Over the past 500 years, since Columbus first took the ancestors of these horses to the Americas, they have evolved into the most hardy, intelligent and capable equines imaginable through natural selection. Apart from being the foundation horse of a lot of modern American breeds and having a track record as being a tough, fast & enduring Indian horse and Pony Express horse, they have in modern times also successfully competed at Endurance, Western, Dressage, and jumping events. They are friendly, amenable and handsome.