A Breeder’s Bucket List: BWP Hengstenkeuring By Christina Parker
T
presence that you want to see in a young stallion. Tis first day was really just our introduction to the horses,
he first time one watches the parade of young stallions
entering the arena at Azelhof for the BWP Hengstenkeur- ing (stallion selection), it’s a
veritable smorgasbord of fine horseflesh. I felt like a little kid in a candy shop, mentally picking out my favorites and which ones I would probably pocket and geld for a personal competition mount. At first it was hard to focus on the task at hand, which was to
study what bloodlines are up and coming and which ones are still tried and true in Europe. I had a hard time seeing past the fanfare of it all, having never been to such an event in the United States. Being a self-proclaimed breeder-in-training, I took the opportu- nity of going to the Hengstenkeuring to become acquainted with some of the successful breeders in Belgium and also to get a feel for what the BWP desires in their stallion candidates.
DAY ONE: How Long Does It Take to Jog 96 Stallions? All day. Te annual BWP Hengsten- keuring Phase Two takes place at Azelhof in Lier, Belgium. Phase One took place at Ghent and included the vetting, so the stallions being presented here were the three- and four-year- olds who passed Phase One. I was impressed by the turnout of the young stallions as well as how they reacted to the crowds
and noises. Te arena was set up just like I imagine it would be at any equestrian event and it was pretty packed for what an Ameri- can might consider a small breed event. Each horse and handler team was ushered into the ring from
a heated warmup arena connected to the main arena by a tented tunnel-type passage and was played into the ring with loud en- trance music. Te majority of the stallions handled the situation with maturity I don’t often see in our coming three-year-olds in the United States; whether this is conditional or inherited, I can’t begin to judge. I would imagine how the stallions handled the situation was factored into part of their overall score, as some mis- behaved, some were pictures of obedience and many just had that
Above left, top: Navarro van het Eelshof (Jappellop v/h Dauwhof x Poleander x Grannus), BWP. Bottom: A young stallion shows his age on Day One. Right, Top: New Star 111 (Untouched x Quilot x Ramiro), BWP. Bottom: Nesquick de la Luniere (Quidam de Revel II Z clone [Quidam de Revel] x Tinka’s Boy x For Pleasure), BWP
48 July/August 2016 Special BWP Section All photos in this section by Christina Parker
run like any regular keuring here at home. Te horses were jogged on a triangle and both their conformation and their walk were judged. Te following day would start with a hard surface jog for soundness and movement, another round of conformation judg- ing and the first phase of free jumping.
DAY TWO: The Boys Have Got Hops I was up before the sun on day two—which isn’t actually that hard to do in Lier since the sun didn’t rise until 8:00 a.m. I got to Azel- hof for the eight o’clock start of the hard surface test. I was looking forward to seeing the same stallions that I had watched the day before in the GGT (German Geo Textile) footing go on a straight surface of inlaid bricks. With this part of the test, the horses were
right next to the rail and we could see up close their movement and body tone. Many of the young stallions had been conditioned on the treadmill in preparation for the inspection and the correct conditioning and diet showed. Tey all looked great and I particu- larly enjoyed being able to observe their expressions. Tis was the day where I would really start to pick up on any
Belgian Warmblood Association
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