APRIL 1996 BACK ISSUE
Part of Horse Previews Magazine website. Posted on 4/1/96; 10:00:00 AM.
American Warmblood Registry
The American Warmblood is the quintessential sport horse. For centuries, selective breeding that a combination of "hot blood" (typically that of Thoroughbred) and the "cold blood" (typically draft horses) produces a horse that possesses beauty, elegance and spirit as well as stature, power, aestheticism and tractability. Besides athletic conformation, most American Warmbloods possess an agreeable disposition and fluid rounded gaits that enable them to excel in sport.American Warmbloods are rapidly gaining ground as the horse of choice in the demanding sport of 3 Day Eventing (encompassing dressage, cross-country and stadium jumping). Not for harsh demanding sports only, the American Warmblood has also proven to be competitive at the world class level in dressage. The American Warmblood possesses a calm willing attitude and muscle balanced combination (featuring a strong back and hind quarters). Typically, American Warmbloods come in all shapes, colors and sizes, but proudly boast an average height ranging between 16-18 hands.
History in America
The American Warmblood Registry was established in 1981. Since the American breeders do not have the requisite allegiance to a specific European country, they have rightly contended that all the European Warmbloods are highly intermingled and therefore do not necessarily represent distinct breeds, but rather various types of the Warmblood breed. In an interview, Meg Douglas-Hamilton, co-owner of Hamilton Farms in Massachusetts, commented,
"If you look at a Hanoverian, it could be a Hanoverian or a Westfalen or an Oldenberg, depending on where he was standing at stud. You see many of the same horses in the background of Swedish Warmbloods, Danish Warmbloods, Dutch Warmbloods, and French Warmbloods. The Germans, of course, had heavy infusions of French jumping stock. So, basically they're all trying to breed really good horses, and what label you put on the horse is, in a sense, irrelevant. I think it keeps the local and national pride going. It's a bit like having local football teams."
Out of a desire to combine all imports, the American Warmblood Registry has since registered not only European imports, but also their American offspring on an equal basis. Furthermore, science has advanced so rapidly that the shipment of semen presents few problems. This development led the AWR to pioneer the now standard procedures for registration of horses conceived via AI, be it through fresh cooled semen or frozen semen. The president of AWR also formulated the guidelines for registration of embryo transfer in 1979. Since then many registries have adopted the AWR rules for ET's as well as fresh and frozen semen.
The American Warmblood Registry can state unequivocally that the Warmblood horse has become an integral part of the American equestrian scene.
The Warmblood has proven to be a better and more consistent performer in competition other than racing. The American Warmblood has also proven to be a more reliable and even-tempered horse than any other in the high performance arena. The combination of a super athlete with kind and easy-going temperament is unbeatable both for the professional competitor as well as the amateur who gets to ride only on weekends.
The combining of all European Warmbloods into one American Warmblood Registry will help put us back on firm ground and save the Warmblood from being ruined by too many splinter groups trying to control small numbers of horses.
If you own a Warmblood, or are thinking of purchasing one, European import or American bred, you owe it to yourself to register the horse with us, and by so doing, preserve the history of the breed as well as furthering the breed on the North American Continent. We strive for excellence and feel that together we can achieve what the American breeder has done for the American Thoroughbred--the best in the world, today!
PO Box 15167
Tallahassee FL 32317-5167
Telephone: (904) 893-4089 * Fax (904) 893-8255
Reproduced by kind permission of the Warmblood News
