Pinjee: First Five Years
Angela Tiede, January 2025. Image: Waler stallion Pinjee, Darraweit Guim, January 2025
Image: Hale and new colt Pinjee
Pinjee (said as Benjie) is a foundation Waler stallion, conceived on Todd River Downs NT and born on 4 November 2019 at Taradale, Victoria where his dam Hale was taken after being captured in 2019 along with 19 other horses. He is named after a bore on TRD, and she is named after the nearby river.
Pinjee came home to me at Daraweit Guim at 12 months old, with the long-term view of keeping him entire in order to help preserve the Waler breed. He is one of only one stallion from TRD known to be in a domestic situation, registered with the Waler Horse Society of Australia along with Hale and TRD mares Bess, Topsy, Indi and gelding Tommy.
Five years is a milestone for him. He is now a riding horse, and the next couple of years are key to seeing him develop out in mind and body and show his true potential. Walers were bred from the best of the best, which is why they were regarded as the best. Is this still possible today? Time will tell with Pinjee. Seems to me all breeding stock should be proven first in order to breed the best progeny possible, and it is non-negotiable with respect to rare breeds I reckon: their future depends on it.
A handsome and personable chap from the start, Pinjee has grown into a stunning young man. Bay dun seems to be the best fit for his colour, with dorsal stripe, wither cross and knee stripes. He has been through varying stages of looking ungainly to plain to magnificent: currently he is all in proportion with his shape firming up with work and age. Looking a million dollars if I say so myself!
Pinjee spent a couple of weeks after his first birthday with Drew at Roseneath Performance Horses for assessment and handling and had a repeat visit of approximately four weeks in December 2021 then an eight-week stint in February/March 2023 when he was started under saddle.
At every stage of his education Pinjee has shown himself to be very trainable and well balanced, it is a real pleasure to watch him going around in all gaits as if he has been a riding horse for years.
Our first ride in 2023 was a magic experience, who would have believed I would be taking on another young stallion over a decade after starting out with my first stallion Ezekiel. Not me! If I knew then what I know now maybe that story would never have started. For sure I think now that Pinjee’s real future lies in more professional education and exposure, see what the next five years brings.
In December 2023 Pinjee spent a further 3 weeks with Drew after the winter off as he was headed away in late December for riding in off property. This was unfortunately seriously impacted by living through a large bushfire that burned for a week and came to within 1.5km of the property he was on (under evacuation order but not enough time to get all stock out), followed immediately by a serious brush with probable colitis which led to a week in equine hospital at Ballarat and six months paddock rest and recuperation before being slowly worked again from late August 2024. Always happy to work and equally happy to have days off, slowly does it for now.
Plans for 2025 are in progress. There have been many lows and highs as Pinjee slowly matures, not the least of which is keeping the peace with his now 19-year old paddock mate stallion Virtuoso and managing the housing of my Waler mares who become shameless at the sight of him. Hard for the lad to concentrate on his work when the girls are behaving like ladies of the day and night… Gaining exposure and experience in mixed company is the number one goal for the boy this year.
I have documented this journey to help inform decisions about breeding and stallion keeping and the required training. It is a huge responsibility and not to be taken lightly, especially with respect to rare breeds such as the Waler.
