www.horsesandpeople.com.au • HORSES and PEOPLE • Page 23Page 22 • HORSES and PEOPLE • Phone: 07 5467 9796 • admin@horsesandpeople.com.au

ColourBy Paint Horse Association of Australia

PainttheThe vibrant coat pattens of the Paint Horse have long

attracted people from many equestrian disciplines. Each Paint horse is a true individual; colourfully different from all others due to their distinctive colours and coat markings. They have captured the imagination of many horse enthusiasts. Each horse has a particular

combination of white and any colour of the horse spectrum, including chestnut, bay, black, brown, roan, buckskin, dun, grullo, grey, perlino, palomino, cremello, champagne, and more.

However, before the Paint horse was recognised as a breed, they were considered just another colour. It was the dedication of a few passionate horse people who were determined to make the Australian Paint Horse as recognisable as its American counterpart. It was the early work of those who founded the Paint Horse Association of Australia (PHAA), and their commitment to breeding quality stallions to mares of equal worth, that has lead to the Paint Horse being the coveted animal that it is today.

The colourful PaintWith their loud coat patterns, often blue eyes and sensible nature, the Paint Horse is proving a capable companion in a host of equestrian sports. Paint Horses have been selectively bred from quality imported and domestic Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred-type stock over many decades to produce the horse we know today.

The Paint Horse’s markings can be any shape or size and cover any part of the body. Paint coat patterns are also varied; being classified as overo, tobiano, tobero, splashed white, sabino or solid. Genetics is what defines the colour and pattern of all Paint Horses. (To read more about the genetics of colour, which are not discussed in this article, go to: www.horsesandpeople.com.au/article/the-pinto) So, how did the Paint go from being a horse of colour to a defined breed with its own registry and rules?

The Paint in AustraliaIn the lounge room of David Farquhar at his home in Murrurundi, the Paint Horse Association of Australia was formed in the early 1970’s. Dave, a passionate horseman all his life, was one of the founding members and the first life member of the PHAA. His family, including wife Lauris, son Wade, and daughters Cody and Lauretta Jo, imported one of the first Paint stallions from the United States into Australia.

They stood Bueno Bandit, a palomino overo stallion, and his progeny proved themselves true all-rounders like their sire, who had competed successfully in the United States in Halter, Western Pleasure, Trail, Reining and Cutting events. Also at that fateful meeting was Peta-Anne Tenney, husband Todd, and her in-laws Lyman and Alaire Tenney.

Peta-Anne was the secretary of the PHAA for the first three years and editor of the PHAA Journal. So enchanted was she by the beauty of the coloured horse, that it was Peta who compiled the first PHAA studbook, and many of her own stock and their progeny have graced its pages over the years. Peta-Anne lived and breathed the Paint Horse and, along with her husband, she imported the stallion Le Van Dee Dee.

Todd and Peta-Anne Tenney owned some of the top Paint Horse mares and were proud co-owners of the first two PHAA Champions Le Van Dee Dee and Joe Paint. Todd and Peta-Anne also published Australia’s Western Horseman and the Stallion Yearbooks. Peta always made sure that Paints were given good promotion and coverage in any of their own publications.

The Tenneys moved to Arizona in the United States in 1983 and, while they no longer have horses, they still have Joe Paint’s awards in pride of place in their office. A few years ago, Peta-Anne returned the silver coffee service, a gift from the PHAA to Todd and herself, to the PHAA office. It was a lovely gesture and one that proves that, even today as far away as she is from Australia, she still holds the PHAA close to her heart.

Their legacy in AustraliaThose early Paint Horses, owned by Todd and Peta-Anne Tenney, stamped their mark on the breed we know today. Current champions can still trace their lineage back to some of those champions, including the first horse inducted into the PHAA Hall of Fame, Joeleo.

Joeleo, a bay tobiano stallion foaled in 1973, was by Le-Van Joe a son of Levan; himself an AQHA leading sire of ROM race qualifiers. He was imported by Lyman and Alaire Tenney. Arriving shorly after C-Note’s Playboy, Joeleo was barely 18 months old when he placed second at his first show - a stallion class. This class was his only defeat that year and he claimed the title of National High Point Halter Stallion in 1974-1975.

