Ermelo was an important meeting place again

Whenever possible, we do our very best to attend the Welsh pony and Welsh cob stallion registration in Holland in Ermelo that takes place once a year. It has become a "must" for us not only due to the high quality ponies that one may witness there.

Ermelo has become more and more important within Europe as the meeting point in the Welsh scene in general. Nearly all of the important names and Welsh enthusiasts meet new and old faces to enjoy a two day Welsh Marathon, new contacts can be made especially in the evening where "hot topics", gossip, news of the day and who's who discussed and debated with valour! The possibilities to make new contacts and renew old contacts are numerous.

I was able to witness the events in Ermelo from a different angle this year, as an honourable guest, invited from the Dutch "Stamboek" as committee member of our new founded Welsh Pony Society Germany. All of my expectations were met and I enjoyed the occasion, when possible, even more than usual!

We had hardly mentioned our arrival when suddenly our 2 headed group became suddenly 5 as the "Stamboek furthered their invitation to include our other members who had accompanied us to Ermelo. A pleasant welcome and a more than polite gesture.

At 18:00 hrs Dhr. Toon Vloet, a quite new director of the Dutch Stamboek opened the evening and dinner with an English speech fort he 50-60 international guests attending in the Cantharel Hotel. The evening went off with a friendly, warm atmosphere.

The Chairman of the 13 judges, Dhr. Peter Goumans, presented various stories and reports with the aid of a diashow the current concepts, status quo and aims of the Dutch Welsh Part bred breeding. The presentation created a good base for a controversial discussion in which Claudia Clausnitzer und Hans Schumacher as representatives of our Society stated, in their opinion the canter and jumping qualities of the ponies should be taken into consideration when judging the overall qualities of a particular pony.

Peter Goumans admitted that a similar discussion had taken place among Dutch breeders, however the conclusion and voted opinion (the majority voted against a change) was that the judging process should remain as it now is in Holland.

And should interested buyers want to see a pony running and jumping freely, this should take place in another hall to give potential buyers a chance to view all sides of a particular pony of their choice. In Holland the stallions take part in a 35 day test shortly after the registration.

After the official part of the evening we sat together and discussed in a relaxed atmosphere other topics and exchanged views and opinions over breeding where a good mood and a good drink to "oil" the voice of course were not allowed to fail! The word "Jägermeister" has become a new meaning in the Dutch dictionary. Although we still had enough to discuss, the staff in the hotel began to look tired and at about midnight we went our separate ways and let them take their well earned rest.

My direction was the hotel bar in the Cantharel Hotel and as I left at about 01:30 hrs with a taxi to the Hotel Apeldoorn, where I was to spend the night, the night was for many still young.

At 08:30 hrs although the night was short for some, we met to see the parade of the older previously registered stallions in the "Fedaratie Centrum".

As usual the show lasted until the lunch break which pleased all of the audience – in particular those who had travelled a long way to witness the events. The parade is mostly accompanied from deafening music and drum beating, the crowd laughing, cheering and shouting with the commentator – a real sight for sore eyes to see how our Dutch neighbours celebrate the Welsh pony.

The ponies were so excited and wound up by the crowd and noise that it was almost impossible to see the ponies walk; however the quality of trot shown was enough to give me goose bumps! They seem to favour an extravagant trot. In the registration of the ponies afterwards trot also appeared to influence the judging overall.

Unlike the straight forward and too official element illustrated when we in Germany give a prize for the breeder of the year – in Holland the crowd is ecstatic over the choice and cheers so loud and really congratulates the breeder in a way that I have not witnessed in Germany. The choice in this year was the well known Welsh-B breeder Piet Steeghs (Steehorst). The crowd shouted and cheered and the round of honour was a terrific scene.

After the lunch break the second viewing of the remaining young stallions began. I was lucky enough to have shared the afternoon with Miss Ann Bale-Williams (Baledon Stud). We exchanged opinions and our impressions pony for pony which made the event even more interesting and I must say that my knowledge of the Welsh breed was improved in these few valuable hours.

 In particular Hans Schumacher, who doesn't often stay long in one place introduced me to many new faces from near and far for which I was grateful.

Ermelo showed me once more just how important the exchange of information, opinions and impressions on an international level to our breeding of Welsh ponies is. Although in Ermelo numerous ponies of an exceptional quality were shown – the weaknesses existing within the Welsh breeding were also apparent in Ermelo. The problems or weaknesses in the Welsh breed are not just within Germany, the problems within the Welsh breed in Holland are not however identical to those seen in Germany.

The differences in the breeding concepts from one country to another allow different weaknesses which alter the breeding quality accordingly. In Holland the breeding standards and expectations are laid down by a board of 13 judges who attempt to consequently judge according to these standards and guidelines which results in the end product chosen being quite uniform in type, quality and appearance. Those breeders who do not adhere to the guidelines/ direction given are not then let through the net and remain at this particular point in time without success regardless of name and previous history. This can be witnessed when browsing through various websites from various successful breeders. Place for individual interpretation is not found very often under the given breeding plan.

On the other side there are some questionable decisions and registration of Welsh ponies within the German breeding associations that do not reflect the standard breeding standards given by associations in the mother land Wales. The registration of some of these ponies would not be considered in Holland by the Dutch Welsh Pony and Cob Stamboek.

Overall I believe that we can always learn a lot from others and that's why I will always travel with great expectations and a glint in my eye to Ermelo every year to our Dutch breeding friends where one is welcomed with open arms and where on can witness a superior quality in breeding of the Welsh pony in general.