A very special collection of horses is to be sold at a public sale in Jenhorst near Hanover, Germany on September 10. "All but three of my personal horses are in the sale, along with some very exciting lots owned by clients," said Heineking-Schütte, who founded her trademark „Germanhorseonnection“ thirteen years ago.
The dressage lineup includes direct offspring of sought after performance sires such as De Niro, Escolar, Grey Flanell, Rotspon, Millenium and Golden West. The majority of the mares in foal have State Premium status and nearly all the youngsters have been awarded premium titles at their l foainspections. Bids will be accepted over the phone or can be placed in writing beforehand by buyers who are unable to attend or wish to avoid the inevitable bidding wars. All horses on offer are welcome to remain in livery or training at the yard once sold.
„The veterinary and service side of the operation has grown to the point where I now have six employees so I no longer have the time to breed the numbers I used to,“ explains the veterinarian who discontinued competing when she took over her parents farm set amidst Germany's most prolific sporthorse regions Oldenburg, Westfalia and Hanover.
The team now also includes two young and skilled riders: German Betina Nunnenkamp and Australian-born Lauren Fritsch who help with the training and teaching program, which is now the main business focus for Heineking-Schütte as this is where her passion lies and she sees an increasing in demand in kinder, correct and fair training.
One other aspect that is special about this sale is the way the horses are prepared and presented: An abundance of video material is available through Kareen's vimeo and youtube channels. All horses may be viewed in person before the sale, the more advanced horses may also be tried privately.
"Time will not allow for a presentation under saddle on the day of the sale and we also don't like the idea of putting the young or in foal mares through the stress of performing in front of a large audience or travelling to a far away venue, hence we chose a yard sale to execute our stud reduction," said Heineking-Schütte.
Some of the horses are still very green yet they all hack out and learn about traffic, cross training and riding out in groups. Youngsters and breeding stock are regularly handled, often transported from field to field with trailer instead of letting them sit untouched in one field all summer and then leaving them stabled in winter like what happens at a great number of other breeding farms.
"At our yard we turn out year round and our clients really appreciate having their horses live out naturally in groups yet still receive TLC and handling on a regular basis. The horses tend to be at ease with any kind of human interaction and make fantastic and durable sporthorses, many of which have gone on to international careers in all three Olympic disciplines,“ the 42 year old elaborates on her philosophy. "Even breeding stallions are kept in the same way at our place, they are allowed first and foremost to be horses,“ she added proudly.
Buyers are also offered four weeks of free livery at the yard after the sale in order to allow for new livery and shipping arrangements to be made without presssure. Foals are then able to be weaned in their familiar environment one by one and have a smooth transition to their new homes in the case their owners wish to take them to their new home right away.
"We're very concerned to find the right owner for each horse and provide a perfect setup for each buyer. Therefore anyone who is interested is more than welcome to come and meet our horses in person beforehand and talk to us prior to the sale," said rider Lauren Fritsch, who is in the process of setting up her own dressage training business nearby: "The way we work is different and I believe the horses we offer are living proof of that."
The full collection and digital catalog can be found here
Venue for 10 September 2016 Yard Reduction:
Jenhorst 42
31604 Raddestorf
Germany>
For more information, visit www.germanhorseconnection.com
Photos © Thoms Lehmann - Marei Buckow - Kareen Heineking