By Jo de Roo

From January 16-18, the second phase of the BWP stallion approval took place in the equestrian centre Azelhof in Lier. In total, 105 three-year-old stallions were inscribed, including 99 in the option showjumping and six in the option dressage. The third and final phase will see these selected stallions, plus an additional 27 – for a total of 132 – who will be presented at SenTower Park, Oudsbergen, March 12-14, 2020.

According to BWP President Jozef Bauters, there are several keys of success: “The BWP level means a lot. This should be underlined more often. The correct way of selecting throughout the several phases of the approval is also a key to success.”
In the three-year-old age group, the jury selected 45 stallions, including 41 in the option showjumping and four in the option dressage, and at the conclusion of this second phase we met a delighted president: “In terms of the number of spectators we are very happy. I have even heard that both large parking lots were full. That was not the case last year. Besides the large number of spectators, I have also noticed that many candidates proved that they can jump. Several BWP dam lines were also suppliers of stallions. In particular, dam line 34, better known as the ‘de Muze’ dam line, was represented by seven stallions, four of whom were selected to participate in the third phase. Once again, this proves that good stallions often belong to good dam lines.
“Several other BWP dam lines were present, which means that there was a wide variety. As a result, there was also a wide variety of breeders and owners that presented stallions, as well as many supporters. Besides stallion keepers that are presenting one or more stallions each year, we also welcomed some newcomers which is hopeful for the future.”
The jury selected 45 candidates: “I have to admit that the jury selected a great number of stallions. If the members of the jury consider that a candidate could make it, then they have to give him every chance to prove himself in the third phase. If we didn’t do that, it’s possible that this same candidate would be presented some weeks later during a stallion approval with another studbook. In terms of the number of selected stallions, there are no restrictions, so we may not be too severe in the second phase. On the other hand, a stallion that has already been approved by another studbook will not automatically be approved by BWP.”

Option dressage candidates

Only six stallions were inscribed in this age-group, including three BWP-born and three ‘others’. Certainly the number of non-BWP-born dressage candidates has decreased in comparison to last year, a fact that Bauters confirms: “That’s true. We were also surprised. Despite the fact that this year we introduced for the first time a dressage jury, at the demand of the BWP dressage commission, and also despite the fact that we decided to entrust the organization and leadership of the dressage to Eddy Schuurmans, who is an expert. Thanks to our decisions, it will be better next year.”.. To read the complete article you need to be a subscriber

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