Program for Breeding Hanoverian Show Jumping Horses in North America

Approved JBP Mares    Approved JBP Stallions   JBP Criteria & Horse Application

For complete information and a list of JBP approved mares and stallions, please visit the Jumper Breeding Program links above.

[by Rick Toering]

In 2005, the AHS established the Jumper Breeding Program (JBP), which is based in part on the successful experience of the Programm Hannoveraner Springpferdezucht (PHS) established in 1993 in Germany. A cooperative effort between the AHS and the two regional Hanoverian breeding clubs in Canada, the Jumper Breeding Program is intended to promote the breeding of high quality Hanoverian show jumping horses in North America. To be selected for the program, mares and stallions must have both an appropriate jumping pedigree and demonstrated jumping ability or offspring with demonstrated jumping ability.

Stallion Criteria

The criteria used by the PHS for selecting the stallions has been adopted for this program. In addition to having an appropriate jumping pedigree, a stallion must meet one or more of the following criteria:

Because competition records are not readily available in the U.S., the committee relied primarily on stallion performance tests and breeding values for this initial list of stallions. The committee encourages owners of stallions not otherwise included in this initial list to provide us with the competition records of their stallion or his offspring. These records will be evaluated, and if sufficient, may include the stallion in the program. In addition to the stallions already selected for the PHS, the initial list of North American JBP stallions has been established.

Mare Criteria
The JBP committee has also adopted similar criteria to that used by the PHS for selecting mares for the program. Mares must have an appropriate jumping pedigree and must meet one or more of the following criteria:

Because the committee does not have access to competition records of many of these mares or their offspring, we relied primarily on the MPT data and competition records previously submitted to the AHS office. The committee recognizes that there may be mares not on this initial list that have successful competition records, offspring with successful competition records, or other factors that have been overlooked or not considered. For example, some imported mares may not be listed because, in some instances, the AHS office does not have complete MPT data for these mares. Owners of mares not otherwise included in this initial list are encouraged to provide the committee with the appropriate additional information so that the mare may be considered for the program.

In addition to mares previously selected for the PHS, the initial list of AHS mares selected for the program is set forth in the Current JBP Mare Listing. The HV will be publishing a list of mares owned by its Canadian members.

Appropriate Jumping Pedigree
The following guidelines set forth what is generally considered to be an “appropriate jumping pedigree.” To some extent, these guidelines may be applied more strictly to stallions than to mares. First, the sire of the horse in question must be a “jumping sire,” preferably meeting the requirements as set forth above for the stallions selected for the program. Next, the sire of the dam and the sire of the granddam should either both be jumping sires or at a minimum one of the two should be a jumping sire, also preferably meeting the requirements as set forth above for stallion qualifications. Some examples:

The Jumper Breeding Program Committee recognizes that some sires are multi-talented which makes for many variables. The Committee will consider every application very carefully.

JBP Competition at Hedgeland: Free Jumping Competition and Clinic
The first AHS- and Mid-Atlantic Hanoverian Breeders Club-sponsored free jumping clinic and competition was held on November 8th, 2008 at Hedgeland Equestrian Center in Waterford, VA.  In the morning, clinician Michael Bragdell of Hilltop Farm presented a free jumping clinic designed to teach owners and trainers how to introduce and school horses through a jump chute. Using pre-selected demonstration horses, Michael addressed building a jump chute, introducing the young horse to the jump chute, assessing jumping aptitude, and schooling techniques with horses of different experience levels.

The afternoon competition was modeled after European free jumping contests, which serve to identify the breeders and the bloodlines of up-and-coming jumping horses.  Competition was open to all registered horses with papers, and there was one class for three-year-olds and one class for four- and five-year-olds. Each horse received three scores from 1 to 10 for technique, scope, and canter and overall impression from judges Stephen Bradley, Olympic eventer and Pan-Am medalist, and Suzanne Quarles, AHS Executive Vice President and Chairman of the AHS Mare & Stallion Committee.

JBP Criteria and Horse Application:

If you believe your mare or stallion is eligible for entry into the Jumper Breeding Program and is not currently listed as approved, please download and carefully complete the following PDF form which lists the specific criteria and forward it to the JBP committee for consideration.

JBP Criteria and Horse Application

Going Forward

The list of selected stallions and mares and other details of the program will be maintained on the AHS website. The committee will update these lists as additional mares and stallions are added.

The committee recognizes that, at least in the U.S., Hanoverians are primarily associated with “dressage horses” rather than “jumping horses.” One of our goals is to change that perception over the coming years. We suspect that many of the mares on this list have historically been bred to dressage stallions (with the resulting offspring being exceptional horses, of course!). However, in order to make this program successful, the committee encourages owners of these mares to breed them to stallions also selected for the program with the hopes of producing some successful jumping horses!

For further information, feel free to contact any of the members of the Jumper Breeding Committee or the AHS Office. Rick Toering can be reached at bent.hickory@verizon.net