April 2018 - Equestriad Australian Eventing Championships

Kingsfield Arlington made his eventing debut on the weekend of 7-8 April, stepping out with the Stokes Sporthorses team at the Equestriad National Eventing Championships.
We were thrilled with his first eventing outing in the EVA-60 class - showing so much promise with an outstanding dressage score and a confident, though understandably touch 'green', outing over the jumps.
On Saturday afternoon Kirby Mills rode Jack to an amazing Dressage score of 77.5%, or 22.5 penalties. This placed them equal second in their class...and an amazing third of 83 combinations across the EVA-60 division.
One 'green' run out on the cross country when Jack didn't regain his concentration quickly enough after running into some 'traffic', but an otherwise confident and bold cross country left us thrilled, despite him dropping out of the placings. For a pony that has only had four cross country training sessions to confidently take on water, ditches and everything in between on a 'new' course was a delightful thing to watch as a breeder!!
Jack snuck in one 'lazy rail' in the show jumping....perhaps making a statement about 60cm not being worth the effort 😆.
As always, a huge thankyou to the Stokes team....for a serious eventing stable....I'm not sure they've ever had so many 'he's so cute' comments about a member of the team!

March 2018 - EA Southern Stars Show Horse Spectacular

Another exceptional outing by Kingsfield Arlington, this time at the EA Southern Cross Show Horse Spectacular.
This feature event, in its inaugural year, is by invitation based on horses qualifying at the major EA shows in all states. Provision is also made for combinations from New Zealand to compete.
The 2018 event enabled Newcomers qualified from the 2017 season to compete at a national level.
Kingsfield Arlington and Kirby Mills simply shone.
​Achieving qualification and then performing well at this event was set as a goal when the event was launched 12 months ago. They could not have performed better, bringing home the Newcomer Show Hunter Galloway Championship and then placing a very credible fourth in the Grand Champion final.

March 2018 - Australian Arabian National Championships

At our second event of the year, Kingsfield Arlington became the first Kingsfield bred pony to compete at the Australian Arabian National Championships.
Day one was dressage, and at their first dressage outing as a combination, 'Jack' and Stokes Sporthorses rider Kirby Mills scored a fabulous 69.4% in the Preliminary 1.2. Unfortunately the dreaded SIEC 'cross country gully' got the better of Jack in his second test, with Kirby doing a fabulous job to pilot an anxious 5yo around the 1.3. Overall, a super start to dressage competition for this new combination.
Day two was API (Australian Performance Index) day. The Stokes Sporthorses team had Jack looking and working superbly, both in hand and under saddle. The results were a dream come true for any breeder, particularly as a first time exhibitor at this show....the pinnacle for Arabian showing in Australia.
- Gold Champion API Ridden
- Silver Champion API Show Hunter
- Silver Champion API Led
A professional and friendly show, with the organisers and volunteers doing an amazing job. The API classes were again sponsored by Mulawa Performance, great supporters of API.

February 2018 - Pacific Coast Show Horse Championships

The 2018 competition year for Kingsfield kicked off at a very hot Pacific Coast Show Horse Championships on Friday 9th of February.
Kingsfield Arlington had a magnificent day, ridden for the first time in competition by Stokes Sporthorses' rider, Kirby Mills.
Coping superbly with a very tight indoor arena and some very seasoned competition, 'Jack' and Kirby were sashed Reserve Champion Preliminary Show Hunter Galloway.
​A fabulous start to 2018!

January 2018 - ACE Assessment

The ACE assessment team visited Kingsfield on the 28th and assessed both our most recent foal and one of our older mares.
Our gorgeous Cheval de Luxe daughter, Kingsfield Champagne de Luxe, achieved a very pleasing PREMIUM grading. She scored an excellent 82.5 for conformation, but unfortunately was simply not relaxed enough on the day to show her best movement. Some very valuable feedback from assessor Gerd Kuest, and we are delighted to add a second Premium graded Kingsfield produced filly to our future mare group.
Our 5yo White Diamond B/Hilkens Black Delight mare, KF Diamond Delight, improved on her 2yo assessment scores. Clearly now at a better stage of her development....maturity....she was just 1.25 marks short of a premium grading.

