Toni Webb and Freemans Lodge Global, the 2025 DJWTS Young Dressage Pony Champion of Champions, Image by Angie Rickard Photography.
Freemans Lodge Global has been exceptional from the get-go. Rider and owner Toni Webb says she’s never sat on a pony like him, while her daughter describes him as “luxury”. Now with a prestigious dressage title to his name, ‘Little G’ is not only exciting for the future – he’s a testament to the world-class quality being produced by Australian dressage pony breeders.
Toni Webb is no stranger to success at Dressage & Jumping with the Stars. In 2023, she rode Freemans Lodge Gigabyte to Reserve Champion Four-Year-Old Pony, and last year she took out the Six-Year-Old Young Pony Championship with Salient Park Once Again and partnered with Freemans Lodge Global to be named Reserve Champion Four-Year-Old Pony.
This year, Toni was back with Freemans Lodge Global in the Five-Year-Old class – and as we now know, this pony not only won his age championship but was also crowned the 2025 DJWTS Young Dressage Pony Champion of Champions.
Toni and Freemans Lodge GlobaL at DJWTS. Image by Angie Rickard Photography.
“He’s pretty exceptional. All of my ponies are great, but he’s just out of this world,” she Toni of her pint-sized chestnut German Riding Pony gelding by Numerus Clausus out of St.Pr.St. Hilkens Givenchy (Dreidimensional).
Toni purchased Global – known at home as ‘Little G’ – from Vicki Chidgey at Freemans Lodge as a weanling. Still based in Queensland at the time, Toni’s plan was to keep him a stallion and put him over her Welsh Cob mares.
Toni has always been – and still is – a huge fan of Welsh Cobs. However, she felt that German Riding Pony influence could refine them a little and make them more suited for dressage performance, since that is what the breed has been developed for. For Toni, the two breeds together seemed the best of both worlds.
Unfortunately, it didn’t go to plan. When Global was three years old he went away to the breakers, and for whatever reason – perhaps a change of environment at the wrong moment in his development – he come back a real little stallion. Unfortunate timing aside, Toni is thankful to her breaker Ty Armstrong who gave Global a wonderful start under saddle.
“I had to geld him, not having ever used him,” says Toni. “I was really devastated, but that’s horses. You just don’t know which are going to handle being a stallion. As hard and as horrible as it was [to make the decision], I did it and now I have a nice gelding!”
While Global wasn’t suited to life as a stallion, he fortunately was suited to life as a pony dressage star.
‘WOW’ FROM THE GET-GO
“Even as a weanling, he was pretty exceptional,” recalls Toni regarding her first impressions of Global. “And then from the first day I rode him, it was a feeling that I’d never felt; I just thought, ‘wow’. He was always small, and I was worried he wouldn’t grow big enough for me. Fortunately, he grew just enough as a four-year-old.”
As Global wasn’t gelded until he was three, he has retained a few stallion traits. “Even as a gelding, he thinks pretty highly of himself. It meant that early on, he was a little bit trickier as he could be extremely quiet and then he could go, ‘I quite like that girl over there’. He retained a bit of an ‘I’m the man’ attitude and he still has that. So even though he’s a gelding, I think he would still like to be a stallion!” laughs Toni.
Toni says Global is the sweetest natured pony. Image by Equisoul Photography.
Stallion quirks aside, Global is the sweetest natured pony and very easy to have around these days. “His nature is what wins people over. He is just the softest, sweetest, most precious little china doll… he doesn’t want to do the wrong thing. He is really just a lovely, lovely pony.”
Toni believes Global’s endearing nature is a common trait from his sire, Numerus Clausus. “I’ve got two Numerus Clauses ponies, and I think the temperament is very similar. They’re both extremely soft, lovely animals,” she observes.
Global’s naturally uphill way of going is one of his strengths as a dressage pony, and Toni says that’s a trademark of his mother, Hilkens Givenchy, who Vicki Chidgey imported early on.
“Hilkens Givenchy has some very successful progeny on the ground. Global has been extremely uphill right from day dot, I don’t think he ever felt downhill. I had his half-brother as well, Freemans Lodge Gigabyte, who is out of the same mare… he was also of exceptional temperament and exceptionally uphill, and I think that dam produces that.”
QUALITY PONIES
While entries in the pony classes at DJWTS were a little lower this year, the quality was certainly as high as ever.
“The quality was exceptional,” enthuses Toni. “I don’t think there was five-year-old pony entered that wasn’t a contender to take the title. There were ponies competing in that class that are scoring 76-78% at Novice. They were ready to go out there and be extremely competitive in that class.”
“I believe the breeding of the German Riding Ponies is to a point now where in Australia there are ponies at the same level as Germany. The Australian breeders producing them have hit it on the head, they’ve got it right. They’re breeding quality and temperament.”
