Rotermund Hired by German Oldenburg Verband, Hahn and Kanowski Leave

Breeding

Oldenburg

On 1 January 2026 Carsten Rotermund will take over the role of ‘special representative of the board’ at the Oldenburg Horse Breeding Association.

The previous managing director, Dr André Hahn, who had been managing the two Oldenburg associations – the Oldenburg Horse Breeders' Association (OL) and the Oldenburg International Show Jumping Horse Breeding Association (OS) – on an interim basis since April 2023 and officially from November 2023, is stepping down on 31 December 2025.

Rotermund

Rotermund, 50, a native of Warendorf, married and father of two children, was most recently managing director of the Westphalian Horse Stud Book Association in Münster-Handorf, which he had managed since November 2019. Prior to that, Rotermund held a management position at the German Equestrian Federation (FN) for many years.

"We are delighted to have gained Carsten Rotermund, an experienced and forward-looking personality, to lead our associations," explains the board of the Oldenburg Horse Breeding Association. "Rotermund stands for professional competence, integrity and a deep understanding of breeding and sport."

Hahn

Dr André Hahn took over the management during a challenging period and stabilised the association with great commitment during this time. "André Hahn has done an excellent job during what was an important transition period for us," said the board. ‘We would like to express our sincere thanks to him for this.’ Hahn would like to devote more time to his family in future and pursue a new career path.

André Hahn will introduce Carsten Rotermund to the business processes during a transition period and support him in getting up to speed. With the change at the top, the Oldenburg Horse Breeding Association is well positioned to continue its successful development and actively shape the future of horse breeding in Germany and internationally.

Kanowski

In a separate press release, the German Oldenburg Verband announced the following:

The Oldenburg Horse Breeders' Association (OL), the Oldenburg International Show Jumping Horse Breeding Association (OS) and Oldenburg Horse Marketing Ltd., as well as their long-standing managing director Mr Heiner Kanowski, will be going their separate ways in future.

The separation is due to differing views on the future direction of the associations and has been agreed amicably after 17 years of dedicated and outstanding service as managing director. The allegations originally made by the association have proven to be unfounded in terms of both legal and factual content.

Heiner Kanowski took over management responsibility in 2009 during a very difficult period of deficit and steered the organisation in a new direction. During this extremely successful period up to 2022, he worked closely with President Wilhelm Weerda, his deputy Bodo Willems and board members including Egon Wichmann to build up a highly capable and committed team of employees. The ‘big Oldenburg family’, as the team of honorary and full-time staff has been appreciatively described by many, has contributed to a continuous increase in the number of Oldenburg members, mares and foals, while at the same time the number of riding horses bred in Germany has declined by more than 20 per cent. During this time, the associations and their marketing company have generated six-figure euro profits year after year and built up substantial reserves for future challenges.

Mr Kanowski has represented the interests of the associations with great personal commitment. We would like to thank him for his many years of service and wish him all the best for this new chapter in his life.