November 2017 - A focus on breeding

Within days of returning from our highly successful trip to the Dressage Nationals, the Kingsfield focus was moved into breeding the next generation of superstar ponies....with mares off to the breed centre and the final countdown to the arrival of this year's only Kingsfield foal.
Our lovely mare Shadyoak Mesmerise, who has produced two ELITE colts from her two previous foalings, certainly made us wait....15 days overdue this time!!
But well worth the wait when we welcomed a stunning buckskin filly by Cheval de Luxe on 7 Nov 17 (Melbourne Cup night).
This was a particularly special arrival, as we had patiently waited for a filly from this mare, and it was also our first 'home bred' GRP X from Cheval de Luxe, whom we co-own with Sara Price.
'Gretel' will be wrapped in cotton wool, with plans to retain her as a Kingsfield mare.

October 2017 - Australian National Dressage Championships

For the first time, in 2017 ponies were included in the Australian Dressage Championships.
The week started with a very long trip to the beautiful Boneo Equestrian Park, in 'far southern' Victoria. Both Cheval de Luxe and FS Carry Gold joined the Stokes Sporthorses team for the competiton.
'Chevy' had a stellar week. Starting by winning the PSG for the Australian leg of the FEI World Dressage Challenge (an open competition for both horses and ponies). He then won both the PSG and Inter 1 national pony titles, with amazing scores that would have seen him place sixth and second against the open field of horses.
'Carry' also put in super performances, in sometimes horrific weather conditions. Having only commenced Elementary competition in February, and then stepped up to Medium in July....to compete these levels at the National Championships was a big ask for our super pony...and she didn't disappoint.
In a super strong Elementary field Carry achieved a second and a fourth....missing out on a national championships win by a mere 0.2%! Her consistency was rewarded with the Reserve National Champion title.
She impressed us even more in the Medium classes, achieving a 'PB' at only her third start at this level. A second and a third placing secured her second Reserve Championship of the event.
In a special thrill, Carry and Sara were also selected in the NSW Pony Team...and the fabulous NSW ponies brought home the win.
The opportunity to support the first pony Dressage nationals was amazing....and our ponies doing so well was icing on the cake.

October 2017 - SHC NSW Horse of the Year

Kingsfield Arlington completed his spring show hunter campaign at the SHC HOTY.
Competing in the Newcomer Galloway Show Hunter, 'Jack' was foot perfect and...for those who value a sound, ground covering, hunter...an absolute standout in the line up for true hunter type.
His fabulous work and a top five sash for the day left us very pleased indeed.

September 2017 - ENSW Newcomer Horse of the Year
(and NSW Arabian State Titles)

An outstanding day for Kingsfield Arlington at the ENSW Newcomer Horse of the Year Show, held at SIEC on 16 September.
After winning his led Newcomer Hunter class, he was sashed Reserve Champion Led Newcomer Show Hunter Galloway. This was a special achievement, as it was the first time owner/breeder Jocelyn King had competed this special 'first Kingsfield foal' herself!!! That was an amazing start to the day....but it was destined to get even better!!
With trainer/rider Sara Price in the saddle, 'Jack' won Champion Newcomer Show Hunter 14-14.2hh. He then competed against the large Galloway winner for the overall title, and was selected as the Best Newcomer Show Hunter Galloway. To win the top accolade for Newcomers in NSW is an amazing achievement, and one we are particularly proud of having done it with a home bred horse.
To finish off the day, 'Jack' stepped out for the NSW Arabian State Titles in the afternoon (also held at SIEC), winning Chanpion Ridden API and Champion Show Hunter API.

September 2017 - Macquarie Bank Hack Championships

Kingsfield Arlington headed out to the first of his spring Championship hack shows on Friday 8 September.
He had a fabulous day, being sashed Reserve Champion Newcomer Show Hunter Galloway and also placing second in his Preliminary class.

