Dansk Varmblod (Danish Warmblood) will be hosting its 31st National Stallion Show on 11-14 March 2010 in Herning. The National Stallion Show has become one of the largest equestrian events in Northern Europe and despite the global financial crisis this major attraction has maintained a number of visitors of approximately 53,000 during the last three years. For many of the very faithful visitors it is all about not missing out on the event which includes:
- Stallion licensing. About 100 stallions will take part in the licensing as well as many approved stallions will be competed in dressage and jumping up to the highest level.
- Young Horse Championship. National final for the best Danish five-year-old dressage and jumping horses.
- Spring Auction. Three-year-old colts, licensed as well as non-licensed, and qualified young riding horses on auction.
- Clinic on Thursday evening.
- Gala Show on Friday and Saturday evening.
- The Horse & Rider trade show and tack fair.
The collection of young stallions
The main focus at the National Stallion Show lies on the licensing of the three-year-old stallions. The collection of approximately 70 individuals consists of 50 stallions picked at the Danish pre-selections in November and January, and a number of imported stallions already approved in their home-studbooks.
The most pre-dominant sire of the colt collection is the jumping progenitor Heartbeat (KWPN by Heartbreaker) with seven sons qualified for Herning. The dressage sires Blue Hors Don Schufro (Oldenburg by Donnerhall) and his Danish bred son Blue Hors Don Romantic each have four sons forward to the licensing and together with their Blue Hors stable mates Hotline, Leredo, Romanov and Rush Hour they are responsible for a large part of the dressage colts.
New concept in the licensing
Last year the three-year-old dressage stallions were for the first time exempted from free jumping and were instead lunged before the judges in the warm-up arena. This year the lunging will take place in front of the audience in the show arena (Hall M) where both dressage and jumping stallions are shown in the lunge line as an incorporated part of the judging. Subsequently, the dressage stallions will be shown loose and the jumping stallions in free jumping
Young Horse Championship
419 horses competed during autumn 2009 to qualify for the championship for five-year-olds in Herning. Of these, 30 dressage horses and 30 jumpers eventually qualified for the final, some of them obtaining outstanding results at the regional qualifiers. The best dressage prospect scored 925 points out of 1000 and the two best jumping prospects achieved a score of 940 points, and thus, a superb quality of competition is expected.
The Auction: Saturday afternoon
Once again Dansk Varmblod looks forward to presenting an impressive collection of young qualified riding horses and licensed as well as non-licensed three-year-old stallions. Among the horses offered for sale are the two best jumpers qualified for the Young Hors Championships both with 940 points! By 17 February 2010 videos of all auction horses will be available on www.varmblod.dk. The auction will be transmitted via live streaming on the internet.
Gala Show: Friday and Saturday evening
Some say that the main attraction of the National Stallion Show is the licensing of the young stallions, which we would like to believe. Nevertheless, others would come to Herning primarily for the immaculate Gala Show. They come to be bewitched by the magical interaction between the artists and their creatures.
Those days where a couple of white spotlights could do the trick are far gone, and the show has developed to be colourful and innovative. A 100 square metres giant screen will help creating the right atmosphere and will improve the illustration of each performance.
The theme of the 2010 Gala Show is ”The Time Machine”, so practically anything could happen! As usual the show will have several surprises and celebrity guests.
2 x Andreas Special Performance: Thursday evening
Thursday evening we proudly present the two Danish top riders and multiple national champions, dressage rider Andres Helgstrand and jumping rider Andreas Schou. Last year they pulled off a great show as skilled entertainers in a breathtaking clinic. Let us see what they have up their sleeves this year!
Horse and Rider Trade Show and Tack Fair
This is without a doubt the largest equestrian trade show and tack fair in Scandinavia. 250 exhibitors’ booths will be covering 20,000 square metres with every type of equipment that a horse person can dream of wanting. A fashion show reveals the latest trends whilst there will be competitions and games for children.
Accreditation
Please fill in the online accreditation form at www.varmblod.dk/presse and submit to Dansk Varmblod. Your accreditation will provide access to the showground every day but we only have a limited number of free tickets for the Gala Shows, which will be distributed on a first come, first served basis.
Our press centre opens Wednesday afternoon and this is where you will receive your press kit. We look forward to welcoming you to the National Stallion Show in Herning.
Back to the 2010 DWB Licensing index