Icelandic weather, long days in the saddle and one very good jacket. Here’s why EQUIDRY earned a spot in Kate’s riding holiday kit. Hand on heart, Iceland is in Kate Pilcher’s top five riding holidays. The horses. The landscapes. The people. The belly laughs. The saddle time. It all adds up to one phenomenal adventure.…
For intrepid adventurers who have taken the plunge and booked our Touch of the Highlands Ride or our Icelandic Highlands Ride in Iceland your first port of call in this extraordinary land of fire and ice is Reykjavík. Few capitals are as delightful as Iceland’s — charming, quirky, and welcoming, much like the people who call…
Did you know that the first ever motion picture featured a horse and rider? In 1873, Leland Stanford, horse breeder and founder of Stanford University, commissioned Eadweard Muybridge to photograph his prized trotter, Occident. In doing so, Stanford wanted to settle a long-disputed question: does a horse have all four hooves off the ground at…
Name of breed: Arabian, or Arab Country of origin: This is a much-disputed point! There are arguments to support the breed’s development in northern Syria, southern Turkey, the Piedmont region in northern Italy, the Fertile Crescent running from Iraq to the coast of Egypt, and southwestern Arabia. Breed origin: The prototype for the modern Arabian…
In May of 2018, 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 armour was…
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…
Name of breed: Hanoverian Country of origin: Germany Breed origin: Surprisingly, this German breed owes its existence in large part to an English king, George II, who was also the Elector of Hanover in what is now Lower Saxony, Germany. George II established the Celle State Stud in 1735 with the intention of producing horses…
Name of breed: Appaloosa Country of origin: North America Breed origin: There have been several theories as to where the Appaloosa originated from as many thought that the Spanish Conquistadors brought the horse to the Americas in the late 15th or early 16th centuries. However, one theory suggests that they had already been there. The…
Name of breed: Westphalian Country of origin: Germany Breed origin: The Westphalian horse breed was bred at Warendorf Stud in 1826 and their mission was to produce a useful riding horse for all disciplines. Even though this breed is very similar to the Hanoverian, they have differences in their structure and temperament. The horses from…
Name of breed: American Saddlebred Country of origin: United States Breed origin: The American Saddlebred is known as ‘The Horse History Made’ because its development has been so closely tied to the needs of the nation over the centuries. Its story begins at the beginning of the 18th century, when Thoroughbreds were imported to the…
Name of breed: Selle Français, also known as the Cheval de Selle Français Country of origin: France Breed origin: Like most warmblood horse breeds, the Selle Français was developed with a diverse mixture of bloodlines. In the 19th century, Norman breeders imported Thoroughbreds and Norfolk Trotters, crossing them with their native stock (now known as…
The first female jockey to win the iconic Melbourne Cup was the talented Michelle Payne back in 2015. Her trusty steed, Prince of Penzance, won by half a length to make Michelle the first female to ride the winning horse in the 155-year history of the Melbourne Cup! But her road to the top of…
Name of breed: Thoroughbred, or English Thoroughbred Country of origin: England Breed origin: One of the best-known horse breeds in the world, the Thoroughbred was developed in England by crossing native English mares with Arabian, Barb and Turkoman (today’s Akhal-Teke) stallions to create the Thoroughbred that we know and love today. All modern Thoroughbred horses’…
Name of breed: Highland Pony Country of origin: Scotland Breed origin: It is difficult to trace this breed back to its origins because when it was first domesticated there were two types, small and light ponies from the Western Isles and the heavier version from the mainland. These two types of the Highland pony have…
