The Australian Pony is a breed of pony that developed in Australia. Since the continent had no native horses or ponies prior to the arrival of European explorers and settlers, all equidae that now live there are from imported stock. Horses first arrived in Australia in 1788 on the ship First Fleet from South Africa. In 1803, the first Timor Ponies arrived from Indonesia, and provided the foundation stock for the breed. The Australian Pony also had later influence from the Welsh Mountain Pony, Hackney pony, Arabian, Shetland Pony, Highland Pony, Connemara Pony, Exmoor Pony, and from small Thoroughbreds. Stallions of influence include: Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1067, 703 KB) Horse Riding in Coca Cola Arena - 2005 Melbourne Show File links The following pages link to this file: Equestrianism ... The Arabian horse first appeared in the Arabian Peninsula at least 2,500 years B.C.E. They were carefully bred to maintain desirable features (e. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... // Horse breeds (1). ... A Shetland Pony A pony is any of several horse breeds with a specific conformation and temperament. ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ... Species - Donkey - African Wild Ass - Domestic Horse - Wild Horse - Grevys Zebra - Onager - Kiang - Plains Zebra - Cape Mountain Zebra - Hartmanns Mountain Zebra Equidae is the family of horse-like animals, order Perissodactyla. ... The First Fleet is the name given to the 11 ships which sailed from Great Britain on May 13, 1787 to establish the first European colony in New South Wales. ... The Timor Pony was developed on the Indonesian island of Timor, likely from Indian breeds that were imported to the island. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Breed History The Hackney Pony was developed by primarily one man, Christopher Wilson. ... The Arabian horse first appeared in the Arabian Peninsula at least 2,500 years B.C.E. They were carefully bred to maintain desirable features (e. ... The Shetland pony is a breed of pony (a type of small horse) that is very strong for its size. ... Categories: Possible copyright violations ... The Connemara is a hardy pony breed from Ireland, and is the ultimate pony sport horse, excelling at the top levels of most FEI disciplines. ... A herd of Exmoor pony foals. ... For the processor with the same codename , see Athlon. ...

• Sir Thomas and Dennington Court: Two Exmoor pony stallions who were imported in the mid-1800s
• Bonnie Charlie: Hungarian stallion
• Dyoll Greylight: Welsh Mountain Pony who arrived in 1911, is considered a founding sire.

By 1920, a distinct type of pony had emerged in Australia, and in 1931, the Australian Pony Stud Book Society was formed. Today, the pony is mainly used as a children's mount and for smaller adult novice riders. They compete in dressage, eventing, show jumping, combined driving, gymkhana, mounted games, and horse shows. A stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been castrated. ... An upper-level dressage competitor performing an extended trot Dressage (a French term meaning training) is a path and destination of competitive horse training, with competitions held at all levels from amateur to the Olympics. ... Eventing is an equestrian event which comprises dressage, cross-country and show-jumping. ... Show jumping is a form of competition in which horses are jumped over a course of fences, low walls, and other obstacles (e. ... Combined driving also known as Horse Driving Trials is an equestrian sport involving carriage driving. ... Gymkhana is a term used in the United Kingdom, east coast of the United States, and other English-speaking nations to describe an equestrian event consisting of timed games for riders on horses. ... A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. ...

Breed Characteristics

The Australian Riding Pony stands between 12 and 14 hands high. It is of great quality, strongly showing the refining from Arabian and Welsh Mountain Pony influence. The head is distinctly pony, full of show quality, slightly concave with alert ears and large, dark eyes. The neck is relatively short but well-set and nicely rounded, the shoulders slope well back and the hindquarters are well rounded and proportioned. The tail is set high and gaily carried. The chest is deep, the barrel is round. The legs are short and strong, with flat, dense bone. The overall impression is a very attracting pony of show quality. A hand (or handbreadth) is a unit of length measurement, usually based on the breadth of a male human hand and thus around 1 dm, i. ...

See also

• Pony
• Welsh pony
• Riding pony