In 1975, he moved to Western Australia where his training progressed and he won National High Point Cutting Horse 1975-1976, earning all of his points in Open and NCHA competition - a feat he repeated in 1976-1977. In 1976, he also became PHAA Champion #3. Prior to moving to Western Australia, Joeleo had the honour of winning the first Paint Horse Race in Australia as a two-year-old.

horse

Photo courtesy Tania Hobbs

andBREED FEATURE

www.horsesandpeople.com.au • HORSES and PEOPLE • Page 25Page 24 • HORSES and PEOPLE • Phone: 07 5467 9796 • admin@horsesandpeople.com.au

‘Bremerpark Paint Horses’

• ‘Charlie’ is 14.3hh, Registered Paint and Pinto (upgraded for breeding) PHAA 9918

• Homozygous Tobiano and Black (guarantees you a black based paint coloured foal every time)• 5-Panel negative and overo negative, (safe for all coloured mares)• By an excellent campdrafter, Charlie showed promise cutting until injury forced his retirement.• Sire of our foal that toured in Australia with Cavalia in 2013. • Charlie’s foals are excelling as all rounders, from

showing to ridden events in both, English and Western, but it is their easy going nature that

makes them genuine family mounts.

Service fee$850

plus expenses(live cover only)

Standing in Qld to a very limited book this season.

Call: 0417 779 653

Bremerpark That Will Do

Ad de

sign b

y Hor

ses a

nd Pe

ople

Joeleo has ROM’s in Halter, Trail, Western Pleasure, Cutting, Western Riding, Reining and Bridle Path Hack. In 1975-1976, he was Reserve National High Point Horse in Trail, Western Riding and Sprint Racing. Then 1976-1977 saw him emerge as National High Point Horse in Cutting and Reserve in Trail and Working Cow Horse.

In the 1977-1978 season, he won National High Point Reining and Western Riding, and Equal High Point Bridle Path Hack and Sprint Racing. As if to prove that things get better with age, he went out in 1978-1979 to be Honor Roll Cutting, Working Cow Horse and Sprint Racehorse, and earned a PHAA Superior Cutting Horse Award. He survived until he was almost 30, dying in 2002.

C-Note’s Playboy, the second HOF inductee, was imported by Jack and Christine Ruckwood, and the sorrel overo, foaled in 1968, managed to court a few mares at the close of the 1973-1974 stud season. National Champion Yearling at the 1969 National Show in Kansas City, Kansas, Playboy was bred by Junior Robertson and Jim Smoot, and came from a long line of National Champions. His sire, C-Note, was a National Champion and APHA Champion. C-Note’s Sire, Mr J Bar, holds five National Champion titles, two in Halter, one in Roping, and two in Get of Sire. C-Note’s dam, Pocohontas, won the National Produce of Dam in 1966. C-Note’s Playboy’s dam was Squaw Cat, a daughter of Dinky Reed AQHA.

C-Note’s Playboy proved to be an outstanding Halter horse in his first Australian show season, winning many championships and attracting a lot of attention to the Paint Horse breed with his flashy overo coloring, which was previously unseen in Australia. For the 1974, 1975 and 1976 seasons, C-Note’s Playboy

Owned trained and shown by Sandie Johnson. Photo courtesy CSteele Design.

Bre

d an

d ow

ned

by

Bre

mer

park

Pai

nts.

Phot

o co

urte

sy E

M

cLea

n Ph

otog

raph

y

Photo courtesy Tania Hobbs

andBREED FEATURE

Launches its 2014/15 Summer Collection!

