TEDDY ROCKS RIO!!! TWO GOLD MEDALS!!! Go (US Bred) Pony, GO!!!

[LLDM]

Yes, you heard it correctly, Theodore O'Connor has won BOTH the Individual and Team Gold Medals in Eventing at the Pan American Games this afternoon. Bred right here in the good old US of A by our very own P. Wynn Norman and ridden by Karen O'Connor.

And just in case you've missed the memo, Teddy is a true pony, standing at 14.1 hands. Maybe it IS about the stride?!?!

Once again, I do hope that this major, blatant BRAG is worth the exception. If not, I'll see you all in Three Days! :winkgrin::lol:

SCFarm

[spacely]

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D YIPPEE!!!!!!! Congrats to everyone involved!!!!

LLDM, I'll happily be banned along side you. This is a major accomplishment for a US breeder!!!!!!:yes::yes::yes::yes::yes::yes:

[genevieveg17]

Fabulous news. Woo Hoo Teddy.
(see you in 3 days LLDM)

Genevieve

[Hillside H Ranch]

HUGE CONGRATS!!! That is so phenomenal, it just givew me chills!

[Trevelyan]

That is INCREDIBLE!!! Huge congratulations to everyone involved with Teddy.
What a heart that amazing pony must have!
Absolutely terrific news!

[LLDM]

Well, since eventers do it three ways in three days, I guess ya'll know what I'll be doing! :D Hey, if a pony can do it, so can I! <Although not nearly so well>. ;)

Go Teddy, go Teddy... as SCFarm dances off into exile...:cool:

SCFarm

[LockeMeadows]

Truly unreal. Way to go Teddy and PWynnNorman!!!

[mmt]

Wow! This is amazing. He is the bionic pony and I hope they do something at USEF and maybe Breyer will pick him up for a model.

[Sakura Hill Farm]

Big congratulations to everyone involved!:D:D:D:D:D!

Wynn, the washing machine must have had a premonition-it went into a premature spin!

Michele
SakuraHillFarm.com

[Sugarbrook]

A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to PWynn and Teddy. Could we have seen this on TV?? If so, I missed it.

[LLDM]

Wow! This is amazing. He is the bionic pony and I hope they do something at USEF and maybe Breyer will pick him up for a model.

Heck Breyer will have to do three models! Teddy does dressage, Teddy drops into the water and Teddy jumps a fence he can't see over! And why not? Everyone would want all of them!

SCFarm

[2Dogs]

If I were a swearing type, I would say:

How &^^ &^%$ fabulous it that PONY!!!!!

woot woot woot woot woot

[Bogey2]

WOW!!! how cool is that??

[erinwillow]

YES!!!

GO TEAM PONY!!! This is such great news!! oh, man do I want to see PHOTOS!!:winkgrin:

[risingstarfarm]

HUGE congrats to Team Teddy!

[Equibrit]

Pics CC http://www.hunterjumpernews.com/v/2007+Pan+Am+Games/Karen+OConnor+and+the+pony+Thoedore+OConnor_+a+Dia na+DeRosa+Photo_001.jpg.html
Dressage http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070720/483/12291ae6c8744d65b40faed513a0da7f
Show Jumping http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/apphoto/photo?sportId=0&photoId=1629884
Medals http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/apphoto/photo?sportId=0&photoId=1629959
Victory Lap http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/apphoto/photo?sportId=0&photoId=1629849

[dressagetraks]

What an incredible accomplishment!!! Congrats to Karen, Teddy, Pwynn, and the whole U.S. team!!!

Olympics next?

Or what about the WEG right here in the U.S. in 2010. I'm hoping to be able to go as a spectator. How old is he?

:cool:

[Waterwitch]

WELL DONE TEDDY (and all his connections!). This shows that there should be some serious attention paid to including pony genetics in our event horse breeding programs. The smaller cattier athletes seem to be filling the first three spots in more than their "fair" share of the 4 stars this year - Theodore O'Connor and Headly Brittania being the prime examples.

[pwynnnorman]

Thank you (again), everyone.

(And, yes, we signed the contract with Breyer last week.)

[fish]

Thank you (again), everyone.

(And, yes, we signed the contract with Breyer last week.)
WOW--- all three models (and maybe more)????
Congrats on breeding such an inspiration. (But what an act for your mares to follow!!)

