Members Speak; KWPN Listens By Scot Tolman
time: “Te breeders and members lead the KWPN, not the other way around.” I’m sure I nodded politely and probably tried a few words of garbled, spit-filled Dutch, but the concept of the vision coming from the membership instead of being dictated by the organi- zation didn’t resonate as reality for me. Maybe it’s because we North Americans don’t/can’t hear the grassroots conversations that result in change on an organizational level, due both to the language barrier and the distance between our countries. When we hear mandates, such as “specialization” or “radiographs for ap- proval,” the hairs on the back of our necks stand up and our in- dependent natures flare. What we don’t realize is that our coun- terparts in Holland have requested, and, sometimes, demanded, these changes. We are not actually the recipients of some random change in the requirements of the studbook, we are the beneficia- ries of the efforts put forth by an active and vocal KWPN mem- bership in Holland. Some of you who have read my writings over the years will
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remember this next story. When I was visiting with a breeder in Germany a few years ago, and the gentleman discovered that I breed Dutch horses, he said, “You know what we say about Dutch farmers. You go to a Dutch farmer and ask him for a pur- ple horse, and he won’t have one—but he will next year.” As funny as this was—and is—to me, I appreciate this about
the Dutch farmer and about the organization that serves him or her: they both listen to the market and, importantly, to each other. One of the biggest reasons that we in the KWPN-NA don’t see change as rapid, and, sometimes, sweeping, as our fellow members in Holland expect and receive from the KWPN, is that we are not as vocal or as active in our pursuit of getting our needs met as they are. Tat being said, the KWPN-NA offers more supports and benefits to its members than many people realize. Tere are many services and benefits available to our member- ship: education and awards are two strengths of our organization.
Benefits to Members Education has become a central focus of our annual keur-
ings and of our annual meeting—which is being held in
Holland at the KWPN Stallion Show this year! Attendees at either receive lots of one-on-one conversation and small group instruction from the jury, experts in different equine disciplines, experienced breeders and current researchers. Tere are a lot of awards and a fair amount of money given
out every year to many of our top horses and riders. Iron Spring Farm sponsors our keuring championship awards; Mary Alice Malone gives $500 to the champion and $250 to the reserve champion in almost every keuring category. Natalie Bryant sponsors the Willy Arts Young Rider Grants, which provide three up-and-coming riders with $3,000 each year. DG Bar Ranch sponsors the DG Bar Cup, which is modeled after the PAVO Cup in Holland; these young horse classes are available at all of our keurings for three- to eight-year-old horses. Claybrook
46 September/October 2015 SPECIAL KWPN-NA SECTION
any years ago during an impassioned conversation with Wiepke van de Lageweg, of the famous VDL Stud in Holland, he said something that I questioned at the
Farm sponsors the Claybrook Farm Cup, which awards $1,000 to the top three- and four-year-old jumper prospects each year, and $500 to the second place horses. We also still offer the FEI Horse of the Year, the Breeder of the Year and the Member of the Year awards. Tese awards are currently sponsored by Iron Spring Farm and Timbach Farm. Additionally, the KWPN-NA participates in the USDF All-Breeds Awards, and it has sponsor- ship monies and prizes available for many shows across the U.S. and Canada. Te forms for requesting a sponsorship are available on the website.
New Auction Opportunity Back to the topic at hand—members’
voices and KWPN-NA resulting actions. In direct response to our members asking for more help to advertise and promote their sales horses, the KWPN-NA is part- nering with Tim Jennings and
sporthorseauctions.com to offer our first online auction, coming this October. Person- ally, I’m really excited about this opportunity for our members. For a really reasonable fee, you get access to a much bigger ad- vertising and promotional platform than you could get almost any other way. Foal and riding horse auctions have long been supported by the KWPN in Holland and the major studbooks in Germany, and they have generated really good exposure and income for the membership and the different studbooks. I’ll bet many of you religiously go through the selection of foals in the Borculo and Prinsjegdag elite auctions each year. In Germany, the Verden auctions have produced both huge sales and top sport horses for years. Similarly, the Equine Elite Auction in Holland offers some super riding horses who are carefully vetted and out of top pedigrees. VDL has found success bringing KWPN jumpers to Florida for two or three years now and hosting its own auction. North Americans, here you go—here’s our opportunity. We’ve asked for it and we’re getting it.
Te KWPN-NA online auction will feature both American-
bred and imported KWPN horses of varying ages and bred and/ or trained for various disciplines. Te organizers of this auction have high hopes that this auction can feature and showcase some top horses, and, eventually, become known as an elite auction and a reliable source for obtaining top riding and breeding stock. I know the KWPN-NA office is going to be sending out a few emails with details, but jump right on this bandwagon. Give them a call or check out the specifics on
sporthorseauctions.com. If I were to have a conversation today with Wiepke van de
Lageweg, I’d still worry about spitting on him when I hit the Dutch ‘G,’ but I’d agree wholeheartedly with his statement—it is the responsibility of the membership to provide the vision and the direction for the KWPN and the KWPN-NA. We have a members’ committee specifically designed to answer directly to our membership, there are multiple ways of contacting the KW- PN-NA office and all of the contact information for our board of directors is available on the website. Come to a keuring, at- tend an annual meeting or just get on your computer or phone. Make your voices heard!
KWPN-NA
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