Known as the "Aristocrat of the Showring", the best bred Hackney Horses, as bred at Equi-Legends Hackney Arabian Stable, are the highest naturally stepping horses in the world! Bred for over 200 years to achieve this goal, at no time in history has the Hackney Horse been better represented in quality than today.
Often the horse is confused with the better known Hackney Pony. The Hackney Horse and Pony share the same registry, here and abroad. The Hackney Horse is the original Hackney, with the pony being downsized from the Horse in the late 1800's. Of all Hackneys, the horse today represents approximately 5% of the population, with the pony making up 95%. For more information on both check out the websites at American Hackney Horse Society and Hackney Horse Society-England.
In the showring, where the Hackney Horse has been bred to excel, they are simply unmatched. There is nothing more exciting than the thrill as the finest Hackney Horses from across the world enter the arena in Harness or in Hand at the annual Royal Winter Fair in Toronto Canada. The great tradition of the show Hackney continues and at Equi-Legends we are committed to doing our part to keep the thrill alive!
The Hackney Horse, as dynamic and exciting as it is, is suffering from low numbers and is considered a rare and sometimes endangered breed. It is estimated that there may by 3000 or so registered worldwide. As recently as the 1950's and early 60's there were as many as 10 private jobs for Hackney Horse trainers at large breeders and exhibitors in Canada alone, and today there are none.
There are many contributing factors to this including the decline of interest in driving horses (the Hackney Horse is also a great riding horse!), the economy and changes in tax codes, and the lack of successful marketing programs for the Horse. In the last few years many of the Hackney Horse breeders across North America have closed their doors due to age or health or for the pursuit of other interests, reducing the annual foal crop by an estimated 50%.
At Equi-Legends, in an effort to preserve the Hackney Show Horse for generations to come, we have aspired to acquire the very best breeding stock, and believe that we have been very successful in doing so. Our mare band offers a great variety of bloodlines and our foundation sire GTF Hallmark has a pedigree that reads like a Who's Who of the very most successful Hackney Show Horses. Our mares are either retired very successful show horses themselves, or daughters of the most successful show horses.
While others may aspire to create a more general purpose Hackney, we believe that the future of the breed remains in the show arena, and our breeding program is designed to accomplish that end product, the ULTIMATE SHOW HORSE!