Sport horses of European origin dominate the international equestrian events-and since the 1970s, the horses known as warmbloods have infiltrated North American show rings. They hold the top spots in Olympic dressage and jumping, and they're gaining popularity in eventing. (Those that excel at the CCI level have a high percentage of Thoroughbred blood, which contributes the crucial speed at the gallop.)
European breeders devoted centuries to solidifying their regional breeds. Breeding associations control the registration of breeding stock and maintain a tradition of open studbooks. (In the warmblood world, the only closed studbook is the Trakehner, limited to Trakehners, Thoroughbreds, and Arabians.)
Sport horse breeders everywhere aim to achieve consistent, predictable results by focusing on successful bloodlines. Warmblood associations rely on Thoroughbreds as improvement sires, as these stallions refresh the gene pool by enhancing performance, durability, sensitivity, and elegance. In a horse's pedigree, xx behind a sire's name labels the ancestor as a Thoroughbred.
Today's sport horse excels through rideability: the size, power, grace, and attitude to succeed in the classic equestrian disciplines. Today's sport horse appears both substantial and elegant, moving in elastic, supple gaits.

Success through Bloodlines
Bloodlines are of vital importance to warmblood breeders. Sire lines are known for producing certain performance characteristics, so breeders and owners follow pedigrees. They understand that bloodlines can only indicate a horse's success in the dressage arena or over fences.
German bloodlines dominate the world's sport horse industry, with its major breeds of Hannoverian (in the British spelling, a single n as in the House of Hanover), Westfalen (Westphalian), and Holsteiner. German associations, mostly still affiliated with a region or German state, function as private societies of breeders. Each society, or Verband, determines current breeding aims and influences the types of foals produced within the breed.

Horses in one breed may not look the same, due to the open studbooks and different disciplines. For example, the Hannoverian Verband (Verband hannoverscher Warmblutzüchter) sees markets for both the heavy, powerful older type (such as Gifted) and the lighter, modern type (such as Weltmeyer, a state stallion with strong Trakehner lines on both sides and Thoroughbred on the dam's side).
The Hanoverian bloodlines follow a system of initials, which generally indicate lineage tracing back to a foundation sire. Ludwig Christmann, Deputy Breeding Manager of the Hannoverian Verband, explained, "The system is good to keep an order, but there's also a danger that you simplify too much, that you generalize about the characteristics of the F-line or the G-line. These characteristics change very much through the years. Always consider the individual characteristics of stallion and mare, no matter what the line."

The names of three stallion ancestors describe the European sport horse: the sire, the sire of the dam, and the sire of the dam's dam. For example, the Hanoverian sire World Cup I would be described as Woermann - Sender - Lugano I. The Holsteiner sire Manchester would be described as Marlon xx - Heidekrug - Nestor. (This stallion was also registered with the KWPN, under the name Kommandeur.)
Because European studbooks are open and breeding areas adjacent, breeds are more a source of regional pride than distinct types. Associations approve and register horses according to standards of quality and proof of pedigree. One horse can be registered in two or more studbooks. A stallion owner may choose to expand his horse's potential by registering him with an additional studbook other than the one that originally granted him approval.

Gaining Approval
European associations maintain high standards through rigid selections of breeding stock. In a process of approvals, they rank horses for the conformation and movement of riding horses. Horsemen from these associations have shared their standards with Americans, through breed inspection tours held throughout the states.
Horsemen select sport horse stallions and mares by combining the art of observation with the science of evaluation. Each association has developed its own specific procedures, generally following the Hannoverian system as illustrated here.
Hannoverians qualify for registration through pedigree. The foal's sire and dam are from an "approved population," or registered with a breed society. At six months of age, foals are branded with the breed's symbol on the left hip. A neck brand of nine numbers represents the horse's life number, following a system used throughout Germany's associations. (Breeds from other nations, such as the Dutch Warmblood and Swedish Warmblood, also brand horses.)

