I am so, so jealous!!! When we were in MT, there didn't seem to be any Minis or Shetlands around! Ours were not looked upon "favorably" by most horsemen, vets or farriers, around Cut Bank or Shelby (96 miles north of Great Falls), including my mom or stepfather!
We developed a "truce" over the ponies and the year before he passed away in 2003, he actually told me raising the girls w/ ponies their size was the best thing I could have done...