July 2017 - Stepping up to Medium

FS Carry Gold made the step up to Medium level at the Sydney Dressage Club competition on 16 July.
It was a great first attempt at this level, with a solid 4.2 and then an amazing score of 65.9 to win the 4.3 against a strong field of horses.
This represented amazing progress for Carry and Sara, as with no flying changes in the 6yo pony test, they only commenced training this key requirement of the level after Carry's last YP event at the Sydney CDI in late April.
Their performance was good enough to be accepted at Medium level for the NSW State Championship!

April 2017 - Sydney CDI

What a wonderful occasion for FS Carry Gold's last Young Pony competition.
The Sydney CDI hosts the NSW Young Dressage Horse Championships, generously sponsored by the Hannovarian association.
Although the numbers of ponies were not large, the quality was certainly outstanding, with our FS Carry Gold having recently won the National 'Champion of Champions' title at DWTS 17; and the National second place getters from both the 4yo and 5yo classes also competing.
The Sydney CDI format almost mirrors the DWTS Nationals, with a score of 6.5 in the first round required to progress to the second round. The age group winners/champions are then determined by placings in the second round. A pony final is offered to determine in overall 'Pony Champion', with the winners of each age group eligible. They are not ridden by a guest rider, rather all ponies are ridden together in front of the judging panel who select the Champion.
Against an absolutely top quality field in the final; equal winning 4yo ponies TF True Heritage and Glenesk Rush Hour, and 5yo winner SPB Diva Toscana; FS Carry Gold was selected as the Overall Champion Pony. The judges were most complimentary of her suitability for a child rider and her superior 'hock' and ability to 'sit', seen as key indicators of potential to train to the highest levels.
A magnificent end to Carry's 18 months of Young Pony competition....unbeaten at the National Championships in consecutive years as well as consecutive NSW age championships and a CDI overall pony championship.

April 2017 - Young Dressage Championships

We spent a lovely Easter Saturday supporting the pony classes at the Young Dressage Championships, with FS Carry Gold in the Elementary and Kingsfield Arlington in the Preliminary.
Both ponies had a very successful day, with 'Carry' taking out the Elementary Championship and 'Jack' winning the Reserve Preliminary Championship from a field of 12 ponies.

March 2017 - Dressage and Jumping with the Stars

What an amazing competition....our fabulous FS Carry Gold won both rounds of the 6yo class and went on to give German guest rider Nicole Wego a fabulous ride, to be selected as the 2017 'Champion of Champions' Young Dressage Pony of Australia. We were particularly proud of this achievement as the quality of ponies is widely acknowledged as getting better and better each year. So while there were very few six year old ponies in attendance, Carry Gold had to beat the winners from strong, large quality fields in the 4yo and 5yo classes to win the overall title.
Making this achievement even more special was the fact that this was a 'back-to-back' win for Sara and Cary Gold....a phenomenal result.
​We thought our dreams had come true last year....well, dreams can come true twice.

March 2017 - DNSW Clarendon Dressage

It was a big day of pony dressage for the Stokes and Kingsfield ponies at the March Clarendon dressage....with the six bay Rivenlee Stokes Sporthorses truck re-labelled the 'Kingsfield pony express' for the day!!
Our team for the day consisted of Cheval de Luxe (who we co-own with Sara Price), FS Carry Gold and Kingsfield Arlington. It was a day of firsts, and fabulous results.
'Chevy' and Sara had their first Inter I start...scoring a phenomenal 68.8% and placing second among some of Australia's best small tour horses.
'Carry' had her second Elementary start, scoring an amazing 69.2%!!! This placed second against the horses. The girls then backed up in the second Elementay test with a win against the horses on 65.8%
And then the day somehow managed to get even better.....
Arlington had his first official preliminary test, with his only previous official dressage being two rounds of 4yo at Boneo CDI. Sara rode this youngster to perfection....achieving a remarkable 70.4%!!! They then did the 4yo class for an excellent result, 7.86! This included 8s for canter, submission and perspective.
An amazing day with our three very special German ponies.

