About Our Horses

Over forty years ago and influenced by the last head of the Hungarian Horse Breeding Branch,

Colonel Bundy Imrik, Peter and Jan Powles set about to fulfil a dream of breeding an

Australian riding horse with the temperament and physical ability to compete at the top

level of competition.

When the achievements of horses bred by the Northern Warmblood Stud are analysed objectively, most would agree that this dream has been realised.

Over the last few decades, Northern Warmbloods have featured prominently in dressage and showjumping throughout Australia. In more recent years, this achievement is particularly noteworthy, as the stud now only produces a small number of horses per year.

Horses carrying the "Northern" prefix have consistently demonstrated that if they are correctly trained, ridden and judged, Australian bred horses are the equal to the best of their expensive European cousins when it comes to success at the highest level

When asked about the success of their venture into breeding an Australian Warmblood, Peter and Jan acknowledge that there have been a number of occasions when they were proud to be able to say that they had bred internationally successful horses. The 2000 Sydney Olympics was such an occasion, when they bred the only Australian horse selected to be on the Australian Dressage Tteam, Northern Aphrodite, as well as the Reserve horse, Northern Greta, who was a prolific winner in her own right, at State and National level.

Most dressage enthusiasts see it as an outstanding achievement to breed an Olympic horse, but to breed two horses that qualifiied for selection in an Australian Team, was indeed a very proud highlight for the Northern Warmblood Stud.

Northern Invader was another Northern bred horse "knocking on the door" of international success. He was on the 2006 Development Squad, and showed great potential for Olympic or WEG selection.

Although the main focus for Northern Warmblood Stud's breeding program has been to produce dressage horses, several of the stud's horses have made a name for themselves as showjumpers. An exciting competitor in the mid 2000's was Laurie Lever’s La Laina, by one the stud's resident stallions, Northern Villius. This exceptionally talented young stallion's life ended prematurely with an inoperable twisted bowel.

La Liana topped off a very successful season in 2006 n by winning the Champion Young Show-Jumper at Dressage With The Stars in December of that year. The talented chestnut mare was one of a number of well-performed offspring by Northern Villius.

There are not a lot of horses that demonstrate a talent for both dressage and jumping. So quite unique was the bay stallion Northern Favus who was one of those rare multi-talented individuals. Ridden by Paul Brent, Favus rose steadily through the showjumping ranks and was complimented for his jumping style and courage.

Over the past 10 years, Northern Warmblood Stud has scaled dowh to a small hobbyist operation and now only produces a couple of foals each season in order to maintain the interest in Australian equestrian sport.

More recently, Peter and Jan warmly congratulate Victorian Squad rider Sharyn McCombe on her outstanding success with Yarramee B Bear (sold at the Northern Warmblood sale in January 2005). Sharyn and "Humphrey" have progressed up the grades to Advanced Level, and were selected to ride in Eva Moeller's Dressage Masterclass at the 2015 Dressage and Jumping with the Stars event at Werribee Park. This handsome bay possesses the typical stamp of the horses bred for their outstanding paces, trainable temperament and inherent strength and soundness.

Putting together an archive of almost 40 years has been highly dependent getting the feedback from owners, collating competition results and having access to suitable photos. The information below is far from a complete historical reference, but will share with you some of the highlights of Northern Warmblood Stud's history - we trust you will enjoy the trip down memory lane.

Peter and Jan congratulate all the riders and trainers who have contributed to their success and sense of satisfaction and thank customers and friends for their continued support. Northern warmblood Stud acknowledge that even the most promising youngsters need the right training, good care and management to reaslise their full potential.

Well performed "Northern" bred horses are not all represented n this pages. The pbotos included are not in any special order and we trust you will enjoy the trip down memory lane.

Most of the photographs below from from Berni Saunders' files. Peter and Jan thank her and other owners for providing this pictorial overview of the stud's memorable highlights.