[Windswept Stable]

OMG! This is great news ! Go Pony Go ! Congrats Pwynn !!!!

[MagicRoseFarm]

WOW ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!!!!! CONGRATS to everyone involved!!!

[rideagoldenpony]

CONGRATULATIONS PWynn!!!!!

What a FANTASTIC testament to your vision and breeding program!!!!!

[VirginiaBred]

Hells bells.

I feel like bragging and I had nothing to do with him! :lol:

Awesome news!

[pwynnnorman]

WOW--- all three models (and maybe more)????
Congrats on breeding such an inspiration. (But what an act for your mares to follow!!)

Y'know, fish, I just sent an email to an old fan of his, describing how kind of anticlimactic this has all been. And you want to know why?

KEVLAR IS AWESOME...And I have Cliche, too.

Act to follow? JUST YOU WAIT. I have two four-year-olds that are going to could make headlines and one's a stallion. AND Ted's mom and sister are bred to the stallion that produced a rising star in eventing in England (and a slew of steeplechasers). Oh, yeah, that's where MY excitement lies--in the future! (Yup, Ah'm one CRAZY breeder, for sure. But you wait: you'll see! :D)

[monami]

Congrats!!! That is fantastic news!!!

[Ihatefrogs]

And just in case you've missed the memo, Teddy is a true pony, standing at 14.1 hands.

USEF had him recorded at exactly 14.2 on his measurement card (which I assume was at 6 years old). They only get bigger, not smaller.

LLDM, i'm not knocking you, I just love how every time he does something the everyone (including the big time media) makes him smaller. I remember reading reports from Rolex that said he was under 14 hands. :lol::no:

I think he's fabulous, especially for his size, but I wish he were cheered on from his real height.

[LLDM]

USEF had him recorded at exactly 14.2 on his measurement card (which I assume was at 6 years old). They only get bigger, not smaller.

LLDM, i'm not knocking you, I just love how every time he does something the everyone (including the big time media) makes him smaller. I remember reading reports from Rolex that said he was under 14 hands. :lol::no:

I think he's fabulous, especially for his size, but I wish he were cheered on from his real height.

Hey, I'm just going by what the news wire said. I wonder what his FEI passport says? Wynn?

Not that he's gonna get his pony card yanked... :cool: But whatever it is, according to Karen, he doesn't know it. ;)

SCFarm (who seems to have escaped a vaca so far!)

[onetempies]

WOOT! He is just too stinkin' CUTE! :D
CONGRATS! Thanks to whoever put up the photo links! I LOFF seeing that boy on CC! :lol:

[Kenike]

OMG, this is SOOO FREAKIN' AWESOME!!!

Huge Congratulations to Pwynn, Karen, and all associated with Teddy!!

And then I also see that the U.S. took 1st-4th....woohoo!

On a sidenote: how long from contract signing to Teddy's model dressing the shelves? I have to get one :lol:

[Renae]

Since this is the breeding section, a little on his breeding, at least the part I know, the 1/8 of him that is Arab. His second dam's sire is JR Lyraff, who was bred by the great Arabian breeder Alice Payne ad is linebred to the Crabbet stallion Raffles (9 crosses!). He had no purebred foals, and has 5 Half-Arab offspring that are registered. His sire is Winraff++, a little about Winraff++ from http://www.jrooker.com/history/index.html
One of the friendships we made through the *Raffles horses was Gina Manion. She leased us Winraff by Orbit x Shalimar Wingida (Garaff), who was by an Alice Payne stallion out of a Bill Munson mare. Winraff was a big bay, and we finished his Legion of Merit for Gina in eight shows. He was Champion Stallion at Mason, Michigan, and beat *Asadd who was National Champion that year. The most fun of all was at Midland, Michigan, where Gina came to ride Winraff in Amateur Western Pleasure (third) and Amateur English Pleasure (first). She and Pat attended our Legion of Merit party for Winraff at the Michigan All-Arabian Show in 1975, Gina in a long, pale yellow satin dress. Scrumptious.
http://www.jrooker.com/history/Winraff.jpg
http://inlinethumb37.webshots.com/6500/1109104508046052895S600x600Q85.jpg
Winraff++ sired 172 foals, including Canyon Win-Gin+, Mia Win++ and D-D Rimaraff++.