Every Hannoverian stallion must receive approval, or a license, to breed. Only a small percentage of stallion candidates progress completely through the strict selection process. Most colts foaled in Germany end up as geldings.
About 100 two-year-old stallion prospects attend the stallion licensing. This public event involves a series of inspections for conformation and gaits, along with jumping at liberty. Free-jumping, also a part of public auctions, demonstrates the youngster's athletic ability. Horses are trained to canter down a jumping lane and leap over rails.
Young stallions that are gekört, or selected for a license, may be purchased by the state. State stallion prospects traditionally go through an 11-month training and testing. Other German stallions undergo a 100-day test at central locations, where they receive basic training and are graded in a final test. The top performers can earn the title of Grade 1, and stallion owners can advertise the young horse's totalled test scores.
A state stallion is owned by the state of Niedersachsen (Hannover). He resides for life at a stallion station, where breeders bring mares for service. A few of these stallions are later sold to private breeders, as mare owners' preferences determi ne a stallion's popularity.

On the female side, mares compete in a similar process. After registration as a foal, a commission representing the Verband inspects potential broodmares for entry into the studbook and approval for breeding. (The approved mare receives another neck brand, so she can be called "double-branded.")

Two- and three-year-old mares are shown at regional mare shows. Local breeders' clubs present these showcase events, where the three-year-olds show on the triangle for the coveted State's Premium (Staatsprämie). This honor, awarded only to Hannoverian mares in Niedersachsen, is abbreviated St. Pr. St., with St. representing Stute, or mare. The mare is considered a potential dam of stallion candidates.
Other nation's breed associations award similar honors to superior broodmares. In the Dutch warmblood keurings, Studbook mares can qualify for predicates, such as star and keur. The best Dutch mares receive the preferent predicate.

Foundation Stallions
Certain breeding stallions have made their mark in the sport horse world, producing a number of outstanding offspring that themselves pass on exceptional traits. These sires are founders of their own sire lines, named after them with a full name or an initial. The Hanoverian established lines designated with initials from notable sires: the A-line, D-line, G-line, etc. Other breeds honor a famous ancestor such as R-named horses tracing back to Ramzes, and L-named horses of Landgraf breeding.

A horse's name might not reflect its ancestry, such as the Dutch warmbloods that trace to sires like Abgar xx and Lucky Boy. Furioso II, Jalisco, and Galoubet were notable sires of French jumpers. These names continue to imply quality, even if the sire is several generations back in the pedigree.
Due to the time span between a foal's birth and international success, foundation sires usually achieve fame after their breeding years. Breeders face the challenge of recognizing the future value of an active breeding stallion-and to calculate the success of a cross between that stallion and a well-bred mare. How will the offspring succeed as a riding horse, or as a sire or dam of the next generation?

Breeders who take risks breeding to young, unproven horses of quality help contemporary stallions succeed while still living. A few recent legends, who have already sired several crops of winning offspring, include Weltmeyer, Donnerhall, Rubinstein I, and Ramiro. In the U.S., stallions like Rampal, Grand Canyon, Olisco, and Domingo have earned reputations as sires of domestic-bred sport horses.

North American Breeding
Many American sport horses trace back to European imports. However, at the top levels of dressage and jumping, most USET riders compete on imported warmbloods.
Stateside associations register domestic breds. With most associations, a horse registered in an American affiliate isn't cross-registered in the European "parent." One exception is the KWPN, which maintains a North American Department. Dutch horses accepted by the KWPN officials receive the same brand as their European cousins.

Stateside associations register domestic breds. With most associations, a horse registered in an American affiliate isn't cross-registered in the European "parent." One exception is the KWPN, which maintains a North American Department. Dutch horses accepted by the KWPN officials receive the same brand as their European cousins.
Some American associations follow the European tradition of branding young horses accepted for registration. A brand (applied through hot iron on the left hip(signifies the foal's initial approval. In most of these associations, branding is not a requirement.
This chart summarizes popular sport horse breeds, comparing European and American associations

Learning Bloodlines

Serious breeders study bloodlines, to help estimate the performance characteristics of the next generation. Familiarize yourself with the major stallion lines, so you'll understand how sires influence the world of sport horses.

An excellent starting point is the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH). This organization publishes a yearbook that lists rankings of horses in member studbooks, organized by Olympic discipline. Their Web site, at www.wbfsh.org. compiles current performance data on active competing horses by discipline and sport horse sires. The site includes links to European and a few American breed sites. WBFSH has 44 member breed associations, and 7 associate members.

THE EQUINE JOURNAL

CHARLENE STRICKLAND

copyright Equine Journal-Charlene Strickland

NOTE: CHARLENE STRICKLAND HAS WRITTEN AN EXCELLENT BOOK ON THE HISTORY AND PEDIGREES OF EUROPEAN WARMBLOODS.

