Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
That's Izzy's registry - Rhineland Pfalz-Saar International. The Rhineland-Pfalz-Saar territory lies along the Rhine River in Southern Germany. Horses of the RPSI are called Zweibrückers. Here's where it gets a little wonky. The Zweibrücker horses aren't actually a genetically unique breed like what I think of. Arabian horses are a breed. Their bloodlines are pretty dang pure and can be traced back over a long period of time. The Arabian breed doesn't allow non-Arabians into the studbook; it's closed. This certainly keeps the bloodlines pure, but I can't say whether it's good for the Arabian horse or not. In Germany, maybe the Zweibrücker horses are more "pure" in their bloodlines, but not so much here in the U.S. The RPSI website states: "The main goal of the R.P.S.I. is to preserve and expand the quality of sport horses in all disciplines on the North American continent." To "expand the quality of the breed," the RPSI has an open studbook. Mares and stallions from other registries can be approved by the RPSI which allows their "get" to be presented for approval and acceptance into the RPSI registry. I think this practice is quite common for most of the warmblood registries. According to the RPSI's website, "Zweibrücken horses are bred for quality of movement, correctness of conformation and clear character for competition and reproduction. We believe that this foundation produces a superior athlete with high trainability and competitiveness." All good things to strive for in my opinion. This criteria is what got Izzy in. I know I've written about this before, but Izzy's grandsire is Ideal (Ee-de-al), who is an Oldenburg stallion bred by the actual mayor of Oldenburg, Germany. He was later imported to the U.S. to improve the breeding stock here. Ideal is licensed by several registries, including the RPSI. Ideal's son, Inbegriff (and Izzy's sire), was injured during his own 100-day test, so he was not accepted into the Oldenburg registry. He was however accepted by the RPSI. Banjo Rose, Izzy's dam, is an Irish (?) Thoroughbred by breeding, but she scored quite high with the International Sporthorse Registry and has been entered in the Main Mare Book of the ISR/Oldenburg registry. So somewhere in all of this mix of Oldenburgs and Thoroughbreds, I ended up with a warmblood registered with the Rhineland Pfalz-Saar International registry. I told you it was a bit wonky. I am sure you are wondering why I am bringing this up all over again. I already wrote about Izzy's history here. Well, a few days ago, I finally caught a glimpse of Izzy's brand. I've looked for it, and I even shaved off his hair trying to find it. That's a funny story actually. During one of our early vet visits, Dr. Tolley immediately saw the bald spot and asked me what had happened. I sheepishly replied that I was trying to find Izzy's brand. Dr. Tolley immediately whipped out some alcohol and began swabbing the area trying to make it stand out more clearly. He wanted to see it as well. Neither of us could find it though. I know it's really hard to see, but here it is. Now that I know where his brand is, it's easier to spot. I even got KG looking for it while we rode the other day. I could hear her say, "Oh, there it is. Now I can see it!"
lytha
8/8/2015 01:36:47 am
Groups here are trying to make branding illegal, considering it a vain tradition of marking a horse with simply a breed mark, and not a registry # (Montoya's) for ID. Whatever, I don't think it hurts them, and I think it might help in recovery from theft. And, I think they're cool. 8/8/2015 10:21:43 pm
I am getting ready to write a follow up post on the warmblood branding, Lytha. Germany (and maybe the other European countries) have a very unique way of decoding the brands. Izzy actually has two numbers under the "bridge." I didn't go into detail about them, but I will when I write up the next part.
lytha
8/9/2015 01:21:56 am
My cousin's cousin in Bakersfield has the beautiful name Cloe Contreras, although I'm sure I'm saying it wrong cuz I can't roll my Rs. 8/9/2015 10:54:55 pm
She does have a lovely name! I think Inbegriff means example or model. But I could have that mixed up with Ideal's name. :0)
Interesting about the registry and the brands. I am a big fan of brands/tattoos...my first horse was a "plain brown wrapper" with an illegible lip tatt, and I literally had nightmares that she was stolen and found but the cops wouldn't believe I could identify mine in a group of plain brown horses (and cows...it WAS a dream!) 8/8/2015 10:14:22 pm
I LOVE visible brands. I've had that very same nightmare, AreneX! My most treasured Arab mare (Montoya DSA) had a lovely freeze brand that I kept shaved so that it stood out proudly. None of my other Arabs have been branded. Speedy has a cute little dot on his muzzle and a blood mark on his neck, but my last Arab was all black. How do you prove that HE'S the one?
Alanna
8/8/2015 09:46:30 am
Neat history! Ideal actually stands at stud near where I live. I tried to breed a TB mare to him at one point. My trainer at the time had two of his babies. 8/8/2015 10:10:33 pm
You must be from Oregon, Alanna! I've googled the heck out of him and while he is still at stud, I think it's pretty hard to get babies from him now (I think). I know he was quite a popular sire at one time. I've searched and searched for anything about Inbegriff, but The Ultimate Piaffe's website has since removed the pages they once had on Inbegriff. I can't even find a photo! If you know anything more about him, I'd love it if you'd share. :0)
This is from their website regarding Ideal. Can I still breed my mare to Ideal? 8/10/2015 10:21:07 pm
Thanks for sharing. I've been on their website and have seen this, but there's nothing left on Inbegriff. I don't know what has happened to him, but I would like to find out.
cg
8/8/2015 12:39:37 pm
I was too distracted by the really nice hindquarter to see the brand at first! 8/8/2015 10:06:34 pm
LOL - the h/j trainer with whom I was training saw him after a few weeks away, and all she could say was, "look at that ASS!" She meant it as a compliment. :0)
Our babies are related! TC's sire is Ideal. It's a funny story, someone at the barn wanted to breed their TB mare to Ideal and got a few sticks from his owner. The mare took right away and a year later the baby was born. The owner kept the sticks and asked Ideal's owners if they could use them for a Friesian mare and they said yes. 8/10/2015 10:23:09 pm
Very interesting! That would explain the similarities in their response to training. :0) Comments are closed.
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About the Writer and RiderI am a lifelong rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010. Welcome to my dressage journey. About Speedy GSpeedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
About IzzyIzzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
National Rider AwardsState Rider Awards
State Horse Awards
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2023 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic 2023 Show Schedule
TBD 2023 Completed … Pending 2023 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Training Level 3 Scores/2 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Score 3: Archives
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