American SportPony Stallion Excels in Jumping on the West Coast
Rocko's Gold is owned and bred by Julie Jensen of Watsonville, CA

Aricle & photos courtesy the American Sportpony Association Newsletter.

Rocko's Gold (Rocko) in his first year as a jumper has won the 2'6"-2'9" Open Division Championship at the 3-day Pebble Beach Equestrian Championships, winning two first-place ribbons in his division.

What makes this so amazing is that Rocko stands a mere 13hh, yet he is competing with the horses. USEF rules do not allow juniors to ride stallions, and adults cannot enter pony classes. This leaves Rocko being ridden by an adult and competing in open classes with the horses.

As if his division win wasn't a big enough accomplishment, he brought home a second place in the Level 1 Open Division Jumpers (2'9"-3') on the last day of the show. We entered him in this class just to give him the experience and get him around the course. He had other ideas! He missed first place by fractions of a second.

At Pebble Beach, Rocko completely wowed the crowd. He has horse-type movement and jumping style. For his size he has as an absolutely huge stride. More importantly he has a wonderful personality and a huge heart to go along with his talent. He is very sweet and eager to please and learn. He learns very quickly, and is very well behaved at the shows. You would not even know he is a stallion. He goes into the arena and does his job. He loves jumping and showing.

Rocko competed in the Pebble Beach Equestrian Championships on the heels of a Reserve Championship at the American Sportpony Registry Inspections held in Merced, CA. At the American Sportpony Registry Inspection Rocko received a first premium award and a breeding license. His first get, “Golden Sprocket,” also received a first premium with the American Sportpony Registry.

This is only the beginning for this amazing little pony owned by Julie Jensen, Dream Valley Ranch, in Watsonville CA. He is ridden by Sarah Ramberg and trained by Juan Ayora in Hollister CA. In his training he jumps 3'3"-3'6". “At this point we do not know how high he can jump. He has far exceeded our expectations for his first year of jumping and showing. Next year we plan on attending more "A" rated shows in the level 1 and level 2 Jumpers.

www.americansportpony.com/rocko's_gold.htm