If you visit the Kentucky Horse Park in the middle of July, you are bound to find countless horse lovers with their beloved Breyer models at the annual Breyerfest event, but this year, Breyer fans had a chance to fall in love with a new model pony and his remarkable story – Always Chipper (“Chip”). We had a chance to catch up with his owner, Sue Griffin, and his current rider August Novotny and her mom, Sunny Geiser to find out why Chip is such an inspiring pony who defied all odds and was named a Limited-Edition Portrait Horse for Breyerfest 2024. Chip’s model, can be seen on the Breyer page here.
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The Breyer team first learned about Chip through a social media post by USHJA.
Chip is a colorful black-and-white hunter pony who has a storied history and endearing personality that caught the attention of the Breyer team.
“I received a Facebook message from the Breyer team, and they said they would like to consider having Chip be a Breyer pony. They wanted to talk to us and send them pictures,” said Sue Griffin of Fort Collins, Colorado, the current owner of Chip. “I believe they learned of his story from a social media post that the USHJA (US Hunter Jumper Association) did two years ago.”
“It was kind of crazy and not something we expected. We thought Breyer might want to have one hunter pony, but there are a lot of hunter ponies out there!” Sue Griffin said
As a part of BreyerFest 2024, Chip and the other guest horses conducted live demos during the festival.
“We've been practicing a lot for BreyerFest,” said Sunny, mother of Chip’s current rider August Novotny, 10 of Fort Collins, CO. “August is going to ride him in the demos, and they've been practicing their routine.”
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Chip was sold to a kill buyer in 2017, but a rescue helped find him find a home with the Griffins.
“My understanding is that he went through an auction in Texas, was bought by a kill buyer, and then a rescue posted him on Facebook. A dealer in Colorado bought him for $675 off that Facebook post, and then sold him to a friend of ours that was trying to use him as a lesson pony,” Sue explained. “I was asked if my daughter Alpine could come to another stable to ride him because they didn't have anyone small enough that could ride such an untrained pony. The stable was 45 minutes from our house, which made it difficult for our family. We offered to take the pony to our barn for training, and so the decision was made that he could live with us. So that's how Chip came into our lives.”
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Chip was Champion at his first USEF show and many more!
Alpine Griffin started riding and training Chip, but the Griffin family did not consider the prospect of him being a show pony until there was an extra space on the trailer headed to a horse show. “We took him to the Desert International Horse Park in Thermal, CA, because we had an extra space in our trailer. He was jumping so well, on a whim we decided to try him in the Greens. So, we did that, and he won all the classes on the first day,” Alpine said. “After that, we were like, ‘Okay, he is really good. We should keep doing this.’”
Chip was a Green Pony Hunter Champion at his first AA show and champion at many other shows. Chip has also taken home awards at the USEF Pony Finals and the USHJA National Championships.
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Chip’s self-confidence and love for cookies and cows are trademarks of this talented pony.
“He doesn't spook at things, he doesn't buck, he doesn't run off. He just does what you need him to do,” Sue said. “The first time (Alpine) took him in the ring at a major show, he marched right around.”
Though Chip is impressive in the ring, he also has a mind of his own. “Some days, he doesn't want to do anything. He just is like, ‘Can we not do this today? Can you just feed me, and can I take a nap?’ He loves cookies,” August said. “He's a really good pony.”
In addition to cookies, Chip also enjoys going in lakes and being around cows. “Whenever he's near (cows), he will just nicker at them,” Alpine said.
“He seems to like cows better than horses,” added Sue.
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Chip is now helping junior equestrians grow their confidence.
“We were looking for really good trainers, and we found Sue. She has taught me so much and so has Chip,” explained August. “My favorite part about him is that he's a good jumper,” August said. “I fell off my (other) pony, which made me a little scared, but Chip helped me believe I could do it.”
“Taking lessons on Chip has allowed (August) to grow exponentially. He's been an amazing pony,” added Sunny, August’s mother. Chip has already helped several young riders develop from cross rails to championships and has found his forever home with the Griffins.