SWEDEN (by Hillevi Brasch) It’s that time of the year! When days are slowly getting longer, the temperature rises slightly and horses may start shedding their winter coats. It is time to look ahead and see what the future brings! The combination of the right mare with the stallion that is just right may result in a future Olympic champion 10 to 12 years down the road – no one said breeding is a quick fix!
The annual Swedish Warmblood stallion performance test traditionally takes place the first week of March at Flyinge, the National Equestrian Center. A venue well suited considering its past as the National Stud. The Swedish test format consists of stallions being tested as three- to five-year-olds, allowing slightly older stallions with qualifying merits to be evaluated as well. The number of stallions showing up for testing was larger than in many years. There is no mandatory pre-selection of stallions before the actual test. However, there are opportunities to have your stallion evaluated in the fall to receive an honest opinion whether it’s worth your while to bring him to the testing in the early spring.
The SWB performance test is a shorter test with the stallions being shown in their discipline twice under own rider and once under a test rider. This is, of course, once the veterinary and conformation inspection is fulfilled. The days are intense, stallions really need to be on par and there really is no leeway. Approval demands quality above and beyond, plus the desirable traits for a future sport horse along with bloodlines proven to succeed. SWB is an open studbook which allows for stallions from other registries to enter and possibly be approved under the SWB guidelines...
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