program, as the Welsh Pony & Cob Society of America, Inc. is a participating organization?

Here, an assistant trainer from Region 2 tells us how she was tasked with building a youth program and eventually filled the pony-sized hole in their operation with a highly decorated and hugely loved Welsh Cob.

By Betsy Ortner

Rosie Mai is the pony that gave me the courage to turn my passion into a profession. As a life-long equestrian, I discovered my love for the connection between kids and horses through volunteering at a therapeutic riding program in high school. Not long after, I received my Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH Intl.) Instructor certification, but horses started to take a backseat when I entered college. 

In the winter of 2021, I began working for a local dressage trainer, who graciously encouraged me to build her youth program. We started small, “leasing” rides on horses in the barn for our initial lessons. In the dressage world, lesson horses are often few- and far-between, and our program was no exception. We were lucky enough to have an FEI schoolmaster, but at 17-hands, he wasn’t a great fit for our youngest riders. 

Over the next year, DB Sport Horses’ Junior Program grew beyond our expectations, and it became time for us to find a dedicated kids’ lesson pony. Enter, Rosie Mai! Through the grapevine, we connected with Rosie Mai’s family in the winter of 2022. With their generosity, Rosie Mai was loaned to our lesson program, and things really took off! 

My riders and I often joke that Rosie Mai could teach the lessons better than I could, and I might just believe them. Rosie Mai came to us with quite the record – she was imported from Manitoba as a young horse, and offered to her family in exchange for her producing a foal. 

Additionally, her show resume is extensive, from in-hand classes and walk-trot, all the way up to being a National Champion Welsh Pony Hunter, and National Champion Section C Mare. She was even awarded the Welsh Pony & Cob Society of America (WPCSA) Legion of Merit for her accomplishments as a broodmare and in the show ring. Rosie Mai was then shown by her family’s daughter for several years. After that, she was ridden by a friend (who now has Charlie, a featured Fjord from October!), and then retired for a few years before coming to us. It feels very special to have the privilege to share Rosie Mai with her lifelong family, as not many equestrians have this opportunity. 

Now, over two years into this arrangement, Rosie Mai still seems to be her happiest when being doted on by her tiny humans. Being a lesson pony is not an easy task – extreme patience, many treats, and clumsy brushing are at the top of the job description (this is your sign to go thank a lesson horse!!). Somehow, Rosie Mai manages this task with grace. 

While she has a general disdain for adults, she willingly follows her little riders wherever they go. Our riders range from four years old to teenagers, some with neurodivergence, and somehow, Rosie Mai manages to adapt to each rider. She’ll patiently teach a little one to walk-halt, and then provide the perfect degree of challenge for our older riders as they canter around an Introductory or Training Level test. 

As any good pony does, Rosie Mai teaches our riders the important lessons of horsemanship: empathy, responsibility, tenacity, and an overwhelming love for our horses.

Prior to meeting Rosie Mai and her family, I did not know much about Welsh Cobs, but they have since become a firm favorite of mine. Rosie Mai’s family has been kind enough to share their love for the breed with me, even introducing me to driving with the help of a few of their other cobs. I have a great appreciation for the Welsh Cob’s surefootedness, intelligence, sturdiness, and adaptability. They’re always game for an adventure, and are the perfect size- often short enough for a young rider, but stocky enough to carry an adult. 

I consider myself very lucky to have the privilege to love and work with Rosie Mai. At 24 years old, she hasn’t slowed down a bit, and I hope she knows just how very loved she is. All equestrians remember the first horse they loved, and Rosie Mai has been that horse for many young riders, and hopefully many more to come. I’m beyond grateful for Rosie Mai and her family, as well as my trainer, for giving me the opportunity to share my passion with the next generation.