similarities in sire or dam lines: movement, how the neck and shoulders meet, who was toed in, who was slightly toed out, etc. Tis section of the inspection also gave the onlookers a chance to see how the stallions tracked in a straight line, which was hard to do on the first day on the oval and from the stands. After a short break, the stands filled and the free jumping
commenced. Te dressage candidates went through first as they were not required to jump as high as the show jumping candidates (phase one of free jumping was approximately 1.15 meters*). Te most significant difference I saw in the young stal- lions bred in Belgium, albeit a subtle difference to an untrained eye, was how many still had that “foundation” look to them. Tey still were a little bit heavier through the limbs and the midsection without being bulky, a throwback to a traditional Belgian aesthetic. I am so used to seeing more and more blood and longer legs here in the U.S. But these horses demonstrated that the “timeless,” as I call it, look of the BWP can still be ath- letic and competitive.
DAY THREE: May the Odds and Euros Be in Your Favor Te third and final day marked the completion of the first round of the inspection. Te under-saddle portion is held in March of the same year. On this final day the stallions were to be put through the jump chute again, however they would have only three or four go-rounds and the final jump was approximately 1.30 meters* in height. Some of the young stallions appeared tired, which was not surprising after what was probably the most grueling two days of their young lives. Others showed even more impressive style as the jump went up, perhaps solidifying their selection into the next round. Te results were then tallied and
As soon as the free jumping wrapped
up, the arena was transformed into a stage for the stallion auction. Several of the stallions had been pre-nominated to sell in the auction. If your stallion had not been selected, he still had to remain on the auction block. Te top seller, hav- ing been selected for round two, sold for 64,000 euros. Te three days concluded with a young stallion show, which
drew a huge crowd. Te show consisted of more than 150 ap- proved stallions competing in four age groups, four- through seven-year-olds, from different registries in Belgium. Te only other time I see a full house like this competition is at an A-rated USEF show on Grand Prix day. It was quite impressive and proved that, for so many people in Belgium, breeding is more than just a passion, it is a lifestyle that they eat, sleep and breathe. It would be fantastic if we could get more people here in the U.S. excited about breeding quality horses, and even better if someday awareness in the U.S. is raised to the level of turnout I saw at Lier. Te Hengstenkeuring isn’t all inspection all the time--there
announced: 47 of the original 96 were selected to move on to the under-saddle round in March. Of the 96, 58 were BWP Foal Book stallions and 38 were from other studbooks. Final selection into the studbook will be announced then on a provisional basis, as the stallions needed to complete performance requirements in the Young Horse cycles for two years.
Above, left: Nero C (Clarence C x Heartbreaker x Fedor), BWP. Right, top: Enjoying a little champagne while spectating the auction. Bottom: Nibali van het Eikenhof (Gemini XX clone [Gem Twist] x Toulon x Kannan), BWP
are vendor booths and a couple restaurants at Azelhof that pro- vided a great menu and ample libation throughout the day. Tere were awards ceremonies, honoring stallions with their Elite (Spy Coast Farm’s Chaqui Z and Venturo 9) and Ambassador sta- tuses; our very own BWP/NAD breeder Allyn McCracken was awarded for her contributions to the registry and studbook in both the U.S. and Belgium. Tere is plenty of op- portunity to in- troduce yourself to local breeders, make connec- tions for buying breedings or just sit back and enjoy watching (and conduct a little bit of per- sonal judging). If you are planning on putting the BWP Hengstenkeuring on
your (horse) bucket list, it comes highly recommended from this breeder-in-training. Not only that, but it is to our benefit here in the U.S. to keep up to date with what European breeders are pro- ducing and what is being accepted into the studbook, so we can strive to be competitive on an international scale.
*Approximation, as we could not measure. Special BWP Section Warmbloods Today 49
Belgian Warmblood Association
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