March 2017 - EA HOTY

On 10 Mar 17 our 4yo gelding, Kingsfield Arlington, had his second outing in a show hunter ring...at the EA NSW Horse of the Year no less!! With only six weeks since his first saddle competition, we contested only the Newcomer and Preliminary classes.
'Jack', so capably piloted by Sara Price, managed to bring home the Reserve Champion sash for Newcomer Small Galloway Show Hunters, and in doing so earned his first qualification for the 2018 Southern Stars Show Horse finals.
He stepped up well in the Preliminary class against a strong, seasoned field of horses. A foot perfect workout allowed him to 'work up' the lineup into third place behind two very experienced galloways.

March 2017 - Boorowa Ag Show

After our yearling Colt Kingsfield Nobleman unfortunately missed the Canberra Royal due to a minor injury travelling to the show, we instead took him out to a local ag show the following weekend.
As usual, Jacqui Langfield had him looking absolutely stunning. He won his ASP stallion/Colt class and placed a very credible second in the open (all ages/genders/heights/registries) Arabian derivative class.
​Best of all, he coped very well with the atmosphere!

February 2017 - DNSW Clarendon Dressage

In late Feb, Sara and Carry headed to the re-scheduled February DNSW, following a heat cancellation of the original dates. This was Carry's first outing since the 2016 NSW Dressage Championships.
The girls completed their first Elementary test for a very credible 65.7, placing third against the horses and being only 0.07% behind the second placed horse!! A great first test at this level.
In what was only their second 6yo qualifier test, the girls posted a great score - 7.32.

February 2017 - Pacific Coast Show Horse Championships

Kingsfield Arlington competed at his first Grand National qualifier on the first weekend of February. This show also happened to be our first 'show horse' event in over seven years!!!!
The Stokes Sporthorses team had him looking and working superbly. He was a real 'head turner' in the ring and worked super consistently over both days of competition. He finished a very credible third in both the Preliminary and Newcomer Show Hunter Galloway classes, and even managed a Top Ten in the Open Small Show Hunter class against the far more established open horses. A super start to his hunter career!!

January 2017 - East Coast Arabian Championships

From 25-28 Jan, the Stokes Sporthorses team competed at the East Coast Arabian Championships at SIEC. Kingsfield Arlington, who is Arabian Performance Index registered, got to join in with the team and do his first big Arabian breed show.
He had a great competition, at what was only his second outing under saddle. Results were:
Champion Ridden Newcomer API
Champion Ridden Novice API
Reserve Champion Ridden API ne 14.2hh
Reserve Champion Led API Male
Reserve Champion API Preliminary Dressage

Cheval de Luxe, who we co-own with Sara Price, had yet another amazing show....winning Grand Champion Saddlehorse of Show.
​He has now one the equivalent award at all three 'Triple Crown' Arabian shows in NSW. NSW State Titles in Sep 16, National Arabian Stud Show in Nov 16 and now East Coast. A phenomenal achievement....and possibly the first time a horse has achieved this trifecta in the 30 year history of East Coast Championships!!

January 2017 - Boneo CDI

It was a quiet end to 2016 for Kingsfield, with no foals due this season, the established saddle ponies spelled and our time and energy spent in bringing through the younger ponies, both youngstock and under saddle. But it's a new year, and things are now in full swing!
In the first week of January, Kingsfield Nobleman, our lovely (now) yearling colt by Noble Dancer, came in for his 'growing up spell' and returned to Jacqui Langfield and Gemsfield Stud to be prepared for Canberra Royal in February.
Kingsfield Arlington (4yo gelding by Kennedy WE) has been training with Sara Price at Stokes Sporthorses since October ready to commence his under saddle competition career in the new year.
His first event was the Boneo CDI to compete in the Young Pony 4yo class. At what is a big, challenging competition for the youngsters, he coped well in the environment, achieved national championship qualifier scores in both rounds and came away placing third in what was a big and strong pony class. Excited to see how much he can continue to improve over the next two months, so very much looking forward to DWTS 17.

