American Miniature Horse Registry

American Shetland Pony Congress Returns to Iowa State Fairgrounds With Huge ...

Des Moines, IA – The American Shetland Pony Club, Inc.’s, National Congress celebrated its 65th observance in July by returning to its original home in Iowa and posting a stunningly successful competition.

The 2011 American Shetland and American Show Pony National Congress was held July 12–16, 2011, at the beautiful Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, IA. More than 500 ponies from across the United States & Canada competed for 364 national championship titles.

The event’s return to Des Moines was historic. The first American Shetland Pony Congress was held in 1947 at the Iowa State Fair’s National Horse Show. The event remained in Des Moines until 1970. Since then, the ASPC Congress has occurred in several different locations across the country. However, the recent opening of the Richard O. Jacobson Exhibition Center on the fairgrounds and the historic 65th Shetland Congress provided the perfect opportunity for the ASPC/ASPR Congress to return to its roots.

“The new Jacobson Center is a wonderful show facility, and it worked very well for the Congress,” said show manager Lenard Davenport. “This facility and its staff were accommodating and contributed greatly to making this championship show a success.”

This year’s Congress was, indeed, a success! ASPC President Pat Sanders summed up the entire show and experience in one word, “positive!”

Sanders said, “I was impressed with the high level of competition at Congress. The caliber of ponies competing was exactly what you want to see for a national show.”

Ponies and exhibitors came from at least 20 states spanning the entire country. With 505 ponies accounting for more than 1700 entries, participation in this year’s national championship was up nearly 25% over last year’s Congress. Competitors won premium paybacks, incentives, jackpots and breeders’ Futurity winnings of between $53,000 to $55,000.

The 2011 ASPC/ASPR Congress offered a bevy of special awards and recognition for the people who participated. Youth competed for more than two dozen special award categories from high point winners to junior judging & quiz bowl champions to sportsmanship honors. One lucky youth wrote an essay to win their own new Shetland pony donated by a participating stable.

American Miniature Horses

The result of nearly 400 years of selective breeding, historians tend to support the Miniature Horse breed as a derivative of many sources.  In prehistoric times small horse breeds were most likely the products of surviving harsh natural climates and limited feed.  Today, knowledge of genetics has made the possibility of breeding specifically for size a reality. The first mention of a small horse being imported into the United States was in 1888; and research shows little public awareness of true Miniatures until 1960.  Popular belief is that American Miniature horses utilized the blood of English and Dutch mine horses brought into this country in the 19th century and used in some Appalachian coal mines as late as 1950. The American Miniature Horse, as documented in the pedigrees of Miniatures today, also drew upon the blood of the Shetland pony.  Throughout its colorful past, the Miniature Horse breed had been bred for pets, novelty, research, monetary gain, mining work, exhibition and royal gifts.

No bigger than a large dog, they don't measure more than 34 inches at the withers, at the last hairs of the mane, American Miniature Horses are "miniature" versions of well-balanced horses, possessing confirmation characteristics found in most equine breeds. Miniature Horses can be found in a rainbow of colors and types with any color or marking pattern, and any eye color, is equally acceptable. There are two registries in the United States for Miniature Horses, the American Miniature Horse Association (AMHA) and the American Miniature Horse Registry (AMHR).  The AMHA was founded in 1978 and was dedicated to establishing the Miniature horse as a distinct breed of horse. The AMHR is a division of the American Shetland pony Club and was established as a separate registry in 1972.In the AMHA, Miniatures cannot exceed 34 inches at the withers (which the AMHA defines as located at the last hair of the mane). There are two divisions in AMHR - the "A" division for horses 34 inches (86 cm) and under, and the "B" division for horses 34 to 38 inches (86 to 97 cm).

American Miniature Horse Registry, official show rules : effective 1-1-95

Miniature Horse in Reivew, Vol. 2

The Official Horse Breeds Standards Guide, The Complete Guide to the Standards of All North American Equine Breed Associations

Train Your Own Mini

The Offical Horse Breeds Standards Guide