The American Saddlebred Horse traces its history back to the naturally gaited Galloway and Hobby horses from the British Isles. These hardy horses were imported to America with the early settlers and through selective breeding and crossing with imported Thoroughbreds the "American Horse" was developed about the time of the American Civil War. These horses had the size and beauty of the Thoroughbred and had retained the ability to learn the easy-riding gaits.

Continual crossing with Thoroughbreds and other breeds gave rise to the American Saddlebred by the time of the first horse shows (early 1800s) and they were frequently judged winners becuase of their beauty, style and versatility.

To find out more, and how the American Saddlebred came back to the UK and the versatility of the breed, read the documents below.

The United Sadlebred Association has long supported all Foreign Breeds in the UK and have always welcomed them to our events, given them equal status in the show ring as with our own breed the American Saddlebred Horse. We have been encouraging and supporting Foreign Breeds for over two decades in the UK and will continue to do so - we hope you will join us at our future events, be they showing, training of just a social gathering - all are welcome.