For those unfamiliar with the history of Saddlebreds in Australia, this began in the early 1970s, when the first horses were imported from the USA by Americans Ron and Gail Besaw. The first home of the Saddlebred horse in Australia was Sutton Farm (near Moss Vale) in the Southern Highlands of NSW, originally a Cobb & Co. coaching stop. Sutton Farm was refurbished and expanded with an immense Kentucky style stable block and (at that time) advertising the largest indoor arena in the Southern Hemisphere. Though today no longer a Saddlebred farm, horse activities continue at the now Highlands Equestrian Centre. Ten horses, all from top US bloodlines were brought in to start the breed here. Six of the ten were mares in foal to American stallions and within 4 days of their arrival by plane (via NZ) there were four foals at Sutton Farm, one of which was Suttons Anacacho King out of Vanity's Compass Rose (her sire was the brilliant Vanity's Sensation of Crebilly USA). Anacacho King had a major impact on the ASHAA studbook. The foundation stallions standing at stud at Sutton Farm were Bright Guy (Gallant Guy O'Goshen x Stonewall's Ruth E.), Goldmount Challenger (Stonewall Sensation x Belvedere's Golden Flicka), Knolland Dark Demon (Patent Leather Stonewall x Black Apple) and Peppermint Valley Supreme (Valley View Supreme x Wild Ginger). Many of the American Saddlebreds in Australia today are descended from these stallions. Bright Guy was the sire and grandsire of a number of our current stallions today, including Wildmoors Buccaneer, "Buck", the Brisbane Bronco’s mascot. Bright Guy was a spectacular harness champion.

Of the seven original mares imported into Australia, one, a grey mare Knolland Misty Moonlight, died en route due to an accident in quarantine. She was in foal to the US stallion Private Contract - a great loss to the Australian breeding programme. However, the six remaining mares also came from impeccable bloodlines, including Valley View Supreme, Vanity's Sensation of Crebilly and Stonewall Sensation. Initially, Saddlebreds in Australia were promoted the "American way" by the Besaws in fine harness, parade and gaited. A few enthusiastic devotees of gaiting endeavoured to gain more recognition, but primarily Saddlebreds were (and are) used as hacks, in harness, in endurance or in dressage. It should be said though that a properly trained 3-gaited or 5-gaited Saddlebred is electrifying to watch in the show ring. In the show ring, the rack (a four beat gait in which each foot meets the ground at equal, separate intervals) is spectacular to watch. The rack is smooth and highly animated, performed with great action and speed, in a slightly unrestrained manner. and a well-trained Saddlebred can bring the crowd to its feet, cheering. The cheering of the crowd actually seems to spur the horse to excel itself even more! Perhaps I should say at this point something about what actually is a 3-gaited or 5-gaited horse to those unfamiliar with the terms. In other breeds, there are three gaits - the walk, the trot and the canter. For the American Saddlebred, there are two additional gaits - the slow gait and the rack (described above). The slow gait was developed from the pace to be a four beat gait with each of the four feet contacting the ground separately. In the takeoff, the lateral front and hind feet start almost together, but the hind foot contacts the ground slightly before its lateral forefoot. The slow gait is a highly collected gait with most of the propulsion coming from the hindquarters, while the forequarters assist in the pull of the final beats. The slow gait is not a medium rack. The slow gait is a restrained, four beat gait, executed slowly but with true and distinct precision. Speed is penalised. It is high, lofty, brilliant and restrained, denoting the style, grace, and polish of the horse. In the show ring, the slow gait is a sight to behold if executed well. In the late 1980s, some members wanting to widen existing bloodlines, undertook the arduous and expensive task of importing stallions into Australia. The black stallion Mecca's Midnight Son (Night Symbol x Genius Jezebel) was imported and stood in Queensland. Around the same time, another imported stallion, the 5-gaited Romantic Contract (Sultans Contract x I'll Take Romance) was also "in the wings", arrangements being made for his arrival into Australia. Coincidentally, this stallion's grandsire was Private Contract, bred to Knolland Misty Moonlight, one of the original imported mares who died in quarantine carrying his foal. More recently, I Ring Bells (Last Sensation x Belle Fox) was imported into Victoria. And even more recently, a breeder in Victoria imported four purebred mares from the USA which have all produced foals to an Australian stallion. Another ASHAA American member has relocated to Australia and has also brought her two stallions, one of which is Moonlight Hy-Status (Moonlight Hy Colour On Cue x Hopeful's Carbon Copy) a black and white pinto, and the other Dreamer's Midnight Commander a black son of the famous US stallion Mandate DHF x Looky's Supersweet. Another import also currently standing in Victoria is the black stallion Sovrans Midnight Express (IMP USA) (Sultan's Black Sovran x Swan). In December 1995 a major initiative was introduced - bloodtyping of Australian-bred American Saddlebreds. With bloodtyping in force and now DNA typing, the Australian registry is now in line with ASHA(USA) standards and also with Australian industry standards. (Author: Lynne Wirth) Suggested Reading: American Saddlebred Breed History at ASHA (USA) website Saddlebred Information including articles on Wing Commander and Supreme Sultan .