The next challenges for 'Jack' are to take on his first major breed show under saddle (East Coast Arabian Championships) from 25-28 January at SIEC and then have his first show hunter outing at the Pacific Coast GN qualifier in early Feb.
FS Carry Gold, our lovely imported GRP mare by FS Coco Jambo, is back in work in preparation for DWTS 17.

October - December 2016

A quiet end to 2016 on the competition front for the Kingsfield ponies. Our two foundation broodmares (Shadyoak Mesmerise and Overflow Die Feine Lady) headed off to stud to be bred to the lovely Cheval de Luxe, who we co-own with Sara Price.
The ponies being set for DWTS 17 (FS Carry Gold to return in the 6yo class following her 5yo and 'Champion of Champions' wins in 2016; and our first homebred pony to campaign for this event, Kingsfield Arlington for the 4yo class) went back into work.
To keep our competition appetite satisfied, we greatly enjoyed supporting Cheval de Luxe and Sara. They did extremely well at national level breed shows in November....winning multiple major under saddle titles. Chevy was also selected as the NSW Dressage Pony of the Year. A prestigious award that was lovely recognition of the phenomenal year of dressage competition he has had. Arguably the best performed dressage pony in Australia; he was undefeated in pony dressage for the 12 month qualification period for this award, won multiple state championship titles, made the step up to FEI (PSG) level and was consistently placing highly against Australia's best up and coming horses in the Advanced classes at the most prestigious CDI events. An amazing stallion who will provide a wonderful foundation for the Kingsfield breeding program.

September 2016

We had a fabulous four days at the NSW State Dressage Championships from 8 to 11 Sep 16. We had two ponies attend with the Stokes Sporthorses team, our mare FS Carry Gold and the stallion we co-own with Sara Price, Cheval de Luxe.
Carry competed at Novice and Preliminary levels, producing four excellent tests over the two days of completion to place 3rd and 5th in the Novice classes against seasoned, higher graded ponies. She shone in the Preliminary, with two 2nd places including a score of 69.7%!! For this young mare to bring home the Reserve Champion Preliminary title was a great achievement for her first open competition at this level.
Chevy was the absolute superstar of the pony performers at the event. Sara did her usual, amazing job to win the PSG with a score only just shy of 68% (two judges giving the combination scores over 70%!!). They won both Advanced tests with scores over 68% to win the Advanced Championship and then contested the Advanced Freestyle against the horses to place third.
An amazing and enjoyable event which was a wonderful showcase of just how talented these wonderful ponies are.

August 2016

Kingsfield Nobleman competed at his second breed show on the 28th of August, the Australian Saddle Pony Country Championships held at Parkes. This show was a big step up for a 'baby' in terms of atmosphere....large numbers of horses, including ridden classes, five rings in close proximity and the side shows being set up (and test run) for the Parkes Agricultural Show the following day. In the capable hands of Jacqui Langfield (Gemsfield Stud) the experience was kept positive for this precious young colt....and he turned heads and promoted GRP bred ponies in a really positive way.
He won his yearling Saddle Pony class and was then sashed Reserve Champion Saddle Pony Colt. In the open breed ring he won both his Arabian Derivative and Buckskin stallion/colt classes, and was awarded Reserve Champion Arabian Derivative.
'Nobleman' will now be spelled, and then prepared for some major breed shows in early 2017. He remains available for sale, details on Sales page.

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FS Carry Gold completed her first 6yo Young Pony qualifier event at Dressage NSW (Clarendon) on the 14th of August. Beautifully ridden by Sara Price, the girls scored a super impressive 7.82. This is a particularly notable achievement, as having been imported from Germany, this young mare is only a few months past her fifth birthday.

