Dressage & Jumping With The Stars (Australian Young Horse & Young Pony Championships) is held annually in March at the Werribee Park National Equestrian Centre, Victoria.

In 2009, the first ever Young Pony class was included with a 4 yo Material class. The first round consisted of a ridden test and a conformation judgement.  The top 3 ponies progressed to the second round where they were ridden by a guest rider.  The winner of the very first National 4 yo Young Pony class in Australia was Glenian Park Kaluda Gold, a buckskin stallion with arabian and welsh breeding.

In 2010 a 5 yo class was introduced and was followed in 2011 by a 6 yo class, however there were no finalists in the 6 yo class until 2013 when the 6 yo Warmblood/Morgan cross stallion, Double S Dark Sun won the Champion of Champions. The Champion of Champions is judged at the end of the finals in collaboration with the judges and a guest rider, from the winners of each age group.

In 2014 the 4 yo Material class was changed to the 4 yo Young Pony format, dropping the conformation section.

Qualifiers are held around the country from the 1 August until early February. Ponies must obtain a score of 6.5 or better to qualify. Any pony (maximum height 148 cms without shoes) is eligible to compete in Young Pony classes and must be registered with Equestrian Australia.  The pony does not have to be registered with any breed stud book and may have known or unknown pedigree.

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The first time a pony with GRP breeding appeared at D&JWTS was in 2012 with the imported chestnut mare Rosewater Driving Miss Daisy owned by Andrea Taylor of Tamlyn Farm Stud in Victoria. She was bred by the Rosewater Stud in the UK. Miss Daisy is by the prolific Bundeschampionate and FEI European Pony sire FS Don’t Worry. She is out of a GRP bred mare Broomford Bellisima who is by Dancer and out of the Hanoverian bred mare Wetten Dass (x Wittinger). Rosewater Driving Miss Daisy became the 4 yo Young Pony Champion as well as Champion of Champions.

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Also appearing in 2012 was the 5 yo Wyuna Morocco who is the son of the first German Riding Pony stallion imported to Australia in FS Golden Storm. Morocco is out of an Australian Riding Pony mare who is by Owendale Salute who himself goes back to the same bloodlines used in the GRP.

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With the German Riding Pony breed still very new to Australia, 2013 saw one GRP in the 4 yo class in the imported GRP stallion AEA Hilkens Crown Prince who is by another prolific Bundeschampionate sire, FS Champion de Luxe.

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In 2014 there was one GRP at D&JWTS, becoming the 5 yo winner and Champion of Champions, the imported palomino stallion Noble Dancer who was ridden and owned by Amanda Shoobridge of Revelwood Stud in NSW. Noble Dancer is by Heidbergs Nancho Nova and out of the mare Immenmoor Crisby (x Immenmoor Golden Future). He was bred by Silvia Grotheer in Germany.

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Noble Dancer went on to be the first GRP to compete in the 6 yo championship in 2015 where he was again Champion of Champions. 2015 also saw one GRP cross mare in the 4 yo class in Delhi (x Hilkens Black Delight).

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2016 saw GRP numbers on the increase with Envyious Philino, a son of the first fully licensed imported GRP stallion to Australia, Don Philino WE named 4 yo Young Pony Champion. Don Philino was by Dressman 1, a stallion whose bloodlines figure prominently in Bundeschampionate medallists over many years. Placing second in the 4 yo class in 2016 was the GRP cross gelding Aspen Way Power Pony who is by Power Boy.

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The 2016 5 yo Championship and Champion of Champions was the imported GRP mare FS Carry Gold. By FS Coco Jambo (x FS Champion de Luxe), the palomino mare owned by Jocely King of Kingsfield Park in NSW is out of a mare by FS Dacapo Doro. The GRP cross mare Delhi (x Hilkens Black Delight) placing 3rd.

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In the 4 yo Championship in 2017, the German Riding Pony was represented by 6 entries with the HIlkens Black Delight gelding Delon Park Hilkens Shadow achieving third place.

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The 5 yo Championship saw a strong representation with 5 out of the 9 entries being GRP’s or GRP crosses. The winner of the 5 yo Championship was the imported from New Zealand GRP cross mare Buckton Thellini (x HIlkens Denali) owned by Georgie Ray of Brockhurst Stud, SA. Second place was the imported State Premium mare SPB Diva Toscana (x Dimension AT) and out of a mare by Top Nonstop (x Nantano) owned by Select Pony Breeding.

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The 6 yo Young Pony Championship was won by FS Carry Gold who subsequently was named Champion of Champions, giving her back to back titles.

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In 2018 two GRP crosses were entered in the 4 yo Championship with the winner and Champion of Champions being the GRP cross Dynamik Great Expectations owned by Sancha Butler and bred by Kristy Renae Jarvis of Dynamik Stallions in Perth. The palomino gelding is by the imported GRP stallion Golden Rock out of Leedale Leilani who is by the GRP stallion Don Philino WE. Second place was the Australian bred GRP stallion Roseglen Pop Art by Power Boy (x Downland Folklore) and out of the imported State Premium mare Sweet Belladonna (x Champus K).

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The 4 yo Young Pony Championship for 2019 saw four ponies representing the German Riding Pony. Winning the 4 yo Championship was the palomino stallion Glamour Rock BHI who is by the imported GRP stallion Golden Rock (x Hesselteich’s Golden Dream) and out of a mare by Fidertanz. Bred by Georgie Ray of Brockhurst Stud in SA, the Westfalen licensed stallion is owned by Evans Performance Horses. Third place was Roseglen Stolen Dance (x Driedimensional AT) and out of a mare by Nemax (x Neveau).

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The 6yo Championship was won by the imported GRP stallion Charlie Sheen 5 who is owned by Jenny Stock of NSW. He is by Cold Play who is by Calvin Klein, a son of FS Champion de Luxe and out of a mare by Jimmy who is by the Holstein stallion Joost and was also awarded Champion of Champions.

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Although the 2020 Dressage & Jumping With The Stars event had to be cancelled there were 17 acceptances for the 4 yo Young Ponies with 4 GRP/crosses. The 5 yo competition had 7 acceptances with 1 GRP entered. The 6 yo Championship had 5 acceptances with 2 GRP/crosses.

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In 2021, 6 of the 14 ponies entered in the 4 yo Young Pony Championship were GRP or GRP breeding.  The winner was the Westfalen registered mare Tamlyn Farm Calamity Jane (x Cheval de Luxe (Imp)) who was bred by one of the earliest importers of GRP's to Australia, Andrea Taylor.  Tamlyn Farm Calamity Jane is out of Andrea's imported mare Hesselteich's Gwendolin (x Gandalf 71) and went on to win the Champion of Champions. Andrea was the owner of the 2012 Champion, Rosewater Driving Miss Daisy.

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The 5 yo Young Pony saw 4 out of the 8 entries as GRP or GRP breeding.  The Championship went to the imported GRP mare Freemans Lodge Divine Essence (x Classic Dancer I) who is owned and bred by Vicki Chidgey.  She is by Vicki's imported State Premium Mare Daisy's Davina WE (x Bodyguard P). 

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Second place in the 5 yo went to Brookside Shazam, whose dam sire is the imported GRP stallion, Top Der Da (x FS Don't Worry).

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Since the first German Riding Pony to appear in 2012 at the Australian Young Pony Championships, they have won 12 out of 26 Championships and taken out 8 out of 9 Champion of Champion awards which are judged from the winners of each of the three age groups.

Dressage & Jumping With The Stars

 Australian Young Dressage Pony Results 

NB : GRP's and GRP crosses highlighted