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The Pony of the Americas event this weekend is one of three within a month at the county fairgrounds in West Salem. More than 100 ponies are expected to compete at the fairgrounds, which has been hosting POA events for more than 20 years.
The event offers a good opportunity for people to learn more about the Pony of the Americas breed and see them in action, said Eva Dahl, an Onalaska endodontist whose children, Christina and Erik Blomquist, have had a lot of success competing in POA events.
Dahl said visitors to the POA event will find participants more than happy to talk about their passion for the ponies. And for people interested in getting their children involved, a POA show is definitely a good first stop.
The POA breed got its start in 1954 when an Iowa breeder accidentally bred a Shetland pony stallion to an Arabian/Appaloosa mare. The result was a horse that was the perfect size for smaller riders, an animal a little bigger than a pony that looked like a full-sized horse.
From that first Pony of the Americas has grown a network of clubs promoting horsemanship among the young. Dahl discovered the POA nine years ago when she was looking for a smaller horse for her son. She found that the breed was perfect for children, and so were the clubs and competitions they sponsored.
“It was really oriented just to the children,” Dahl said. “Once I really started to get involved in their shows it almost got to be addictive.”
The Blomquists travel to 12 POA shows per year, and have had their share of success. This year at the 2008 International Pony of the Americas Show in Missouri, Christina was champion in the senior hunter under saddle division, topping 70 other entries, and she won top honors as champion in the 13-18 age group at the Midwest Regional Show in Winona, Minn.
A growing number of other young riders from the area are taking part in POA events as well, including Tanner and Makena Mathy, Tyler and Claire Lommen and Grace Cowgill of Onalaska, Russell and Kate Heise of La Crosse, Zachary and Emily Herzberg of Melrose and Talon Sharp of Sparta.
Like Christina Blomquist, Tanner Mathy was a champion at the international POA show, winning top honors in showmanship for boys age 9-12.
Dahl said working with horses offers a lot of benefits for children. “I think that it is a tremendous amount of responsibility for a youngster to have a large animal like a horse. The relationship is a very nurturing relationship,” she said. “The child really develops a very strong bond with their animal. I just think it’s healthy because most kids don’t have something that’s dependent on them.”
The competitive aspect of POA also helps the kids in a lot of ways, Dahl added. “The children have to develop a lot of confidence in their horse — and trust — and they really develop a lot of poise,” she said.
Competition will be going on all day Saturday and Sunday at the fairgrounds, and people can stop by any top to watch the proceedings. Another POA show, hosted by the Minnesota POA club, is planned for the following weekend.
For people interested in action, Dahl recommended stopping by toward the latter part of the afternoon Saturday or Sunday, when more intense riding events like pole bending and barrel races are scheduled.
Any time this weekend will be a good time to find action at the 12th annual high school rodeo at the Coulee Region Riders Club just outside Holmen. Tim Devine, longtime rodeo announcer and organizer, said he expects the number of entries will be up a little from last year, which had been down from previous years.
The crowd at this weekend’s rodeo will get to see some area residents enjoying success on the rodeo circuit, including Danna Jessie, a Melrose-Mindoro High School student. Jessie qualified for this summer’s nationals and won the all-around cowgirl title at the recent high school rodeo season kickoff at Mineral Point.
Devine said he wouldn’t be surprised to see Danna win top honors on the state level this year. “It’s about her turn in the hopper,” he said. “Danna’s a pretty good rider, always has been.”
Devine is even more confident in the prospects for Nick Midtlien, a bull rider from Cashton. “You should have seen him at state finals this year. He stuck every bull he sat on,” Devine said. “He really hits it hard. In his eyes, there isn’t bull he can’t beat. He figures he can just butter their ears and swallow ’em whole. He’s tougher than woodpecker lips.”
As with POA riders, Devine said any of the rodeo riders would be happy to talk with people interested in getting involved.
Rodeo also is like POA in that it can cost a lot of money to compete. “It’s kind of costly, but there’s nothing to say you have to compete in every doggone one of them,” Devine said.
Unlike POA, there is a way to participate in rodeo that’s a little bit more affordable. Of course, it involves trying to stay on board an angry bull or bronc for eight seconds.
Devine said roughstock riders don’t need to have a ranch at their disposal every day. They just need to get some connections to find regular practice sessions, do a lot of physical conditioning and have a high tolerance for the possibility of getting hurt. If you’ve got all that, riding in the rodeo is pretty simple, Devine said.
“You just lean back, make an ugly face and turn ’em loose,” he said. “Course, you might get some boogers on the backside of your britches.”
Contact Randy Erickson at randy.erickson@lee.net or 786-6812.
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