American Hanoverian Society I JUMPER BREEDING PROGRAM

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

The AHS is pleased to announce the establishment of the Jumper Breeding Program (JBP). 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. The Jumper Breeding Program is based in part on the successful experience of the Programm Hannoveraner Springpferdezucht (PHS) in Germany.

By way of background, the Hanoverian Verband created the PHS in 1993 to recognize, promote, and market the breeding of Hanoverian show jumpers. About 1300 mares have since been selected to participate in the PHS. These mares have been chosen based on their pedigrees and their talent as measured via competition or mare performance test (MPT). Mares in the PHS are encouraged to be bred to stallions that have also been selected for the program. The Hanoverian Verband publishes an annual list of mares and stallions that have been selected to participate in the PHS.

The Hanoverian Verband showcases offspring from the PHS in a variety of ways. In addition to the PHS designation, which can be seen, for example, identifying certain horses in the auction catalogs, the Hanoverian Verband offers a foal show specifically for PHS offspring, as well as an annual free jumping competition for three- and four-year-olds. In 2005, nearly 150 horses were presented to a judges panel that included Tony Hassman and Dr. Gunther Friemel, who scored each of them on their scope, technique and overall impression (which accounts for canter, type, etc.). Last year, Lars Nieberg and Anja Rietbrock were on the panel.

In the United States, a team of jumper breeders worked together over the past year to initiate a plan and implement a similar program in North America. At the AHS Annual Meeting in February 2005, the board of directors approved the general concept and formed the Jumper Breeding Committee to implement and administer the Jumper Breeding Program. The board, with input from Dr. Ludwig Christmann, Deputy Breeding Manager of the Hanoverian Verband, appointed the following committee members: Michael Boyd, Hanoverian Breeding Club of Eastern Canada; Dr. Ludwig Christmann, VhW representative; John Gillien, AHS member; Judy Hedreen, AHS member; Edgar Schutte, AHS member and director; Rick Toering, AHS member; and Albert Kley, the Hanoverian Breeding Club of Western Canada. In addition, the Mare and Stallion Committee appointed one of its members, Karin Himmelmayer, to act as a liaison to the Jumper Breeding Committee.

The committee’s first task has been to identify and select the mares and stallions here in North American that are most likely to produce high quality show jumping horses. In simple terms, 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.

While simple in principle, the task of identifying and selecting the mares and stallions for inclusion in the program has been a difficult one. For example, the committee has spent countless hours searching through two- and then three-generation pedigrees of some 6,000 mares registered with the AHS and then evaluated the mare performance test data for these mares where available. The selection process is not perfect, and should be recognized as a work in progress. The committee looks forward to receiving additional information from the membership that may have been either overlooked or unavailable so that additional mares and stallions may be included.

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.

The committee has also adopted similar criteria to that used by the PHS for selecting the mares for the program. In order to be selected 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 VhW will be publishing a list of mares owned by its Canadian members.

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 grand dam should either be both 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.

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.

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

Rick Toering and his wife Jayne reside in Oak Hill, Virginia. They are the proprietors of Bent Hickory Farm, a Hanoverian breeding operation with a special interest in jumping. The Toerings own three AHS Main Studbook mares and register one or two foals each year. A lawyer by profession, Rick provides invaluable service to AHS through his chairmanship of the Corporate Regulations and Grievances Committee.