Comfortable, Fun, Fresh, AffordableEquestrian Wear & Accessories for Children

Designed in Australia for Aussie Kids

Ph: 0455 143 735

www.pohnieequestrian.comBELIEVE U CAN & U WILL

Ad de

sign b

y Hors

es an

d Peo

ple M

agaz

ine

www.horsesandpeople.com.au • HORSES and PEOPLE • Page 27Page 26 • HORSES and PEOPLE • Phone: 07 5467 9796 • admin@horsesandpeople.com.au

stood at stud for his owners, breeding many mares, including registered Paints and Thoroughbreds. In 1977, the Ruckwood’s leased C-Note’s Playboy to Phil and Betty Carman, and Betty commenced training the stallion for performance events. Now a nine-year-old, the imported horse put his mind to the job and, in a short time, he was winning consistently in Bridle Path Hack, Western Pleasure and Western Riding and, at the same time, continuing his Halter success.

Grand Champion at the 1978 SPHC Victorian State Championships and Senior Champion at SEQPHC Queensland State Championships were highlights of his time with the Carman’s. Over a period of two years, the Carman’s showed him to his ROM Western Pleasure, ROM Halter and to PHAA Champion #7. He was also National High Point Halter Stallion and National High Point Western Pleasure Horse. C-Notes Playboy was put to sleep on the 27th August 1987 at the age of 19.

There have also been many influential sires imported from the United States and another that is worth mentioning is the recently-deceased Loots Image.

Lootie, as he was affectionately known to those in the association, held the enviable title of being the world’s first American Paint Horse Association and PHAA Champion. This wonderfully versatile stallion was also multi-crowned as Australia’s leading sire of halter horses, leading sire of performance horses and the nation’s overall leading sire. His progeny continue to dominate the show scene across all disciplines, and are themselves proving to be superior stallions and mares for a multitude of studs across the nation.Photo courtesy Tania Hobbs

Photo courtesy Tania Hobbs

Photo courtesy Tania Hobbs

andBREED FEATURE

www.horsesandpeople.com.au • HORSES and PEOPLE • Page 29Page 28 • HORSES and PEOPLE • Phone: 07 5467 9796 • admin@horsesandpeople.com.au

Purchase a 3000 Ltr or 5000 Ltr Water Tank throughout December and January and

receive a First Flush Diverter FREE

Call: 1800 220 018www.agriculturalproductsofaustralia.com.au

3000 Ltr Round Water Tank $620.00

Davey 40L/m Pressure Pump$220.00

5000 Ltr Round Water Tank $750.00

Registering the Paint HorseThe value of a registered Paint Horse is enhanced over one that is not. The registration certificate is a documentation of the horse’s bloodlines, an indication of probable athletic ability and lifetime identification.

This certificate, properly kept up-to-date, provides ready reference to previous owners and is the key to researching past performance as provided by the records of the Paint Horse Association of Australia. Overseeing the registration of these horses is the Paint Horse Association of Australia (PHAA).

PHAA members are breeding for bloodline, temperament, conformation and ability, as well as colour. Proof of their breeding programmes is showing as more and more horses competing on the Open Show Circuit are commanding respect, and receiving many well deserved titles and awards.

Each year, the PHAA organises or sponsors events to promote the Paint Horse breed in Australia. The main event is the annual National Championship Show now held at the new AELEC facility in Tamworth, New South Wales. Other events include youth camps, approved shows, Ride Australia, attendance at breed promotion events and fundraising activities.

Every two years, the PHAA organises for an Australian Youth Team to attend the Paint Horse Youth World Show at Fort Worth in Texas. Spots on the team are keenly sought and hotly contested by youth members in the two years leading up to the show.

ConclusionFrom Dressage to Reining and every discipline in between, riders the world over are discovering that doing it on a horse with colour makes it just that little bit better. As a capable and versatile equine athlete, the Paint Horse is able to turn in star performances in a wide variety of events, endearing themselves to their riders and rousing admiration for all those who see them in action.

Photo courtesy Tania Hobbs

Phot

o co

urte

sy T

ania

Hob

bs

Photo courtesy Tania Hobbs

Phot

o co

urte

sy T

ania

Hob

bs

andBREED FEATURE

The Paint Horse Association of Australia was formed in 1973 to register, promote and keep records of the Paint Horse Breed.

Paint Horses are capable and versatile horses and star performers in a wide variety of disciplines.

E: office@painthorse.net.auW: www.painthorse.com.au

PO Box 1008Dubbo, NSW 2830

Ph: (02) 6884 5513

and