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Buying and Standing a European Warmblood Stallion

http://equisearch.com/horses_care/health/breeding/topstallion_111203/

Pick, Promote a Top Stallion
Success in today's sporthorse breeding market requires careful planning, thorough execution and no shortcuts.

By Belinda Nairn-Wertman with the editors of Practical Horseman

Standing a sporthorse stallion in the U.S. is exciting, but it's a real economic challenge. Unless you draw up a well thought-out plan and execute its every step, you'll end up losing money. A good sire is a big up-front investment: $25,000 or more for an untried two- or three-year-old who hasn't yet competed or been approved by a breed registry; $100,000 and up for an approved horse who's passed his stallion testing. Once you have him, effective advertising is expensive. And intense competition--there are lots of stallions for mare owners and breeders to choose from--effectively puts a ceiling (about $1,250-$1,500, in our experience) on his stud fee, whatever his quality. All of these factors make it important to...

Know your market

                   Select a stallion whose strengths match the market's needs

                   Make sure that he can do more than one job--that's capable of succeeding as a performance horse if his stallion career doesn't work out

                   Promote him effectively.

To explain what I mean, I'll show you how the process of establishing a breeding stallion happens at Inspo (International Sport Horse Center, Inc.), where my husband and I currently stand two successful but very different Dutch Warmblood sires: Legend, owned by John and Audrey Shoemaker; and Gambol, owned by George and Diane Fellows.

Knowing the Mare Market

The majority of the mares whose owners want to breed to sporthorse stallions are Thoroughbreds or TB crosses. They have the Thoroughbred's hot, sensitive temperament, and their conformation is designed for flat racing rather than hunter/jumper or dressage competition.

