Meet Wallace, a mule who has triumphed against the odds to beat horses at their own game – dressage! Wallace’s origins are a mystery, but as a six year old, he was found wandering a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, eating the locals’ flower displays. The locals and Wallace reached a compromise, converting a […]

Tanya McDermott is spearheading a new project by Harness Racing Victoria that aims to help Standardbreds transition to new lives and careers after retiring from the racetrack. Tanya very kindly took the time to answer some questions for us about her life by the track, the HERO project and some favourite memories. What is your […]

Breed name: Dongola, or Dongolawi. Country of origin: Sudan, Cameroon and Eritrea. Breed origin: The Dongola breed is believed to owe a lot to the Iberian horses that were brought to Egypt in the 13th century. Although this part of the Dongola’s ancestry is beyond doubt, the rest is up for contention. Some believe they […]

A Chilean huaso is ‘an excellent horseman with gentlemanly ways who identifies with the hacienda’ (‘hacienda’ is a South American term for a large estate – think an estancia, but bigger). Have you heard of gauchos? Huasos are the Chilean equivalent. Until the 20th century, huasos were far from gentlemen. They started off as bandits […]

Breed name: Chilean Horse, or Chilean Corralero. Country of origin: Chile Breed origin: The Chilean Horse is the oldest South American horse breed and the oldest registered stock horse in the Western Hemisphere. It descends from the horses who travelled with the Spanish conquistadors from Peru to Chile in the 16th century. Many who set […]

Name of breed: Hucul Pony, or Carpathian Pony. Country of origin: The Carpathian Mountains. In modern times, the area where they originated lies within Ukraine, Romania, Slovakia and Poland. Breed origin: The Hucul pony is a very old breed, believed to have been developed in the 13th century by crossing the now-extinct wild Tarpan horse […]

The Kaimanawa Horse Muster is a biennial muster that takes place in the Kaimanawa Ranges on New Zealand’s North Island. The purpose of the muster is to maintain a population of around 300 wild Kaimanawa horses, which are not native to the Ranges but are allowed to remain because of their cultural significance. Kaimanawa horses […]

Name of breed: French Trotter (French: Trotteur français). Country of origin: France. Breed origin: The French Trotter was developed in Normandy, a northwestern region of France, in the 1800s as trotting races increased in popularity. Breeders crossed Norman stock with Thoroughbred, American Standardbred, Norfolk Roadster, Hackney and hunter-type bloodlines to create a horse with incredible […]

Nothing speaks of Aussie bush heritage more than Banjo Patterson’s famous poem, ‘The Man From Snowy River’. Musicians have sung it, there’s been a movie made about it, and the town of Corryong, at the base of the Australian Alps, has created an entire festival around it. The sleepy little alpine hamlet swells in April […]

Horse Breed: Don Name of breed: Don (Russian: Donskaya) Country of origin: Russia Breed origin: The first recorded mention of this breed dates from the 16th century, when it was bred by the Cossack tribes near the Don and Volga rivers by crossing the semi-wild horses of the Russian steppe with Arabian, Turkmenian (today’s Akhal-Teke) […]

Name of breed: Coffin Bay Pony Country of origin: Coffin Bay, Australia. Breed origin: The Coffin Bay Pony’s story begins in 1839, when Captain Hawson transported around 60 Timor Ponies from Sumatra to the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. He intended to use the ponies for breeding, and in 1847 all of the ponies were […]

Breed name: Manipuri Pony, or Manipur Country of origin: India Breed origin: The Manipuri Pony is an ancient breed indigenous to India. Its origins are disputed, with some saying it descended from Mongolian horses crossed with Arabians and ponies, and others saying it was developed from the Tibetan pony. What is undeniable is the breed’s […]

Hey Globetrotters, did you know that an FEI Classics Series three-day event happens right in our backyard every year? Right in Adelaide’s backyard, to be precise! Every November, the parklands that circle Adelaide’s CBD are taken over by this internationally significant equestrian competition. Three-day eventing, commonly called eventing, originated as a way to test military […]

A little over a week ago, the world witnessed the spectacle of His Royal Highness Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle’s wedding. And while the wedding was just beautiful, to myself and no doubt all the other horse-mad people out there, the carriage procession through Windsor afterwards with the stunning horses and their shiny […]

Name of breed: Alter Real Country of origin: Portugal Breed origin: In Portugal, there was a royal stud in Alentjo that supplied horses to the classical riding academy for the Royals to use. In 1756, the stud breeding was moved to Alter and 300 Andalusian mares from Spain were introduced into the line. In the […]

The Badminton Horse Trials is held annually in the first week of May and showcases the elite eventers of the equestrian world! It is one of the toughest events in the eventing calendar and sees plenty of thrills, spills and amazing horse feats and displays of horsemanship. This year the winner was Jonelle Price riding ‘Classic […]

The Philippaerts are a Belgium family who has horse riding and show jumping in their blood! Ludo Philippaerts was a showjumping wizard and his wife Veronique was a master in the dressage arena before they had their four sons (Olivier, Nicola, Thibault and Anthony) to carry on their name in the equestrian world. Their passion […]

Name of breed: American Miniature Horse Country of origin: United States Breed origin: The American Miniature horse was first imported into America in 1888 and is thought to be from a cross of different mine horses from England and the Netherlands. It is thought that the miniature horse also drew its small size from the […]

The Mongol Derby is a 1,000 kilometre race across Mongolia’s Steppe and is known for its gruelling days of hard riding to meet each checkpoint. This year, four Australian polo players are taking on the trek in the name of MS research and for an influential man in their lives. The polo players are none […]

Welcome to the world of polo and the World Polo Championships! While Princes William and Harry might enjoy a chukka or two, there are many other famous polo players from all over the world and when they come together to play with or against one another at the World Polo Championships it’s a sight to […]

The Uffington White Horse is a HUGE stylised prehistoric horse trenched into the English countryside and filled with white chalk. How big you ask? The horse has been measured to be over 110 METRES long! You can find this gigantic horse while strolling past White Horse hill, which is eight kilometres from the local village […]