in the championships as a four- and five-year-old and was the champion as a six-year-old. Two years later he was the Developing Prix St. Georges champion and the following year the Developing Grand Prix champion. Her homebred Zweibrucker stallion Gallant Reflection HU (Galant du Serein / Rohdiamant) was the 6-year-old champion this year. Richard W. Freeman, Jr., of Oak Hill Ranch in Folsom,
Louisiana has been breeding horses since the 1990s, having gotten his start breeding Polish Arabians before soon transi- tioning to Danish Warmbloods. He wholeheartedly supports these programs. This was the first year one of his homebreds competed at the championships (the stallion Ripline by Blue Hors Hotline out of a mare by Blue Hors Cavan) but several of his homebreds have competed in the Young Horse program and qualified through the Regional level. Maggie Neider owns North Hill Farm in Fabius, New
York. She considers herself primarily a hunter breeder but her homebred Oldenburg gelding Rosalut NHF (Rosenthal / Salut) has now won the Young Horse championships for two consecutive years (2014, as a four-year-old and 2015 as a five-year-old.)
AMERICAN HORSES STAND TALL Our breeders agree, North America breeders are produc- ing horses whose quality rivals those found in Europe. That improvement in quality can be seen in the increased partici- pation of American-bred horses in the Young Horse and Developing Horse classes and at the championships. “There are still many European-bred horses at the Cham-
pionships, but I’ve definitely noticed the percentage of Amer- ican-bred horses rising, especially in the last six years or so,” Anne says.
Judy adds that the quality of mares overall in American
programs is still not up to the standards of the best breeders in Europe, but she also notes that this can be easily overcome by continuing to cull and to breed only the best broodmares. Maggie feels the sheer size of our country is one of the biggest challenges facing breeders. Anne agrees, noting that, because she is based in New Mexico, she has to take her horses other places for them to be seen and sold. “Every year I send horses to Florida, which gets them exposure, and I also feel like the Young Horse program brings attention to my breeding program, especially when I have stallions partici- pating,” she says.
HIGH STANDARDS BRING CHALLENGES “The Young Horse program is raising the bar for young horse trainers and gives them something to aim for,” Anne says. “The program encourages riders to make their own horses. Now it makes sense for good riders to ride young horses because it allows them exposure—and we need more riders who can make their own upper level horses.” “The Young Horse program is an exciting way to think
about training horses and setting them up for the higher levels,” Richard adds. The progression of the levels mirrors the way the horse’s training should progress and gives trainers
somewhat of a timeline as well, in terms of the age of the horse. However, this timeline may be too fast paced for the majority of dressage horses, as it was structured for the best of the best: future FEI horses and international-caliber prospects. Judy concurs and cautions that we should always be care-
ful to keep our training and standards fair and ethical, noting one downfall of the Young Horse program is the potential temptation to push horses too hard or too fast. “I don’t want to see horses that are exploited for their outrageous move- ment or pushed beyond their years so they ultimately and forever suffer for it mentally and physically,” she says, adding that she’s already observed some young horse riding that she thought was detrimental to the horses. “We should not be chasing the glory of winning Young Horse classes if it includes rough training, training the young horse above its physical and mental capabilities or in any way exploiting the youngsters.” Anne also believes that Grand Prix potential should
always be more important than flash. “It can be tempting to breed for the pretty black horse with the fancy trot and the
Warmbloods Today 41
LEFT: Judy Yancey bred this 6-year- old reserve cham- pion Floretienne ridden by Emily Miles and owned by Leslie Water- man. BELOW: Rosalut NHF, bred by North Hill Farm, secured the 5-year- old championship with rider Carly Taylor-Smith. Last year they won the 4-year-old division as well.
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