​July 2016

Kingsfield Nobleman made his youngstock breed show debut in July at the APSB Southern Highlands and Tablelands Foal and Youngstock Show.
Superbly prepared by Jacqui Langfield of Gemsfield Stud, Nobleman behaved impeccably and achieved some fantastic performances:
Champion Coloured Foal
Reserve Champion Arabian Derivative Foal
Reserve Champion Saddle Pony Foal

​June 2016

The winter months are being used to put some valuable time into the youngsters; weaning and handling foals as well as starting to work the rising four year olds towards saddle competition debuts.
Kingsfield Arlington, who was kept with the Richardson family at Vancouver Park in Victoria as a colt, was gelded in April and moved home in early June ready to commencing his preparation for 4yo Young Pony and newcomer hunter classes in 2017.
Kingsfield Diamond Delight headed off to Stokes Sporthorses to be broken in by resident breaker and all round horse handling expert, Cam Edwards.
Kingsfield Nobleman has been kindly taken for a foal show preparation by Jacqui Langfield of Gemsfield Stud at Cowra.

​May 2016

On 1 May, Kingsfield Diamond Delight competed at her second breed show, the NSW/ACT Dilutes Australia Youngstock Feature Show. 'Bella' was her usual delightful self, coping well with the environment and obviously more confident and mature than her previous show. This lovely filly is made for the show ring - great conformation, a beautiful face, exquisite markings and movement to burn. Her results did not disappoint:
Champion Part Welsh Youngstock
Champion Saddle Pony Youngstock
Champion Show Hunter Pony

​April 2016

Sydney CDI was our main event for April. After having the aspiration for many years, it was fantastic to finally have a pony competing at his prestigious event.
FS Carry Gold competed in the 5yo pony class, and did not disappoint. While the numbers in the pony classes were low, the quality across the age groups was great. 'Carry' won the 5yo first round with a score that would have placed her third against the horses!! Sara and 'Carry' followed up with a second round win, to earn the NSW Champion 5yo Young Dressage Pony title.

​March 2016

Dreams do come true!!!
It might take commitment, planning and persistence through the highs and lows of equestrian sport....but dreams can come true.
The dream to import a special pony mare who would make a significant contribution to the Australian GRP gene pool...and also be a super competitive dressage pony, was years in the making.
At Dressage with the Stars the lovely FS Carry Gold, so capably trained and ridden by Sara Price, won both rounds of the 5yo pony class to become Australian Champion 5yo Dressage Pony. This beautiful young mare then gave guest rider Steph Crittenden a soft, scopey ride which showed her trainability, rideability and potential. She was selected from the three age group champions to be declared National Young Dressage Pony 'Champion of Champions'.

February 2016

FS Carry Gold and Sara have continued their preparation for DWTS, stepping up to Novice level at the Bowral Club championships. Strong performances across the board, and the Reserve Champion Pony title for their efforts.
Kingsfield Diamond Delight, our 3yo filly by White Diamond B out of a Hilkens Black Delight mare, made her show ring debut at the ACT/NSW Dilutes Summer breed show on 14 Feb. She coped so very well for her first outing at what turned out to be a much bigger and more 'atmospheric' show than we had expected. We were thrilled that she was awarded Champion Led Hunter Pony.

January 2016

FS Carry Gold and Sara Price have made their competition debut, competing at both he Clarendon (Dressage NSW) January competition and the Boneo CDI. They won all of their classes, achieved their qualification for DWTS 16 and collected the Boneo CDI 5yo Young Pony award in the process. A great start for this combination.

We had two foals for ACE assessment this year, with both doing extremely well.
K. Nobleman, by Noble Dancer out of Shadyoak Mesmerise (by Richmeed Medallion) was assessed ELITE, with lovely comments that identified no weaknesses.
K. Black Swan, by Black Chaming WE out of Overflow Die Feine Lady (by Der Feine Lord) was assessed PREMIUM, with a fabulous movement score of 83%!!