His dam Asil Lyra was also bred by Alice Payne and produced 10 foals altogether. They include the stallion Asil Legacy http://www.arabdatasource.com/HorseImages/732/0400030732_1.jpg sire of 96 foals and the stallion Asil Legend sire of 21 foals. Her sire Rafferty, also bred by Alice Payne, sired 149 foals. If you don't get the picture Alice Payne bred some very nice Arabian horses :D

This is Raffles, he stood only 13.3 hands:
http://www.geocities.com/aolsen_2000/Raffles.jpg
http://www.asarabians.com/Images/Research/Raffles.jpg
http://www.wiwfarm.com/cmkarchives/RafflesPayne.jpg

Anyone have commentary for the Thoroughbred and Shetland portions of the pedigree? I think thispony is fabulous!

[Silver Bells]

AMAZING!!! And bred in the USA!;)

[mbj]

Thanks for the pics, Equibrit!

Interesting Arab breeding too,Renae.

And that is such good news that there are more mighty mites to come, Pwynn!!!

Do you know what the Breyer horse design is?

[Horsecrazy27]

YEA!!!!!!!!! CONGRATS!!!!!!!!! Curious...what is he registered? Continued success!

[CathyKb]

Big Congrats!!!! This is the best news ever!!!! What a wonderful pony.:yes::):yes::):yes::)

I have always wondered why people want a 17 hand horse????

[Sassenach]

GO PONY GO!! *waves flags* :D:yes::D:winkgrin::D:cool::D

[Oakstable]

So he is 3/4 TB, 1/8 Arabian and 1/8 Shetland?

I wouldn't think a quarter would have that much impact on the size of a horse.

Was this a lucky outcome or a well planned breeding?

Super news anyway.

This is great for all the smaller horses who deserve respect.

[Daydream Believer]

Congrats again Wynn! I know you are flying high tonight!

[vineyridge]

Super congratulations to both O'Connors and to Pwynn.

The best photo I've seen is one on the Chronicle's Pan Am coverage of tiny Teddy next to McKinlaigh who is 17.3. If you've got a subscription to the magazine, go take a look.

Or at the photo on the USEF site of the O'Connor family leading the team victory gallop.

[unbridledoaks]

A huge congratulations!!! How wonderful!!!!

[Fairview Horse Center]

Yea! Go Teddy, Wynn and Karen! I will be standing in line for that Breyer!

[ancientoaks]

wayyyyyyyyto go PONY!!!!!!! always loved ponies...especially those with arab blood......tons of heart

Just got an email that quotes he is 50% TB, 25% arab, 25% shetland...can anyone confirm?????

what an accomplishment, regardless....

alll ALL of our crossbred arabs (with TB , shetland, or whatever) were jumping fools with tons of stride....

[Madison]

Wow, that is really amazing!

[pintopiaffe]

:D

Sets a great example for those of us who don't feel you have to be bigger to be better.

How wonderful.

[lawndart]

GO TEDDY GO!! Congrads to the whole team!

[Renae]

wayyyyyyyyto go PONY!!!!!!! always loved ponies...especially those with arab blood......tons of heart

Just got an email that quotes he is 50% TB, 25% arab, 25% shetland...can anyone confirm?????

what an accomplishment, regardless....

alll ALL of our crossbred arabs (with TB , shetland, or whatever) were jumping fools with tons of stride....

Actually he's 3/4 TB, 1/8 Arab and 1/8 Shetland, his dam was 1/2 TB 1/4 Arab 1/4 Shetland.

[Dawn J-L]

Here's Teddy's dam, Chelsea's Melody, and her pedigree info:
http://www.sportponiesunlimited.com/melodyspage.html

Chelsea's Arab grandsire was the intensely Raffles bred JR Lyraff (Winraff x Asil Lyra), a 1975 bay stallion. JR Lyraff's recorded breeder was Alice Payne, though he was foaled after her death.

[mairzeadoats]

MAJOR CONGRATS from me and my 2 little arabs!!!! :D :D :D That is so way cool.

As someone who is 5'3" and 115 pounds and really prefers a smaller/medium sized mount, I'm hoping these success will do a lot to dispel the myth that "only big horses can do it." (Yes, I mean *do* it. I can't tell you how many AAs I've had tell me that horses have to be over 16.2 to "do" dressage. Not be competitive, which in itself is wrong. But just plain "do" it!)

