Sport Horse Breeders Meet in Devon

The wealth of information, people, places, and horses at the WBFSH Convention was outstanding! The first day we were taken to the Devon Breed Show to see some of the top mares and foals in the country. I was surprised to learn that in Europe they do not have breed shows like this. We had lunch sponsored by Dressage at Devon and were able to talk with many of the representatives of the WBFSH and hear their thoughts and impressions on the show.

After returning from the show we started the 1st seminar session. We were welcomed by Jan Pedersen, the president of the WBFSH, and Ekkehard Brysch, ISR/Oldenburg Registry, our host. Scott Hassler then presented a very interesting talk about equestrian sports in North American and its impact on Sport Horse breeding. He thanked the WBFSH for the implementation of the Young Horse Championships citing that he felt that they were having a very positive impact on the education of the young horse in the U.S. Even though only a small percentage of our 4, 5, and 6 year olds are competing in these classes, it has highlighted the importance of starting the training of our young horses earlier rather than later. Currently the Young Horse Championships for Dressage, Jumping, and Eventing are held at different times and different locations. The goal for 2013 is to have them all in one location at the same time.

Ekkehard Brysch then talked about the impact of thoroughbreds on the modern Sport Horse Breeding in North America. He said that originally the 1st generation of a cross with a TB was not the breeding goal, only the start. Now however, because of the larger pool of quality TB mares in the U.S., they are seeing that the 1st generation cross does produce foals that meet the breeding goal. It is important to note that they have identified a particular type of TB that is suitable. The TB horses that produce the best offspring suitable for the Sport Horse must have quality conformation and are typically out of lines that produced horses that were or are successful in the longer races. Sprinting horses will not produce the gaits desirable for modern Sport Horse Breeding.

Later in the afternoon we heard about the education and training of equestrian professionals in the U.S. by Prof. Dr. Rebecca Splan from Virginia Tech University. They have a unique program designed to educate the students in all aspects of the horse industry. Their goal is that the student be made aware of all the career opportunities available and with the help of the university, industry stakeholder support, and assistance from breed registries and other organizations, is prepared for high-level professional careers with horses. I found myself wishing I was younger and could take part in this excellent program.

Derbydown Farms was our 1st stop the next morning. There, Louise Serio gave us a demonstration of a hunter on the flat and over fences, as well as some videos of the Hunter Derby while we had lunch. She told us what she looks for in a Hunter and verified that the modern Sport Horse is proving to be more suitable than the TB in most cases. It was very educational and many of the WBFSH representatives had never seen this sport and were impressed. We then visited North View Farm, the birth place of Northern Dancer, and saw many beautiful TB stallions and heard about the state of TB breeding and racing in the U.S. Next was the amazing new Hassler Dressage at Riveredge. This facility will take your breath away - you can see pictures on the ISR/Oldenburg website as well at the WBFSH site. Scott and his partner's plans for the future are very exciting, they have a lot of fresh ideas and plans that will help the U.S. become more important in the breeding of modern Sport Horses and the training of both the horse and rider/trainer. We then had a delicious American Barbeque dinner at the farm with lots of discussion about what we had seen and heard so far.

The final day in Devon it was pouring rain from a hurricane that had been on the coast. We were lucky in that most of the day was inside. There was a meeting of the general assembly that we were allowed to sit in on that I found very interesting. It was reassuring to hear them address issues that were important to me as a breeder in their Strategic Plan. This was followed by presentations on new methods for breeding with frozen semen, stem cell uses, cloning, AI breeding practices, the Young Breeders program, horse slaughter in the U.S. and other countries, and the Universal Equine Life Number (UELN). The UELN was the subject of discussion frequently throughout the three day meeting. It has been successfully implemented in many countries, but the logistics of putting it in place in the U.S. is staggering. We do not have the kind of government control that would be required as they do in other countries.