If you compete in any discipline where the sport horse is the equine model of choice, then you already have a healthy respect for Dutch Warmbloods. Once again, the official registry of Dutch horses in North America, the KWPN-NA, has announced that Dutch horses proved their mettle with numerous grand prix wins in dressage and jumping. Dutch horses also enjoyed high rankings by the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH.) The WBFSH ranks both studbooks and individual horses in the three Olympic disciplines (jumping, dressage and eventing) and Dutch horses have been among the best since the world rankings were created.
Two of the most prominent Dutch Warmbloods are Beezie Madden’s Olympic team gold medal mount, Authentic, and the famous hunter, Popeye K. With such high profile winners, sport horse breeders are beginning to realize that they don’t need to look overseas for quality show horses.
“Dutch breeders carefully consider the best athletic bloodlines,” McCarthy states. “A horse like Authentic is the result of the analysis of what constitutes a good cross.”
For more about KWPN-NA, visit www.kwpn-na.org.
Yes, KWPN is a wonderful breed — but keep in mind that a lot of its ancestry is Oldenburg, Hanoverian, Trakehner, Thoroughbred, and Selle Francais, in addition to the traditional Dutch bloodlines. I’m wondering wether the best breeders aren’t moving in the direction of an overall European/North American Sporthorse type, rather than individual breeds… And perhaps that’s a good thing — keep inbreeding low…