About us
Here at Hillydale Equine Training and Sales we train and sell quality ponies and horses concentrating on mounts for riders of all ages and abilities. We combine the latest scientific research into horse behaviour, horse training and horse health and welfare, with 30 years experience riding, training, falling off and learning from horses. 
We use a simple, universal understanding of horse cognition and behaviour which can be applied to any horse and any discipline, from dressage to Natural Horsemanship exercises.
Our overriding goal is to ensure that the welfare of the horses in our care is high. We believe that good horse welfare isn't just about good physical health, but good mental health as well. We aim at all times to minimise the inevitable stress that training and competition causes to our horses and we take a truly horse centred approach to our training- letting the horse tell us what's working for them and what's not. If it’s not working then it’s us that has to change. We believe that the horse is a blameless participant in any horse-human interaction.
We are constantly updating our knowledge by reading the latest research in horse behaviour, learning abilities, neuroscience and physiology and where there's good scientific evidence we will change what we do to take the new knowledge into account.
We believe that mechanisms by which horses learn are no different to other animals and therefore it is possible to develop universal training principles which can be applied to any horse. How these principles should be applied and the techniques that we should use to achieve the training outcome we desire will vary from horse to horse and from sport to sport.
Where experience matters is in working out each individual horse's preference, in particular its temperament and then adapting what we do to ensure the horse remains calm, relaxed and mentally able to learn what we are trying to teach it. Our motto is that nothing gets damaged if you go too slowly but you can lose everything if you go too fast.
Coming up in 2014
The new arena has been built and we're now making the most of it! We've still got a quality line up of youngsters and some projects which we will be progressively offering for sale over the coming months so check back regularly or have a look at our facebook page for updates.
We will be continuing to offer training and horse starting at very competitive prices which can be tailored to meet individual budgets and goals. We only take in a small number of horses at any one time to ensure each horse is given the attention and focus it needs.
If you are new to horse owning or have experienced the disappointment of a purchase that didn't work out we invite you to browse our website as we've put together some useful information about how to go about making the right horse purchase as well as how to make it a success when you get the new pony home.
We are located near Goulburn NSW, 2 hours from Sydney and 90mins from Canberra.
Why buy a horse or pony from Hillydale?
> We place the welfare of our horses as our top priority which means we want any horse we sell to go to a home where it will be well matched with its new owners. This means that we will be very upfront with prospective purchasers about any issues the pony may have, particularly behavioral issues. Because we sell many ponies to families with children we believe that safety is paramount (especially as horse riding is a potentially dangerous activity) and will be very open if we don't believe the pony we are selling is suitable for a particular rider. 
> All of our ponies are given extensive in hand training when they arrive at Hillydale, including being taught to be light and obedient while being led, halt and park, load calmly on and off floats, have their feet handled quietly and any other remedial work we believe is necessary so they can be handled by children. Under saddle they are schooled with child riders in mind with a focus on calm responsiveness to rein and leg aids without the use of gadgets.
> We provide detailed descriptions of our ponies in our advertising and will note any particular issues which we believe it is important for prospective purchasers to know before they enquire about a pony, given that many terms used to describe horses are subjective and can mean different things to different people.
> We offer an extensive after sales service once the pony or horse has been purchased which can include site visits and riding lessons (depending on the location of the new home) We also provide detailed email and phone consultations where it is impractical to arrange an on site visit.
> We are never in a hurry to sell any pony and will hold on to them until the right home is found. In some limited cases we may offer ponies with more challenging issues for lease to ensure the new home can manage the pony, with the comfort of knowing that if the pony is not suitable it can be returned to us.
> We never sell difficult ponies through auctions where it is impossible to control where they end up. We firmly believe that any pony we purchase ourselves is our responsibility until we can find it the right new home, however long that takes.
We provide quality ponies that can be purchsed with confidence-the Hillydale difference. For more information please contact us on 02 4844 4354 or email: [email protected]