Oh, and LLDM, sorry to disappoint, but it's not likely you'll be doing 3-days time. Last Teddy brag, I heard from Erin herself that the size of the brag constituted the exception. Since 2 golds is a lot bigger than making the team....I think both you and this thread are safe :p

[DownYonder]

Jeez-o-Pete! That is AWESOME!! You go, Teddy-boy! And big congrats to you, PWynn!

[pwynnnorman]

Chelsea's Arab grandsire was the intensely Raffles bred JR Lyraff (Winraff x Asil Lyra), a 1975 bay stallion. JR Lyraff's recorded breeder was Alice Payne, though he was foaled after her death.

Thanks for posting that, Dawn. I've had the pleasure of speaking to JR Lyraff's breeder and the doctor who bred his sire (I think--I was a bit confused as to who I was introduced to!) and Chelsea's breeders actually came down to watch him go at Rolex.

AAAAAANNNNNDDDDD, check this out, folks!

This just in: http://www.eventriders.com/index.htm

Miner's Frolic is by Miner's Lamp, the stallion just I bred Melody and Chrissy to! (He was, BTW, just barely 16.0h.)

[Home Again Farm]

Huge congrats to you and your boy Pwynn!!!!!! :D:D:D:D:D

[coriander]

Yay Teddy. Congrats to all.

[Black Forest]

Teddy is just unbelievable - and the story behind him (of which I know little but what is blatantly obvious) makes him even more special

His must be the story of the ultimate dream, and many people believing fully and with determination in making this dream come true.

He is the ultimate equine in the world to me today. Because he did what most people would never have believed possible, because his talent and heart must have convinced all those humans that have had anything to do with him all along that he was worth taking the chance of allowing him to go as far as he could - and just LOOK how he has repaid everyone's faith in him!

How many ponies would convince a world class rider such as Karen o Connor to try and do what they have achieved? How much hope and inspiration do they give to every pony-mad little girl out there?

How many kids will go about their training with a different attitude - the "If Teddy can do it we can try and get as far as we possibly can and who knows where we will end up" syndrome.

I just find it all inspirational and fascinating and I am so grateful I found out about Teddy on this forum - sharing his successes with other like-minded horsepeople.

Bless Teddy and all his humans who believed in him - Thank You for giving him this chance against what must have been considerable odds!

[Oakstable]

Is there online video of him?

He/they need to be featured as the cover story of an equine magazine.

[RNB]

Wynn...just read this thread!! How wonderful for you!!! Big congrats!!! What an inspiration to everyone!!! :yes:

[Fairview Horse Center]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7379383249188444008&q=theodore+O%27Connor&total=9&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

[Oakstable]

Just love it!

Thanks, Darlyn.

[2Dogs]

Oh Lordy - that video has me weeping like an idiot baby at my computer.
While no where near as talented, my first pony, bought in 1960, was a darn great pony jumper - and chestnut - and named Not Guilty. She was a "mutt" I am sure. Watching Teddy gets me just blubbery!

[llsc]

Congratulations!!!! WOW! I can't wait to see footage. Is it available anywhere?

I'll be buying my daughters the Breyer model when it comes out.

[Fairview Horse Center]

Now, llsc, come on, admit it. It is not REALLY for your daughters! ;)

Hope they do 3 phases - a Teddy Breyer series! I will be getting it/them for my "daughter" too. :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Renae]

Now, llsc, come on, admit it. It is not REALLY for your daughters! ;)

Hope they do 3 phases - a Teddy Breyer series! I will be getting it/them for my "daughter" too. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Oooh, how about the old jumping horse mold for cross country, the gem twist mold for jumping, and the keen mold for dressage? But I guess they would have to shrink them all a little?

[austin]

Teddy reminds me of what I love about eventing and event horses. the number one ingrediant in a top horse (or pony) is heart.

[grayfox]

Congrats, he sure is cute.

[hunterperson]

That's great news. I can hardly wait to see the breyer model.

[Allyn M]

Congratulations Pwynn on a fantastic breeding program !!!!

It is every breeders dream to have such a great win for their home breds.

Looks like you have more coming up to follow Teddy so you know now that you are really on the right track.

I know that everyone who breeds on this board is very proud of what you have accomplished.

[ShowjumpersUSA]

Thank you (again), everyone.

(And, yes, we signed the contract with Breyer last week.)

Congratulations!

Teddy is amazing. He gives all US breeders encouragement. We're so proud of you!

Bonnie