A breed of horse was developed in the early American Colonial days and later became named, rather appropriately, The American Saddlebred. The intention of the early breeders was to create a grand saddle horse to meet the needs of a young nation this animal was required to have stamina, courage, an easy temperament and the ability to be used for ever so many jobs that a growing civilization wished a horse to do. Along with all of these requirements, the colonists also wanted high style and elegance.

 

So successful was this breed in meeting all requirements that his history marched right along with that of the nation. The Saddlebred, historically, has done everything asked of him at any time while maintaining always his particular hallmark of unique athletic ability coupled with high elegance and style.

 

In the field of the show ring, especially in three and five-gaited classes, Saddlebreds stand without peer as a masterpiece of nature .  Their performance, which can raise a vast crowd to a tremendous peak of excitement, is not merely a burst of speed of a couple of minutes duration but is a sustained competition by the equine great, viewed at close hand for the better part of an hour.  The Five-Gaited  champion Saddlebred during a performance in the show ring ,varies from the racing speed of the rack to the restrained majesty of the slow-gait.

 

The World Champion show held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, USA has a long history of truly great performances.

 

Astral King, a nine year old in 1915, battled successfully for Five-Gaited World Grand Championship, for two hours and five minutes with the eight  year old Cascade and six other great animals, half of whom later became world champions in their turn.

 

Easter Cloud, an eight 8 year old in 1917, competing with Richlieu King, for one hour and thirty minutes, won the same Saddlebred World Grand Championship.   Richlieu King, at age nine , won the same honor from Easter Cloud and Golden Firefly in a one hour and ten minute battle.  Then in 1918, Cascade at eleven years of age, worked brilliantly for one hour and five minutes to defeat the eleven year old Richileu King.

 

In 1948 as a five year old, the famous stallion Wing Commander, won the title in only 45 minutes. The next year it took him one hour and fifteen minutes to defend his title.  He held this title  through1953,  his tenth year, each time putting up a prolonged performance against a ring full of the world s best Saddlebred horses.

 

In all of these contest a ring full of great horses put forth racing sped at extreme action, a feat that can be performed by few, if any, horses of any other breed.

 

Those people whose knowledge of this breed is limited to the show ring, know from experience that this horse has legs that can stand speed work and that he can carry weight and perform at racing speed with extreme action. They know that the great show horse can be trained to a machinelike precision. But people whose knowledge is confined to the show ring are seldom aware that the Saddlebred, because of the way the breed grew into being, is, when opportunity permits, the most attentive of companions and possesses an almost intuitive responsiveness.

 

The fact that by setting his tail, shoeing him in a certain way, and stabling him and drilling him in a special manner, he can give us, in our three-gaited and five-gaited stakes one of the most glorious equine performances ever produced, gives many people the idea that he is purely a show piece requiring very special handing.

This breed, is primarily a using animal, developed by men who rode and drove their own horses, and the American Saddlebred  is still most perfectly adapted to the use of people who expect a horse to adjust himself to practically any job that his owner has on hand. 

 

 In today s world the accomplishments we require of a horse are much less than in Colonial days, yet Saddlebreds continue to enchant and please, whether at home, on the trail, or in the show ring where their high action , speed, unflagging, elegant style and heart are obvious to all viewers. The Saddlebred just has a habit of making riders feel as though they were indeed flying without wings, or accomplishing any task at all, always with the support of an equine partner full of much heart, ability, and responsive willingness.

 

Outside the traditional saddle seat show arena, American Saddlebreds have been successful in most equine disciplines, from cow horses to jumpers, dressage to carriage horses. If conditioned and trained properly, they are capable of almost any task they are asked to perform, and they do it with style.

 

Horse shows for the Saddlebred are held in every state of the United States and the breed s popularity has spread to many other countries, with shows also popular in Germany, South Africa and England to name a few. The stallions are also being used internationally at many stud farms throughout the world.

 

American Saddlebreds have a long and proud history, from the battlefield at Gettysburg to the bright lights of Madison Square Garden and a tremendous legacy of service in between.

 

Horses that existed in colonial America were the foundation stock of the modern American Saddle Horse, just as they were the foundation stock of the Quarter Horse, the Standardbred add the Morgan. These current day breeds were achieved by the selection of equine individuals and characteristics and  by careful and very limited use from time to time of blood outside the developing strain.

 

The original stock from which the Saddlebed was begun, has a long history in England before the colonists brought horses to America. The English saddle horse was a very definite type.  In England before roads were suitable for wheeled  vehicles, the ease of a saddle horse s gait was a sought after trait.  This old English stock held its identity in the Colonies even after the horse back in England was transformed.

 

This change in England was the result of many factors. Good roads changed English transportation from saddle to vehicles, and the court fads of Charles II, were brought home to England from France. The English Thoroughbred was the crowning achievement of the subsequent transformation of the English horse.

 

The American Colonies began to import the English Thoroughbred in the middle eighteenth century and by the next century the Thoroughbred, used by careful breeding, played its part in the improvement of all light breeds in America, including the beginnings of the Saddlebred breed.

 

This improvement was partly the result of selection and survival of the fittest under very rigorous conditions, but an equally important factor was the inbreeding made necessary by life in those days, since few places in this country had more than one excellent sire. When such a stallion proved worthy, his progeny was bred back to him because he was the only good stallion available locally.  Animals of great usefulness and with speed over distances were developed.

 

So in spite of the contribution of  more selective Thoroughbred blood in coming centuries, the essential characteristics of the Saddlebred were developed from the old English horse in the Colonies.  Up to 1750, the Thoroughbred horses that had been brought to this country could be counted by the fingers on one hand.  The horses used fro racing in New York and Virginia , a century before the Thoroughbreds were imported, were the ancestors of the American Saddle Horse.  Also these ancestors of the Saddle Horse were already in the colonies prior to the infusion of any blood stock from the Syrian-Arabian deserts into the English Saddle horse.  The saddle horses of the middle twelfth century ridden by nobility and gentry were not trotters.  The trotters were assigned to squires and other attendants.

 

Though the Saddlebred owes much to the Thoroughbred, the breed retained none of the Thoroughbred s intractability and inattentiveness to fine footwork. The Thoroughbred s forward center of gravity, resting above the withers, moved back to just behind the withers in the Saddle Horse, freeing up the shoulders for lighter footwork, sure-footedness and agility.

 

Today, their popularity has slowly spread around the world and their worth is acclaimed by enthusiasts everywhere. There are  international Breed Associations recognized by the AHSA (USA) --  in in Canada, in South Africa and the UK in South Africa,  Australian, The Philippines and interest is growing in Europe. Now in Australia, after a long period of negotiation between ASHAA (Australia) and ASHA(USA), purebred horses bloodtyped (and since 2002 DNA typed) and registered with ASHAA Inc. can be registered in the American registry, with the export market as an aim.
 
The American Saddle Horse breed has consistently passed on its qualities to its heirs, and despite attempts to create similar horses through crossing other breeds to get the same characteristics, none has established itself as consistently as the Saddlebred.

 

The creation of man and nature in concert, the American Saddlebred is truly "The American Horse."

Photo at the top of the page Ross Millin -  Newline Stud.

 

Other introductory site pages about the SADDLEBRED:
Saddlebred Shows