The Royal Warmblood Studbook of the Netherlands (KWPN) and the Warmblood Studbook of Ireland (WSI) have partnered to work with Irish showjumping and eventing breeders to produce and sell high-quality horses.

An important goal of the partnership is to encourage the exchange of information between Irish and Dutch breeders and between Irish breeders and WSI.  A reception to celebrate the new partnership will be held on Monday 12 September from 7 - 9 PM at the Osprey Hotel in Naas, Co. Kildare. All sport horse breeders, riders, producers and owners are invited to attend and meet the new KWPN partners, and to learn about the opportunities being created to advance breeding, sport, and sales in Ireland. The KWPN is the world’s #1 sport horse studbook in terms of size, quality, global impact, technical capabilities, and sport performance. At the Rio Olympics KWPN horses won nine medals including the Individual Gold Medals in Showjumping and Dressage.  While in recent years the KWPN has begun to have an impact on the sport of eventing, its strengths are in showjumping and dressage.  “We believe there is a great fit between the KWPN and WSI,” said Johan Knaap, Director of the KWPN. “The Irish can teach the Dutch a lot about breeding and producing eventing horses, while the Dutch can help the Irish develop showjumping breeding, which will make Irish dominance of eventing even stronger.” The new partnership will create many exciting opportunities for Irish breeders. WSI members will have access to KWPN inspectors and officials, along with the Dutch studbook’s extensive breeding resources such as the Horse Database, the Stallion Database, the genetic index, and digital KWPN Magazine.

A new homepage will be created for WSI and Irish Warmblood horses will be entered into the databases and indices. All these services will be accessed through My WSI, a gateway on the new homepage that will provide easy access to the entire array of digital KWPN resources that will be made available to WSI members. According to WSI’s Breeding Director, Tom Reed, “The new partners will work together on the grassroots level to help breeders get the information and advice they need to make the best choices. And the KWPN’s expertise in sales and marketing will be deployed to help Irish Warmblood breeders sell their foals and young horses.  An online foal auction will be organized in 2016, and in future years more auctions will be organized to benefit breeders, owners, riders, and producers.” In September the new partners will tour around Ireland and Northern Ireland to meet with breeders, stallion owners, mare owners, riders, and producers; to assess mares and young stock; and to pre-select stallions for the stallion inspections. In October WSI and the KWPN will hold five formal assessment and information days in various parts of the country to give breeders the opportunity to have their foals, fillies, mares, geldings, and yearling colts assessed in a positive and informative manner, to learn about the new plans WSI and the KWPN have for Ireland, and to give breeders the opportunity to share their ideas and suggestions.

The KWPN jumping horse inspector Arnold Kootstra has joined the WSI Mare Committee, and he will participate on all five days. Dates and venues will be announced next week. In November WSI will hold the first inspection under the new partnership for 2-year-old and older stallions. The stallion inspection will be in two stages: Stage 1 pre-selections (in-hand only) will be held at five venues across the country in October, and Stage 2 inspections will be held over two days in one location in November. An information day will be announced soon so stallion owners can gather to learn about the inspection process and what will be expected of stallions depending upon their age. T

he stallion inspections will be conducted by the WSI Stallion Committee, whose membership has been expanded to include the KWPN inspectors. At the reception on 12 September at 7 PM at the Osprey Hotel the new Dutch partners will be introduced and a presentation will be made highlighting the new initiatives being rolled out and their benefits to the Irish showjumping and eventing communities. Speakers will include Mr. Johan Knaap, the KWPN Director and His Excellency P.W.A. Schellekens, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Everyone is invited. Please RSVP to admin@irish-warmblood.com or 087.222.9701.