Flattering saddles and handy bits: turn your native pony into a winner with Sarah Parker
Do the judges look at your native pony in the ring and think “wow”? Turnout is key to this and, in the next part of our turnout series with Sarah Parker, who piloted the section A stallion Sarum Rembrandt to supreme pony honours at Horse of the Year Show in 2015, the prolific producer shows us how best to show off Welsh ponies in the arena.
This time Foxhill Farm Golden Velvet (Sparkles), a seven-year-old Welsh section D mare, is in the spotlight.
1. Best bits for the job
Schooling at home requires different tack to ensure Sparkles is best prepared for the ring.
“Sparkles is quite heavy on the forehand because she’s built so big, so we school her in a little Wilkie snaffle, which is best for helping soften in front,” explains Sarah.
“For the show ring, she has a Waterford Pelham. It suits her because she can’t get hold of it and it helps to keep her nice and light in front and working through her back.
“She wears a martingale when we’re working at home, but she can’t wear it in the show ring because she only does flat classes.”
Continued below…
Like this? You might also enjoy reading these:
Sarah Parker: how to make your native show ring ready
17 reasons to be glad you own a native
13 tips for feeding native ponies during the winter
2. Saddles shaped to show off the pony
Sparkles is a well-built mare with a deep girth area, and Sarah uses a saddle that not only fits correctly to ensure the mare’s comfort, but flatters her shape the best too.
“Sparkles’ saddle is a Flyde Samantha saddle. We use it because the flaps are long and Sparkles is deep in her body, so it suits her. Otherwise, a shorter saddle would break her up so that you have a small saddle and a big pony underneath, which looks silly,” says Sarah.
“Underneath is a little sheepskin numnah. It’s neat to the saddle because we don’t want to cover up her shoulder, and it doesn’t finish too far back.
“Sparkles is quite short coupled, but this saddle length is ideal because it doesn’t cover her up.”
Don’t miss H&H’s live coverage of the BSPS Ridden Mountain and Moorland Championship at Olympia on Monday 19 December, starting at 9.30am, and the full showing report in the 22 December issue of Horse & Hound.
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
Aimi was responsible for Horse & Hound’s showing, pointing and veterinary pages, as well as assisting with eventing content. Aimi also edited Horse & Hound’s popular occasional magazines, Ask The Vet and Ask The Trainer. She is the former deputy editor of Eventing magazine. She left Horse & Hound at the end of 2017 to take on new challenges in the publishing industry and is now editor at Your Horse.