Holsteiner Horses
Extraordinary Sport Horses with a Rich German History
By Wendy Webster and Wendy Davis Gerrish The AHHA: North America’s Holsteiner Studbook
With rules that are largely patterned after those of the German Holsteiner Verband, the AHHA has functioned from its inception as an independent non-profit member organization dedicated to the Holsteiner horse in North America. Te stated purposes of the AHHA are to establish breeding
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rules and maintain a registry of Holsteiner horses. As a part of these objectives, the AHHA schedules and conducts annual breeding stock inspections of mares and stallions, where the branding of foals also occurs. Te association shares breeding data and association
information through their website at
www.holsteiner.com as well as through periodic electronic newsletters, and publishes Holsteiner Magazine up to three times a year. Te AHHA recognizes its breeders and owners through an annual awards program and honors them at a celebration held in conjunction with the association’s annual meeting. Each year the AHHA produces a stallion roster that provides
members with detailed information on the approved stallions that stand with the association. Other highlights include the annual stallion service auction, the Foal Futurity, and the Foal Incentive Program. With an office in Kentucky and a board of directors from across the United States, the AHHA is recognized as the North American studbook for Holsteiners.
Its History and Development
Te history of the Holsteiner horse goes back hundreds of years to when the Uetersen monasteries of the Middle Ages began to transform the sturdy local stock into larger-framed horses suitable for agricultural uses and for war.
Top of page, left: Grand Prix dressage stallion GP Raymeister bred by Kenneth Borden ridden by Yvonne Barteau. Top right: Te number one ranked WBFSH jumper in the world is a Holsteiner: Cristallo, a gelding by Caretino x Cicero, ridden by American Richard Spooner.
ounded in 1978, the American Holsteiner Horse Association, or AHHA, was established to assist breeders in producing quality horses with Holsteiner bloodlines.
By the sixteenth century, the horses of Holstein had a distinct
reputation for their endurance, agility and demeanor, and the breed remained in high demand by European leaders, heads of state and cavalries until the eighteenth century. Similar to other quality European horses of the time, the popularity of Neapolitan and Spanish horses were reflected in the Holsteiner. While not exceptionally tall, they had thick, high-set necks, animated gaits and Roman noses. King Philip II of Spain routinely purchased Holsteiners to populate his stud at Cordoba. Twelve black Hol- steiner stallions were purchased for the foundation of Celle State Stud in 1735 and became the foundation of the Hanoverian breed. Following the Protestant Reformation, the breeding of
Holsteiner horses was no longer the responsibility of the monks but of local officials and individual farmers. Te Holsteiner studbook was formally established in 1891 under the direction of George Ahsbahs. In short order, he had also helped to found the Elmshorn Riding and Driving School, the location of which is now the home of the Verband sires and the Elmshorn marketing center. It was the first school of its kind in the world.
Holsteiner Stamms: The Keys to Success
During the latter part of the nineteenth century one particularly astute horseman from Holstein went about the task of listing each mare into a register and assigning her a number. As the mare pro- duced offspring, her unique number was passed on to her offspring. Her daughters who in turn produced offspring passed on their dam’s number, known as a stamm in German or a “stem” in English, to their own offspring, and so on through the subsequent generations. Te stamm number is listed under the horse’s name on all
registration papers of Holsteiners and has allowed breeders to track the performance of female families for generations. Te system has also identified certain highly successful stamms, such as 162, a family which had three members at the Athens Olympics. Horses coming from such successful stamms may command a premium price, as breeders and buyers understand the value and quality they represent. Whether because of loving pride or of global market demand, farmers still today take great care to perpetuate their stamms,
SPECIAL HOLSTEINER SECTION Warmbloods Today 33
American
American Holsteiner Horse Association
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