Olá Andre Ganc
A Brazilian Judge Talks About Breeds, Disciplines & National Differences
Not so long ago, a Lusitano in a U.S. dressage competition was a novelty. Even more surprising was that a Lusitano in Brazilian dressage was unknown until 1992, when Andre Ganc trotted Galápago down the center line.
Who is Senho Ganc ?
among them Brazilian Vice-Champion in the Five-Year-Old Horse Category, São Paulo State Champion in the same category and three-time winner of the functional competi- tions in the Young Horse series. He also won a number of São Paulo state competitions and was chosen several times as the Rider of the Year by the Brazilian Lusitano Horse Association (ABPSL). In 2007, aboard Utopia Imperial, Andre won both the Brazilian and the São Paulo state championships at Prix St. Georges and Intermediare 1. The Ganc family began breeding Lusitanos in 1978 at
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Haras Vale do Aretê in the state of São Paulo, while Andre steeped himself in classical traditions, training with acolytes of Nuno Olivera, among them Michel Henriquet and Nuno Palma. In 2002, as his reputation and experience was grow- ing, he was training a select group of horses for the burgeon- ing breeding farm Interagro Lusitanos when he was offered a position training at Friedberger Farm, a German competition barn near Munich. Andre worked in Germany for one and a half years before returning to Brazil to take up the reins at his family’s farm. Today, Andre is involved with Brazilian sport horses in
many different ways. In addition to training and breeding the family horses and his Brazilian judging responsibilities, he served for nearly 20 years as the director of dressage for the ABPSL and in 2016 at the Rio Olympics, he will be the tele- vision commentator for dressage on ESPN-Brazil, as he has been for the past few years. (Until recently, he also taught agronomy at São Paulo University.) In addition, Andre’s involvement with sport horses
extends beyond South America: he also teaches clinics in the United States.
oday, at age 45, Andre is a breeder, Brazilian judge, trainer and competitor. He enters the arena followed by a string of accolades earned with his Lusitanos,
Andre practicing the piaffe at a show in Brazil.
Comparing Breds Andre’s diverse experiences have brought him insights into how breed characteristics affect training approaches to Iberian horses and Warmbloods. Generally, the ratio between muscles and bones is by
nature different in each breed. Compared to Warmbloods, the average Lusitano usually has more muscle and less bone. As a result, Lusitanos have less inertia than Warmbloods. The principle of inertia is that a body keeps the movement and direction until a force causes it to change. Horses with more muscles or less bone change direction and speed more easily than heavy boned horses because they have less resistance to a force that causes change. Because the bodies are differ- ent, the training must be different as well. This is true, he says, both within and between breeds. “Inside Lusitano breeding, we had horses that were so small they could barely carry a rider. And we have also a bigger Lusitano with more bone and colder mind. In every breed we find different types of bodies and minds. In Warm- blood breeding you have very light, sensitive horses,” Andre explains. “And you have the old-fashioned type that is lazy but strong.” “Of course, you can’t ride a Thoroughbred like you ride
a Holsteiner,” he adds. “We don’t ride a Gribaldi son like a Florestan horse. We find differences inside the breeds and between one breed and the other. So we customize training for each horse, by analyzing its characteristics according to the training scale.”
Warmbloods Today 25
By Patti Schofler
Courtesy Andre Ganc
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