Toowoomba-based horse breeder David Finch of Finch Farm has produced the champion foal in Australia judged by international assessors of the 2019 Australian Continental Equestrian (ACE) tour.
Finch Farm is a sporthorse breeding and development stud located near Westbrook on the Darling Downs.
Mr Finch has been breeding international standard performance horses for more than 20 years, several of which are currently competing at elite levels in Australia and overseas.
Since Mr Finch established Finch Farms in the late 90's, it has grown into one of the most dynamic and insightful sporthorse breeding studs in the country.
Over time he has intuitively introduced a line of European bloodlines well ahead of many others in the country.
With Mr Finch's experience he has established an array of exceptionally well bred young horses well of their way to being champions of the future.
The black filly Finch Farm Calpurnia is sired by Calgary GNZ a Holsteiner stallion which he bought in utero.
Her dam is an unraced Australian Thoroughbred mare named Ruthdale, who is by Diatribe from a Centaine mare by Twig Moss ).
The Finch Farm breeding program embraces the quality of the modern Warmblood with Australian Thoroughbreds that have stood the test of time.
Calgary GNZ is sired by international champion stallion Casall Ask and his dam Henkel's Countess is from one of the strongest Holstein families in Germany.
The ACE group is linked to the world horse breeding federation. Annual tours are led by internationally respected breeder, owner and judge, Gerd Kuest.
As well as breeding the Australian champion foal, Finch Farm produced six elite level foals and five premium foals including the top colt in Queensland in the 2019 ACE tour.
Each of Finch Farm's four resident stallions - Charlemagne Ego Z, Calgary GNZ, Massimo Quality and Clarity GNZ - produced elite foals.
Finch Farm Cadel is among the top showjumping horses in Australia and a Tokyo Olympics contender. Finch Farm Valour is competing successfully in the Olympic equestrian sport of eventing in the USA.
The Finch Farm breeding philosophy mirrors Mr Finch's own experiences of growing up in western Queensland with Stock Horses and Thoroughbreds before he had the opportunity to travel the world and compete at elite levels.
His breeding program began with a selection of hardy Australian Thoroughbred mares that had competed at a high level which he matched with frozen semen of the best available stallion bloodlines in the world and reared the progeny in an Australian herd environment.
Mr Finch is the chair of Equestrian Queensland, the peak body for the administration of equestrian sports in Queensland, is one of an elite group of level 3 accredited jumping specialist coaches in Australia and a national coach educator.
He is a former Equestrian Australia coach of the year and five-times Equestrian Queensland coach of the year.