The first edition of the international “Shaping the Future of Dressage – Where Breeding Meets Performance”, held during the KWPN Stallion Show, brought sport and breeding together. We are already sharing a few interesting insights.

A full auditorium listened attentively as the panelists shared their views on the future of breeding and its connection with sport. Chaired by Dirk Willem Rosie, the discussion featured British breeder Emma Blundell (Mount St. John), German dressage rider Isabell Werth, renowned German breeder Cristine Arns-Krogmann, and stallion owner Eugene Reesink.

Watch, watch, watch
All panel members agreed on one thing: by watching – and watching a lot – you learn a great deal. Want to recognise quality in a foal? Identify future Grand Prix stallions? Learn which type of stallion suits your mare? Watch. Emma Blundell: “Go to foal inspections and auctions. Ask fellow breeders questions there. Watch for hours and hours, and see hundreds of foals.” Isabell Werth: “Be actively involved in this. Watch and compare, then watch again. Only then do you gain ideas and experience.” Cristine Arns-Krogmann: “Make sure you see horses live. I never use a stallion I have not seen in person. You need to see them live and hear them move. If you want success in breeding, you have to put in the work and the hours. It doesn’t come automatically.” Eugene Reesink: “And making mistakes is allowed – as long as you learn from them.”

Be critical
Cristine Arns-Krogmann: “The key in breeding is to be critical of your own mare. Don’t become barn-blind. Many breeders don’t even realise their mare is not good enough.” Eugene Reesink: “I also think many breeders know too little about their own mares. Selecting within your mare population and breeding only with the best mares is very important, both commercially, for marketability, and for sport.”

Search for harmony
For the future, Emma Blundell focuses strongly on harmony, as she believes this is where the sport is heading. “Horses need to be brave enough to enter big arenas without becoming tense. They shouldn’t be spooky. A horse that moves harmoniously through the arena also has good balance in its body and soft contact in the mouth. I think horses with mouth or contact issues will be penalised more and more.”

In sport, the complete picture matters
A horse only truly proves itself under saddle. From there, all factors in (top) sport must come together. Isabell Werth: “Finding the right combination is very important in breeding – matching strengths and weaknesses. But when breeding and sport ultimately come together, it is all about the right match between horse and rider, and the entire team around them. In the end, it is not always the absolute best horses that become Olympic champions: the complete package wins. The right match with the rider, the right team, combined with elasticity, rideability and the ability to perform the more difficult movements. Dynamics, lightness and expression all need to come together in the best possible way.”

More about the breeders’ congress will be published in the upcoming edition of the KWPN Magazine.

Text: BvH for KWPN
Photo: HippoFoto