The Holsteiner Horse

AMERICAN HOLSTEINER HORSE ASSOCIATION, INC.

The Holsteiner Horse: Over 700 Years of Performance

The Holsteiner horse originated in the Schleswig-Holstein region of Northern Germany and is the product of a systematic breeding program that originated over 700 years ago. Early breeding of the Holsteiner horse was conducted by the monasteries of the region, with special emphasis on producing an elegant riding and carriage horse that could also work the fields in the harsh climate of the area. Following the Reformation, breeding initiatives fell to the state and to the individual farmers. Great pride was taken in selecting the best quality mares and stallions and in keeping accurate breeding records. Numbers, called stamms or stems, were assigned to each new mare line and were passed down through the generations from mother to daughter. This practice is still in existence today.

Holsteiner breeders have always been blessed with visionaries who recognized the outstanding traits of the breed, but who were not afraid to bring in new bloodlines to adapt their horses to the changing needs of the market. The elegant driving horses of the 1800's were produced through infusions of Yorkshire Coach Horse and Cleveland Bay from the importation of stallions of those breeds. In response to the shift toward the breeding of horses especially suited to the Olympic disciplines of dressage, eventing and show jumping, the Holsteiner Verband brought in English Thoroughbred, Anglo Arab and Selle Francais stallions to modernize the Holsteiner type.

The modern Holsteiner is of medium frame and stands 16 to 17 hands, with a powerful hind leg, strong back and loin. His arched neck rises from a well angled shoulder to a small head with a large intelligent eye. This conformation adapts easily to "self carriage"- that expressive, elegant quality so essential in modern equestrian sport. When the Holsteiner begins to move his reputation as one of the world's finest sport horses is understood.

Ann Gribbons on Leonardo
(Photo: Anne Gribbons on Leonardo II by T. Miller)

The Holsteiner studbook is one of the smallest studbooks in Europe--approximately 6% of the total population. However, it has consistently produced some of the world's most successful international horses in all disciplines. At the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Holsteiners dominated the proceedings. In Dressage Granat won the individual Gold Medal and Madrigal the Silver. Albrant won the Silver Medal in Three Day Eventing, and Trophy earned a Silver in Show Jumping. The same year, Emil Jung won the World Championship in Combined Driving with a team of four Holsteiners.

That high performance quality has carried on into the present era. Since 1996, Calvaro 5, an eighteen hand gray gelding, has won the individual silver medal in show jumping at the Atlanta Olympics, and was voted Best Horse at the World Equestrian Games in 1998. Despite her Hanoverian brand, Olympic Gold Medallist Ratina Z is by the Holsteiner stallion Ramiro and her second dam, or grandmother, is a Holsteiner mare who won the prestigious Grand Prix of Aachen, Germany. Just recently, Landlady, an American bred mare, was short listed for the USET three day event team for the 1999 Pan American Games with veteran event rider Kerry Millikin aboard.

In North America, most of America's top show jumping riders have had at least one Holsteiner in the barn, including Anne Kursinski (Indeed, Canyon), Margie Goldstein Engle (Hidden Creek Alvaretto, Hidden Creek Christo), Hap Hansen (Roxett 7), Tim Grubb (Elan Coriana, Elan Lorestan), Susie Hutchison (America I), Nona Garson (Capital S), and Leslie Howard (Concerto).

Holsteiner stallions continue to produce some of America's top dressage horses, including Lifetime, United States Dressage Federation Horse of the Year at Second Level. In the Adult Amateur divisions where good temperament is of the utmost importance, both Contango, USDF Horse of the Year at Grand Prix, and Jagger, USDF Fourth Level Horse of the Year are by Holsteiner stallions.

In North America, the American Holsteiner Horse Association is dedicated to carrying out the breeding practices of the German Holsteiner Verband. The AHHA functions as an independent organization while maintaining an informal working relationship with the Verband. The Association conducts annual breeding stock inspections and only those horses which are of sufficient quality are eligible to produce registered offspring. In addition, the AHHA publishes an annual Stallion Roster, the Impulsion newsletter, an Association Website and manages the Holsteiner Awards Program.