More than 55,000 visitors are expected for the 29th stallion show in Herning, when Danish Warmblood again plays host to one of the largest equestrian events in Northern Europe. Full houses are therefore expected not only for the stallion licensing
, but also for the special demonstrations, the auction and the world famous Gala Shows that form such an important part of this occasion.
The programme for the Stallion Show will include:
Licensing of three year old colts and older stallions. Many fully licensed stallions will also be shown in dressage and jumping competitions up to the highest level.
Danish Young Horse Championship, which is the final for the best five year old dressage and jumping horses in Denmark.
Auction of three year old colts (both licensed and non-licensed) and young riding horses.
Gala Shows on Friday and Saturday (the Saturday evening one is already sold out).
The Horse & Rider trade show and tack fair
Three different world class special events on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings.
Stallion licensing
This year 46 young colts have been selected by the Breeding Committee at the pre-selections around Denmark. Furthermore, 17 colts that have already been successful at licensings in other countries will be presented for approval at Herning including 8 Oldenburgs (amongst them the grading champion Sieger-Hit), three Hanoverians and three Holsteiners. ‘The quality in general is very high’ says the Head of the breeding committee Poul Graugaard ‘and the selected colts meet the highest demands in conformation, paces and athleticism’ he adds.
An analysis of the pedigrees of the three year olds shows that the group is made up of approximately 75% dressage and 25% jumping bloodlines and the new design of this year’s catalogue reflects this, as the colts are divided into separate groups for dressage and jumping. In the free jumping section, the dressage colts will therefore not be judged on the height of the fences but on their attitude. However, the colts with jumping bloodlines will be tested on height and style because of their breeding.
Special evening performances
Thursday 13 March: The Devil’s Horsemen In 2007 The Devil’s Horsemen played to fully packed houses in their first appearance at Herning. Their world class stunt show was so breathtaking that we just had to see them again. The Devil’s Horsemen are based in England where they train their 200 stunt horses to perform in films worldwide. In Herning they will show a selection of 20 horses performing in a variety of exciting roles.
Friday 14 March: Anky van Grunsven Winner of the WEG Freestyle in Aachen in 2006, Anky also recently won the World Cup Qualifier at Olympia Horseshow in London with her new freestyle. Anky has been at the top of international dressage for two decades and she and her trainer/husband Sjef Janssen have developed some of the most controversial but successful training methods in the world. At this clinic the audience will be able to see for themselves what is involved and then make up their own minds.
Saturday 15 March: Jean-François Pignon The incredible horseman Jean-François Pignon is now almost a regular at Herning where his magical performances are always received with the greatest applause. Pignon will show his own horses in freestyle dressage and he will also attempt to train an unschooled horse that is unknown to him. The busy Frenchman will also take part in both of the Gala Shows.
The Auction: afternoon of Saturday 15 March
At present 26 young colts are registered to take part in the Auction alongside 5 young riding horses aged 4-5 years. The selection committee are particularly proud of these young riding horses which they describe as having exceptional quality. A total number of 40 horses are expected to enter the auction by the time the catalogue closed and by 10 February 2008 videos of all auction horses will be available on www.varmblod.dk/auktion.
Young horse championship
423 horses competed during the autumn 2007 to qualify for the championship for five-year-olds in Herning. Of these, 31 dressage horse and 30 jumpers eventually qualified for the final, some of them obtaining outstanding results at the regional qualifiers. The best dressage prospect scored 910 points out of 1000 and the best jumping horse made the impressive score of 965 points so a superb quality of competition is expected.
Horse and Rider trade show and tack fair
Without doubt this is the largest equestrian trade show and tack fair in Scandinavia. Yet again it will expand in size and its
16,000 square metres will be covered with every type of equipment that a horse person can dream of wanting.
Official Website: www.varmblod.dk
Back to the 2008 Danish Warmblood Licensing Index