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The Bavarian Warmblood - Interview

The Bavarian Warmblood  - an interview with the director of the Bavarian Warmblood Sports Horse Federation, Wilfried Herkommer

By Tess Crebbin

While German Warmblood breeds like Westphalian, Holsteiner and Hannoverian are widely known across the world, Bavarian Warmbloods have only in the last ten years become a household name in other parts of the world outside Europe. But now, with the advent of an increasing number of Bavarian Sports horses on the international competition circuit, with the high prices they obtain at elite auctions (Lord Sinclair, for instance was most expensive sports horse in the world, selling for 2.8 Million German marks at the PSI Auction, until the arrival of Poetin), it is time to find out more about them, their stallions, and their state-run breeding program in rural Bavaria. For this, there is nobody better to talk to than Wilfried Herkommer, a former Grand Prix dressage rider and now director of the Bavarian Sports Horse Federation, who is also a very famous dressage judge.


Wilfried Herkommer, director of the Bavarian Sports Horse Breeding Association, gives Acajou a neckrub

Q: Since the advent of such horses as Lord Sinclair and, most recently, the great jumper Quartier Latin and his son Quentin, people in other parts of the world increasingly want to find out more about the Bavarian Warmblood breed. Can you enlighten us?

WH: There is no such thing, really. It all has to do with where a horse is born and what region brands it. Bavarian Warmblood horses are bred from the very best performance bloodlines of such studbooks as Holstein, Hannover, Oldenburg and Westphalia. In the old days of the heavy draft horses, there may have been a distinction, but now they are just elite performance horses like the other breeds in the nation.

Q: In Germany, there are state-run breeding programs for performance horses. The government owns the state-studs, employs specialists to look into the best breeding combinations, buys some of the best private stallions from auctions. What are the advantages of tax-funded horse breeding?


 Bavarian State-stallion Acajou with a state-employed groom at a horse show

WH: For one, you have the financial means available to get the top horses for your program and can make these, in turn, available to national and international breeders and buyers. Also, there are plenty of Ph.ds on staff, specialising in everything from the ideal combination of several generation pedigree horse blood-lines to veterinary affairs. The second big advantage is that you can afford to get the nation's best riders to show the horses. In Bavaria, for instance, we have 3 top jumping stallions now, Astis Pumante and his two sons, Arrivederci and Acajou. Thomas Muehlbaur is riding Astis while Uwe Schwanz shows Arrivederci and Acajou. Both these riders have collected plenty of medals in their career, and having them in the saddle affects how the horses perform in the ring. The best horse can only do so much without a top rider - so the ideal combination is top rider with top horse, and a state-funded breeding program can do this. Their show performance, in turn, builds breeder confidence.

Q: There is also another interesting young state stallion in Bavaria, Seven Up.

WH: Correct. Seven Up is also being shown by Uwe Schwanz. That horse was bought by the government at an elite auction because they wanted to make a Stakkato stallion available to their breeders. As you know, Stakkato has been leading the sports horse jumping index, unchallenged, for the past years. The combination Stakkato with Eiger  and Warkant on the dam line have resulted in a horse with a great jump and incredible movements as well. There is a long canter stride, a bouncy trot, and plenty of extension. The ideal combination for a jumper.


 Bavarian state stallion Seven Up (by Stakkato x Eiger I) with rider Uwe Schwanz at a horse show

Q: So much for the jumping side, what about Bavarian dressage sires?

WH: Take Rivero II, who wins everything in sight and is considered the Bavarian successor of Lord Sinclair. His two full brothers Rivero I and III are not far behind, and then there is, of course, the full sister, Rivera, herself an exceptional talent in movements and a great breeding as well as show prospect. So, you can see that in both disciplines, there is plenty of very good material in Bavarian breeding horses.


 Rivera, the full sister of Rivero II

Q: Bavaria is also a very important training center. For instance, there are only 3 places in Germany where one can take the test for the internationally coveted but purely German qualification of Master of Horsemanship: Muenster, Warendorf, and Munich. Can you tell us how a foreign rider would go about getting this qualification?

WH: You have to call our headquarters and show your papers. If you can show the equivalent of our "Pferdewirt", which is basically a Bachelor degree of Horse Management, then you can apply for the exams for the Master. You would then need to find a facility to train, which would take you in, and then come to us for the exams. There are written, oral and riding examinations. In riding, you have to compete at advanced medium level in both, dressage and jumping, at a special course set up for this exam.

Q: And how about obtaining the German riding gold medal, another highly sought after qualification among international riders?

WH: For jumping, which is what interests foreign riders most, for instance, you need to show 10 wins at S-level, equal to a Grade A show. We distinguish between 3 stages of S-level shows: S* - 1.40-1.45 meters, S** - 1.45 - 1.55 meters, and S *** 1.50 - 1.60 meters. You need at least one 2* win, the others can be one * wins but five of these must be won in Germany at national shows. International shows, wherever, can make up the other five.

Q: Thank you for enlightening us. In closing, one final question: a Bavarian Warmblood stallion who is widely talked about world-wide and has achieved near legendary status is La Silla's Quartier Latin.  You were on the stallion approval commission for that horse. What was he like?

WH: Exceptional.  Quartier is a born jumper, and one of the scopiest horses I have ever seen. He is also extremely good-looking, as you know, and he has great movements, which make him very good to ride as well. I think Quartier represents perfectly what we in Bavaria strive for: to breed exceptional horses not only of good, but of impeccable quality, which are also honest under the saddle, good looking and equipped with great movements as well. One should mention, however, that Quartier was never a government stallion: he was always in private ownership, first at Holzeder and now at La Silla.


 Wilfried Herkommer before the van of the Bavarian state-stud of Schwaiganger

All Photos Courtesy of BSL

Tess Crebbin - Freelance Journalist Media Release

 

29 March 2024
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