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This huge Thoroughbred influence in our mare base has three implications for a would-be stallion owner choosing a sire: 1.       The ultimate buyer for the stallion's offspring will, in 70 to 80 percent of cases, be an amateur rider (and probably a woman). This rider will need a horse who is above all ridable, with a good and willing temperament. Because most horsepeople believe the mare is the more influential part of the breeding equation, a successful stallion needs to be very solid in his temperament to prevail over mare temperament that may be more difficult. 2.       To improve on a TB mare's less-than-ideal conformation for equestrian sports, the stallion needs to be exceptionally strong in the conformation and balance that contribute to performance. 3.       What Europeans call the "modern" type of warmblood stallion--a lighter, more elegant horse resulting from infusions of Thoroughbred blood into European bloodlines--is a good cross on the warmblood mares that make up the base in Europe. But he's probably too light to make the best cross with our Thoroughbred mares. A better cross on the U.S. mare base is a stallion of the traditional warmblood type: bigger-boned and more substantial. Be Savvy in Stallion-Shopping Before I go into detail about this point, let me share a rule of thumb that's brought some great stallions to my barn and also saved my clients money: Be prepared to spot a good stallion prospect even when you're not actively looking for one. I found the two Dutch Warmblood stallions we currently stand while on buying trips that weren't targeted to stallion-shopping. Because I was looking for young performance prospects, the horses I was shown were less expensive than if my announced purpose had been to find a breeding stallion. To sharpen my awareness for performance horses that might also have breeding potential...                    I keep my eyes and ears open at shows. A two-day show in Europe may have more than 650 starts, and the announcer gives the name of each horse's sire as the horse comes into the ring. I notice features that I like recurring in some bloodlines--and characteristics that I don't like in others. Or I may see a young horse from a less familiar line do something wonderful while warming up--for instance, respond to a correction by trying harder, instead of overreacting. That tells me his temperament is perfect for an amateur, so I want to learn more about his breeding.                    I try to see as many of a stallion prospect's siblings as I can. I particularly like to see other horses who have the same dam: If, bred to different sires, she has consistently produced horses that do well in their sport, I find that's even more significant (in terms of this stallion's potential to reproduce his strengths in his foals) than the performance of his sire's other offspring out of different mares.                    I become a student of pedigree. Some lines of sporthorses have a reputation for particular flaws--such as a weak back, or a tendency toward a difficult temperament--that I want to avoid. Promoting the Stallion When I've found and imported a stallion I think will be a good fit for the U.S. breeding market, I use several avenues to make breeders here aware of his quality. Performance: At Inspo, our primary focus is performance horses. Breeding is secondary; we aren't interested in having a stallion who just stands in his stall and is bred to as many mares as possible every year. Any stallion we import needs to be capable of excelling in his sport. (The temperament--the trainability and work ethic--he needs to show will enhance his value as a breeding stallion, too.) Additionally, in the show ring, as he comes up through the levels in his sport, he attracts attention and interest from mare owners and promotes himself for breedings to high-quality performance mares. Balancing performance and breeding careers isn't difficult. Many good-minded stallions can go to the breeding shed in the morning and load on the trailer for a show in the afternoon--though I might not want to do that with a horse who's performing at his peak or competing in, say, USET selection trials (in part because of the slight risk he might pull a muscle in the breeding shed). Frozen semen technology eliminates some of those potential conflicts, enabling us to collect a stallion when he's not competing heavily and store the semen until it's needed. (Our stallions are collected for freezing at Hilltop Farm, in nearby Maryland, which has a state-of-the-art breeding laboratory.) Registry approval: This step is key to promoting a stallion. Breeders are, understandably, very paper-oriented. They want a chance to produce a good stallion or mare, and they want to be able to get breed-registry papers for that horse--which means the sire must have papers indicating he's been tested and approved by a breed association. We bought and imported both Gambol (now eight) and Legend (now nine) as unapproved three-year-olds; they were subsequently approved and tested in this country by a Dutch association, the NRPS. (Deciding when to have a stallion tested for approval is part of the strategy for promoting him. If he's relatively immature as a three-year-old, for instance, it can be to his advantage--and yours--to wait until he grows up and has some good competition results before seeking approval.) Good advice to mare owners: In the long run, word of mouth from mare owners pleased with their foals is one of the most effective promotions for a stallion. The economic realities of standing a stallion make it unlikely we'll refuse to breed a mare unless (as happened in one instance) we think her temperament is so difficult it's dangerous, and likely to be reproduced in her foal. But we're lucky in having two good but very different stallions, enabling us to steer owners to the choice with the better chance of improving on the mare as they describe her to us. Legend is very tall, with long legs and a long neck. He's very uphill with a beautiful topline and gives you the feeling when you ride him that he's 100 percent through from his back end to his mouth all the time. He's a good choice for someone with a smaller mare who wants to add size and improve her topline. Gambol is a full 5 inches smaller (16.1 hands) and more close-coupled, with a shorter back and a nicely balanced self-carriage that's been part of him since a very young age. Intelligent, easygoing, and willing, he's the best choice for the owner of a big mare who wants to breed a quality horse that may not be too big. We give mare owners our opinion and suggest they look at the promotional video (see below) before deciding. A god sign to me is that we've been getting a lot of return breedings--from owners coming back because they're so happy with their first foal. Quality advertising and videos: Although print advertising may be among the first stallion-promotion tools you think of, I've listed it last because an advertisement can only be as effective as what you have to promote--and for us, that means performance. We may include a conformation pose, but I want ad photos that show our stallions moving and performing. If a stallion is still quite young and hasn't established a performance record, then the ad emphasizes his bloodlines and his parents' other offspring--especially if some of them are already famous! But if he's competed enough to produce some good results of his own, that takes precedence. The ad also needs to get across his temperament, his work ethic, and how willing and easy to ride he is. As a stallion matures and his early foals grow old enough to compete, their best achievements become part of the ad as well. The video for each of our stallions begins with a side view of him standing, then walking (so you see his overstep--the amount his hind leg reaches up under him), then trotting and cantering at liberty in both directions, then working under saddle. Gambol's video includes recent footage of him free-jumping and performing part of an Intermediaire I test. Legend has been laid up recently with a suspensory injury; his video's under-saddle footage shows him being ridden on the flat and jumped at his stallion testing. Named as an alternate (with Alegria) to the U.S. Olympic dressage squad for the 1984 Games, Belinda Nairn-Wertman competed in the 1988 Games in Seoul with Christopher, a Dutch Warmblood she bought in 1983 as a young horse. These days, horse-shopping for clients of Inspo occupies much of her time. Belinda also continues to train and compete. As well as ten-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Kirby (imported by Inspo as a four-year-old and owned by A.J. Stapleton), who started Grand Prix in 2001, she's campaigning Inspo's Lorenzo. This article originally appeared in the January 2003 issue of Practical Horseman.

 
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