It's Friday, I'm a Judge! Breed: European Pony

Happy Friday judging clinic! We're back in breed land today. 

As always, my personal judging history and credentials can be found on my About Me page. 

This week, we're looking at a Traditional European Pony class today. Like my last breed clinic, we've got a couple of horses on the same mold in this class, as a fun treat. Before we look at our entries, let's familiarize ourselves with the breeds that will be appearing in this class today.  

Norwegian Fjord

• Strongly built, hardy, well-proportioned, and athletic
• Proportional head, not long, has a slight dish and is not convex. Large, dark and bright eyes, short and wide set ears with a refined point at the tip
• High set neck with a convex topline, gently sloping shoulder, withers are not prominent and blend smoothly into the back
• Long, broad, well-muscled and sloping croup; tail carried freely and naturally
• Accepted colors: brown dun, white dun, grey (black dun), red dun, yellow dun

Information courtesy the Norwegian Fjord Horse Registry https://www.nfhr.com/catalog/breedstandard.pdf 

German Riding Pony

• More elegant and refined than a typical pony type
• Big framed and harmonious
• Small, well-defined and noble head
• Well-muscled, clean and correct limbs

Information courtesy Westfalen Verband NA https://westfalenverband.com/documents/GRPbylaws.pdf

Let's take a look at our entries! 

Norwegian Fjord mare

Horse A: Astrid

Norwegian Fjord mare

Horse B: Sweetwater's Zorah Belle

German Riding Pony mare

Horse C: Rowan

Take a minute, evaluate each horse against their assigned breed standard. Think about what make one entry stand out from another. When you're ready, my placings are under the jump. ↓

The Placings:

🥇1st: Horse A - Astrid

In first place, I pinned Astrid. I think this mold makes such a nice Fjord - she has the slightly dished face, sloping shoulders, and not prominent withers, along with a well-muscled and sloping croup. Both of the Fjord molds entered in this class are in acceptable colors. As you'll see below, this put them in the top two for me right off the bat. As to how I decided first and second, check the placing for Zorah Belle! 

🥈2nd: Horse B - Zorah Belle

I pinned Zorah Belle in second place. Like Astrid, she fits the breed standard of a Fjord well - they are the same mold after all! That immediately put Astrid and Zorah Belle first and second. So how did I pick who was first and who was second? Well, they're both in equally nice condition, on an equal mold. Ultimately, I found the dark face and shading on the Astrid to be more striking, and that was enough to give her the edge over Zorah Belle. 

🥉3rd: Horse C - Rowan

In third, I pinned Rowan. I don't think German Riding Pony is a bad breed assignment for this mold, as she fits the breed standard well. That being said, I personally feel the Fjord mold conforms better to the Fjord breed standard than Rowan does to the German Riding Pony. That being said, she is still a nicely shaded model in good condition. 

How did you place this class? What made you place one horse over another?