By Wendy Conlon / IYB
Photography: Courtesy IYB
The concept of the Young Breeder Championships was born in Germany in 1997, initiatted by Dr. Ludwig Christmann, then deputy director of the Hanoverian Breeding Society, who wanted to involve youth more intensively in breeding matters.
What started informally, and developed into National Championships in Germany has since mushroomed with World Championships now hosted normally every other year by a different studbook around the globe, with individual studbooks hosting their own National Championships or selection systems in advance.
The aims of the World Championships are to bring young breeders (aged 15 to 25 years of age) together across countries, breeding associations, and languages to learn, compete, and network. The spirit of the championships is to incorporate competition with education, supporting participants in the development of the skills and knowledge required for successful sport horse breeding. Given the age categories concerned, not all participants are as yet active breeders, and that is not a prerequisite.
The WBFSH International Young Breeders World Championships provide an opportunity for young persons to compete and benchmark themselves with their peers in various disciplines relevant to sport horse breeding ,including theory (equine reproduction; nutrition; stable management; health and sport), conformation and athleticism assessment, turnout, and in-hand presentation.
The first World Championships was held in Verden Germany in 2001 in tandem with the European Dressage Championships that same year. The Belgian Warmblood Studbook hosted at Minderhout in 2003; Danish Warmblood Studbook at Aarhus, 2005; Irish Sport Horse Studbook at Kildalton Agricultural College, Kilkenny, 2009; Selle Francais at Chazey-sur-Ain Horse Park, near Lyon, 2011; and Swedish Warmblood Studbook at Flyinge National Stud, 2013.
A collaboration between the Hanoveran Studbook Great Britain, Warmblood Breeders Studbook UK, and Sport Horse Breeding of Great Britain, hosted the 2015 championships at Hartbury College in the UK. The Canadian Warmblood Horse Breeders’ Association hosted at Spruce Meadows in 2017; while the Austrian Warmblood Studbook at Austrian Horse Centre, Stadl-Paura, most recently in 2019. The next World Championships, following a Covid-imposed deferral, is planned for Ermelo, the Netherlands, July 7-9, 2022, hosted by the KWPN Studbook... To read the complete article you need to be a subscriber
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