Toni says this quality is evident not only in the young horse classes, but in the number of ponies now progressing through the levels. “Look at the population of ponies making it to the higher levels… it is way higher than it ever used to be. Previously many would stop at Elementary, that would be the big hump that no one would get to. Now, we’re seeing the Elementary Pony classes are filling, the Medium classes are filling… even the Advanced classes are filling up. People are training through the levels towards FEI. The class numbers are getting bigger, and the riders are also getting better.”
An increase in the quality and level of training of dressage ponies in Australia ultimately benefits the next generation of riders.
Growing up, Toni’s father had racehorses and so she grew up eventing on Thoroughbreds. While there are benefits to young riders experiencing a range of different horses, having a well-schooled dressage pony can be a great way for kids to learn the finer points of dressage; in Germany, for example, entering the dressage world via purpose-bred and trained ponies is commonplace. Having ponies reaching the higher levels of dressage here is certainly of benefit to the next generation of riders.
“These quality ponies go back, and they teach the kids how to do it. It’ll be good for the kids to have these ponies in the future,” says Toni.
WONDERFUL WELSH COBS
While Global has been in the spotlight of late, Toni’s two Welsh Cobs are steadily progressing up the levels.
Salient Park Once Again (Cwmkaren Tywysog Harri x Burrowa Ladylight Express), known at home as Scooter, has progressed from a successful young pony to Advanced level, while his full brother Salient Park Prince, known as Thom, is just starting to find his feet at Medium Tour. Both were bred by Salient Park Welsh Cobs in Creswick, Victoria.
Toni competing with Salient Park Once Again, known at home as Scooter. Image by One Eyed Frog Photography.
“It’s just about learning
along the way…”
For Toni, entering the FEI ranks has been a new experience; prior to her two Welsh Cobs, she’d only ridden the odd Warmblood up to Medium level.
“Scooter really stepped up to Medium and then he’s had three starts at Advanced. He can get worried easily, so I’ve taken my time with him. I’ve had a couple of Medium Tour [Intermediate A/B] starts with Thom… we were a bit out of our depth, it’s not that he’s not a trier, it’s just that I’d never ridden a line of ones and I’ve never done piaffe and passage in competition before! It’s like the blind leading the blind,” she laughs.
“I don’t have the luxury of sitting on a horse that knows what it’s doing, so I’m figuring it out. I’m lucky to have a great coach in Jade Woodhead-Butler and I’ve had a couple of lessons with Jayden Brown as well. It’s just about learning along the way.”
So is Grand Prix the goal with Thom? With the great Grand Prix pony Hilkens Denali now retired, we’re certainly in need of a new little Grand Prix powerhouse!
“I’d like to say yes,” says Toni. “My daughter rides Thom as well, she has just ridden Advanced on him at Interschools [Equestrian Victoria State Interschool Championships]. He loves Annabelle… I was thinking for a while that maybe it’d just be nice to let him do that instead of pushing up through the ranks. I also took him eventing at EvA65 recently and he won a couple of events, and Annabelle has done Combined Training competitions with him. We’ve had a little bit of fun this year. He’s really quite enjoying it.”
Annabelle and Thom had a great outing at the recent Equestrian Victoria State Interschool State Championships, placing third in the Secondary Advanced 5.2 and second in the 5.3 to be named overall Reserve Champion.
Toni says that while Global is a standout individual, she could never choose between Welsh Cobs and German Riding Ponies in general.
“I’m very lucky to have the team that I do. The German Riding Ponies are exceptional. I absolutely love my Cobs. I love both breeds. People often ask me which one do I prefer? I don’t think I can give you an answer. They just have different things that make me want to ride them every day!”
As for the next few years at DJWTS, Toni has a couple of exciting young ponies coming through that could well have the best of both breeds.
“I have a couple of Welsh Cob x German Riding Pony youngsters coming through that will be under saddle in the next year or two, and they are pretty impressive,” says Toni, adding that they are the last of her homebred ponies. “[Since moving to Victoria early in 2022] I’ve stopped breeding, but I will continue to buy a few young ones and just bring them on and produce them and hopefully promote the breeders.”
TAKING ON THE WORLD
So what’s next for the DJWTS Young Pony Champion of Champions? The next big competition on Toni’s radar with her talented team will be Hawkesbury Dressage Festival at Sydney International Equestrian Centre in June. Scooter and Global will be heading there, as well as Freemans Lodge Daintree – a four-year-old mare bred and part-owned by Vicki Chidgey, by Numerous Clausus out of St.Pr.St. Daisys Davina WE (by Bodyguard P).
“Global is going Elementary now and he’s just exceptional. He’s had several starts with just one score below 70%. He thinks it’s easy, a walk in the park,” says Toni.
“He’s just something I’ve never sat on before. He starts something new and he just says, ‘Okay, yeah, no problems.’ He’s naturally confident, he’s not spooky. He doesn’t worry about life. He’s quite confident in his own skin… a little too confident at times!”
As he matures, his temperament is also proving suited to younger riders. “My daughter Annabelle sits on Little G and she says, ‘Mum, he’s just like riding luxury!’ And that’s literally what he is.”
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