Volker Brommann Germany
Anke Magnussen Germany
Anney Daugherty
Edgar Schutte Holland
Andras Szieberth Hungary
Jean-Yves Tola France
Christiane Noelting Germany
Observations from six European trainers and breeders who have relocated to the U.S.
fairly costly. On the other hand, bringing a Euro- pean horse to the U.S. is costly as well. The current exchange rate for the dollar to the euro is poor. The flight and quarantine can run from $10,000 to $15,000 depending on the horse’s gender. Then add in the initial horse hunting trips in Europe—the flight, hotel and car rental. In the U.S. the buyer may have similar costs for a flight
or flights around the country to shop, stay at hotels and rent cars, etc. Shipping or flying the horse from one side of the country to another can run about $2000-$3500, which is certainly an expense but much less than the cost of importation. Clearly, scale matters in these transactions. “If you sell
a horse for $100,000, airfare is not a big deal. If you sell an $8,000 foal, the additional $3,000 for the flight is more than a third of the price of the foal,” Edgar points out. In addition, horses cost less in Europe because the ex-
pense for raising, training, boarding and showing them is considerably lower there. For this reason, the purchase price for a horse in Europe may seem like a bargain. In the end, the decision may come down to individual
situations. The buyer may fly on earned airline miles and stay in either destination with friends. Or the buyer may love travel and the idea of going to Europe. On the other hand, “some people are apprehensive about going to Eu- rope to buy a horse. It would be nice if they stay here and not have to go too far,” remarks Volker.
THE CULTURAL FACTOR How is it that Europe has so many more quality horses than the United States? One big reason is tradition. Breeding horses is part of European culture. “In Hungary, everyone makes wine; it’s part of the country’s tradition. It is the same with horse breeding. If you are a cattle farmer or wheat farmer, you still have a few horses on the side. And also the state stud farms support the business. There is a fabric that con- nects all the elements of the business,” explains Andras
Szieberth, Hungarian by birth, breeder, hunter/jumper trainer and owner of Prairie Pine Sporthorses in Wellborn, Florida. “A breeder in Europe probably would say that he got into
breeding because his great grandfather had horses and a farm. Now the cow barn has been converted into a horse barn,” says Volker. “The farmer’s son would use the horse to pull the milk wagon during the week and that farmer’s son would ride the same horse to a horse show on the weekend three villages away. Then that farmer’s son’s son might be- come a breeder of horses.” “Fifty years ago, the European cattle or pig farmers had
maybe one mare that they bred for extra income. Because the horse breeding was not the serious part of the opera- tion’s economics, they could try things they believed in and carry on for several generations. It was an honor to produce a good quality horse,” adds Edgar. Today, horses in Europe are a multimillion dollar busi- ness with professionals who specialize in different aspects of the horse’s training, from foal to FEI level competition. Like other livestock businesses, specialists handle the segment at which they are qualified. For example, the breeders cre- ate the foals. The breeders sell the foals or youngsters to the specialists at raising young horses. These ‘foal buyers’ may each purchase 20 foals a year. “They might present a few two-year-old stallions prospects and that is a proud moment for that person because it shows he has good judgment as a foal buyer,” Edgar explains. “This is good business. Every fall the professional foal
buyers come around and buy foals. Therefore, a foal has an intrinsic value. Here you can’t make a business out of just breeding foals,” says Andras. The youngsters destined to be riding horses next go on to
the experts at starting young horses and giving them show experience. Then the horses with talent move on to the spe- cialists at the FEI level competition. In the U.S. we attempt to do it all: raising foals and starting young horses often fall on the breeders’ shoulders. These jobs are not always revered. “I envision that in 20-25 years there will be places recog-
nized for starting young horses, for starting them in compe- tition, for taking horses from Prix St. Georges to Grand Prix. The specialists will be doing those jobs; it’s just like there are people that are good pitchers and others that are good car- penters,” says Volker.
Warmbloods Today 49
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