Ziggy Stardust

By Jennifer Melcher

In the month of February, we are celebrating all the flashy-splashy colored horses on #YourDressage! Whether your horse is a registered Paint, Appaloosa, Knabstrupper, or Gypsy Horse, sports a patched or spotted coat, or wears lots of chrome, this month is for you!

Dressage enthusiasts who ride colorful horses have the opportunity to earn special awards through the Adequan®/USDF All-Breeds Awards as the Official American Paint Horse Association, Appaloosa Horse Club, Knabstrupperforeningen for Danmark (KNN), Gypsy Horse Registry Of America, and The Gypsy Vanner Horse Society are all Participating Organizations. There are also plenty of organizations that include horses with all sorts of interesting cost patterns.

Here, an equine vet from Region 3 shares the story of the spotty pony she bought sight unseen, who has turned into a great little partner for both her and her son!

My name is Jennifer Melcher, and I’m an Equine Veterinarian in Canton, Georgia. I’ve always said that adulthood has been the time to compensate for my lack of a pony as a child. Somehow, that lack manifested in some of the most wonderful mounts I’ve ever had, culminating with my half-Connemara/Warmblood, Moses, on whom I earned my USDF Gold Medal. 

I wasn’t exactly shopping for another mount last June when I came across an ad on Mane Street Market. The picture was of the loudest Appaloosa pony you’ve ever seen, complete with a western bridle. I’m not sure what drew me to the picture exactly, but I clicked on the ad and watched the fourteen-minute video of “Buckshot” doing everything under the sun! The video showed him riding western, English, jumping, trail riding, roping cattle, and even sitting down. 

The horse looked to be a true all-arounder, but what really drew me in was his amazing canter. Like a little rocking horse, he cantered with perfect balance. I couldn’t get him out of my head – luckily, my family agreed! I took a chance and sent another vet friend in North Carolina to try him out and vet him for me. When she arrived, they only had a children’s size western saddle, and, at 13.3 hands, she decided it was best to ride bareback, only trotting him briefly. I took a chance based on her assessment, and had him shipped down to Georgia, sight unseen. 

The people I purchased him from were not the ones who had made his original sales video, and it turned out that they had barely ridden him in the last year, and he had picked up some not-so-wonderful habits. 

What I can tell you about Pony of the Americas (POAs) is that they are incredibly smart –  a blessing and a curse. He had been ridden in a very strong bit, likely to prevent him from bolting to the gate with the child. My first ride on him was interesting, to say the least. Ziggy, as I named him, can go from zero to sixty, drop his shoulder, and make for the gate with ease. His mouth and steering were hard, almost as if he wasn’t trained anymore. 

I questioned my purchase for about two weeks, while trying to figure out how to properly bit him and start to retrain him back to the version he was in the sales ad. I had originally planned for my 12-year-old son to take the ride on, as his Haflinger was injured and out of commission for the show season. We managed to get some good rides in, and even took him to Pony Club D-camp in Kentucky in July. After returning, though, we found that with strength and confidence, he was starting to take advantage of my son, so I took over the ride. 

The POA is a mixture of a Shetland pony, Arabian, and Appaloosa. I know what you’re thinking: why would anyone make that combination on purpose? I’m here to tell you that these are wonderful mounts for both adults and children. All the POAs I’ve met in my area, including my good friend’s wonder-pony, Galaxy Twinkle Star (who partially inspired the name Ziggy Stardust), are smart and workmanlike ponies. There are days that the Arabian shows up more than the Appaloosa, as Ziggy can be firey at times, but overall, his brain and work ethic are amazing. He is relaxed in all settings, from the show grounds to solo trail rides. The pony portion can cause occasional “stinky” behavior, so they do need a firm rider, in my opinion.  

As an adult amateur, there are always challenges to face; one of the most challenging things about riding a pony boils down to size. I’m a petite 5’4” rider, but riding a 13.3-hand pony has really pushed me to focus on the influence of my body weight, hand, and seat. There is literally not a lot of real estate to work with when riding a pony, and Ziggy is very sensitive. I have become much more aware of my balance after riding Ziggy – initially, even slight changes in my thigh pressure were blocking him from picking up the correct lead. I’ve learned I am a “stronger” rider with my reins and seat than I ever realized. 

After taking a clinic with Jodie Kelly, I learned that you can actually hold a pony up with your hand and leg if you choose, but, as she pointed out, he would never learn to carry himself. When I came into her lesson, I had difficulty counter-cantering on the right lead – this guy would change leads or just fall out of the canter every time I attempted it. After “hollowing out” the left rein for a few weeks using a fingers’ pressure, he suddenly could do it with no issue. 

I initially started showing Ziggy in preparation for my son to take over the ride. At the time, I wasn’t even sure that he would stay in the dressage court. His first horse show was at a local recognized show, and I chose to enter the Opportunity classes at Training Level. 

Ziggy surprised me with his willingness to enter the arena with no prep. I wouldn’t say we were quite ready for the show ring, steering was a little iffy, and he still wanted to western stop at any noise that even resembled a “whoa.” But, we managed to score well, despite some green moments, finishing in the low- to mid-60% range. We went home and worked to steady the connection and drive more from behind to the bridle, so we could eliminate some of the halted transitions and returned to the show ring about a month later at a schooling show. 

It was amazing the improvement we made, scoring over 70% at Training 3 to win the Adult Medal. What was most fun about showing him was his laid-back attitude – he never spooked, or even worried about the scary indoor arena. I knew this was going to be a great pony moving forward; he just needed more strength. Through that horse show, I earned enough scores to win a year-end award with the Georgia Dressage and Combined Training Association (GDCTA), my local GMO, at Training Level schooling. 

Dressage is one of the most fascinating sports to me; I last won an award in 2021 for the Adult Amateur Grand Prix, and now I’m all the way back at the beginning, but somehow, that feels just as rewarding. We are currently working towards some Second Level movements as Ziggy gets stronger, and I plan to show him later this February at First Level for the first time, taking a stab at qualifying for the National Dressage Pony Cup. I have also started transitioning him to my son a few days a week, while continuing the training process, and hopefully aiming him towards the FEI pony division.

I recently also got in touch with the original seller who made the video that drew me in! They explained that Ziggy was purchased by them at a sale in Tennessee, and they assumed he’d been a 4H mount. His trainer remarked that he had always thought Ziggy could be talented at dressage or English disciplines, but overall he really felt strongly that his horses all have a solid training base that makes them all around good, safe mounts. I truly appreciate the training that he put into this pony because it has set us up on a fabulous trajectory, and I truly believe Ziggy will be a fabulous dressage mount for myself and my son in the coming years. A good foundation in training should be valued above all else, because it sets the horse up for a successful career in whatever sport. After all, he originally envisioned Ziggy as a roping horse (which, based on the video, is possible) and now look at him, fancy prancing around as a dressage horse!