HOLSTEINER VERBAND
NORTH AMERICAN BREEDING DISTRICT
ANNUAL APPROVALS
In the fall of each year, the Holsteiner Verband conducts an approvals tour at sites across the United States and Canada. The approvals events are gatherings of Holsteiner horses and studbook eligible Warmbloods and Thoroughbreds for evaluation by judges. Successful evaluations will enable stallions and mares to enter the breeding books of the Holsteiner Verband and thereafter produce fully registerable offspring with Holsteiner Verband papers. In addition, the sites also provide scoring and branding of foals and valuable feedback for breeders.
"How do I Participate?"
Enrolling in the approvals involves the completion of application forms, and joining as a member of the Holsteiner Verband. Horses must be pre-enrolled and all fees paid in advance. No entries can be accepted on the day of inspection.
Owners of non-Holsteiner mares and mares holding papers other than Jockey Club issued must inquire as to eligiblity of their mare by contacting the Holsteiner Verband in Germany (bergmann@holsteiner-verband.de) or the North American Breeding District office. Copies of papers may be submitted by fax or email to the office.
General Information
Participants must indicate on their entry forms which site they will attend, and will contact site hosts directly regarding available stabling.
All foals must be registered with the Holsteiner Verband. To register your foal, please visit our Forms page for instructions. All mares must hold original papers from the American Holsteiner Horse Association, the Holsteiner Verband, the Jockey Club, or from a warmblood registry that is recognized by the Holsteiner Verband.
Owners of stallions not registered by the AHHA or the Holsteiner Verband must contact the District office to determine eligibility.
The Process
The best way to experience an approvals is to attend one! Horses are evaluated in turn, allowing for conformational and gait assessment. Handlers present mares and stallions in hand and then at liberty. Foals show their gaits at liberty only.
Stallions are required to participate in additional testing, including freejumping and a short riding test adjusted for age. Following first approval, stallions are required to complete additional performance requirements as determined by the Holsteiner Verband in order to maintain their approval status.
The Purpose
The approvals event represents a day in the life of your Holsteiner horse. Scores given on that day are impressions of the horse made on that day. Scores do not necessarily preclude the horse's ability to perform to his or her potential, but they are a measure by which to maintain the direction of the Holsteiner Verband breeding goals.
THE APPROVALS ARE AN IMPORTANT AND NECESSARY PART OF THE HOLSTEINER VERBAND'S MISSION TO PRODUCE THE BEST HOLSTEINER HORSES IN AMERICA AND BEYOND.
2024 ENTRY DEADLINES
Stallions: August 11th
Mares & foals: August 31st
GENERAL TOUR INFORMATION
SITE HOST APPLICATIONS
Do you want to host a site?
Please contact the North American Breeding District office to discuss hosting a site or download the form. We are anxious to hear from you!
MARE ELIGIBILITY RULES
The Holsteiner Verband will inspect all warmblood breeds and Thoroughbred mares, to be eliglbe for either the Verband mare books or Holstein Global. Please visit here to find out more!
STALLION CANDIDATES
If you have a stallion candidate for the upcoming approvals, please contact the stallion office immediately to discuss eligibility. Deadline for entry is June 15th. The office will request that you provide a copy of the stallion's papers at the outset. The HV will conduct annual stallion inspections at up to 3 sites across the US each year. Stallion candidates must select one of these sites and all other entry procedures must be completed timely.
2024 SITE HOSTS
If you are interested in hosting an inspection and approvals site at your farm, please reach out to us on our contact page.
Additional sites may be added
Check back soon for an updated list!
PROCEDURES FOR FALL APPROVALS ENTRY
The annual approval tour is scheduled for mid-September with the exact inspection sites and dates published on our website as soon as possible.
Mares and foals must be registered in advance with the breeding department in Kiel and the Approval Entry form submitted. All required forms are available on the website Forms page.
Several administrative requirements must be fulfilled prior to a mare and a foal being presented for registration and inspection. We have summarized the most important steps in the side bar.
Membership
In order to get a horse inspected, you have to be an active member of Holsteiner Verband. Please download and submit the membership form.
Registration of Foals
Please download and complete a Breeding Certificate and send it to us via email. There is a separate Breeding Certificate form for Embryo Transfer. Please be sure to complete the Foal Report portion at the bottom of the forms and verify that the stallion owner has signed the covering portion. In the case of Embryo Transfer, please be sure that there is a signature from the Veterinarian. You will find some helpful instructions in completing the form in the Foal Form section below. If you would like to have your foal inspected, please complete the foal portion of the Approval Entry form and submit by July 30th.
After the Certificate of Birth has been received, we will send you the registration documents (diagram, documents for the DNA testing) from Germany via email. You will receive the microchip from our office of the North American Breeding District by postal service.
Mares
If you want to have your mare Approved, please download and complete the mare portion of the Approval Entry form and submit a copy of the mare’s pedigree papers by July 30th.
All completed forms can be sent via email to solterbeck@holsteiner-verband.de. If you have additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us in Germany or Patti Mahaffey, at the office of the North American Breeding District at Holsteiner@bellsouth.net .
If you are not able to bring your foal/yearling/mare to an inspection place, but you would like to register and approve your foal/yearling/mare, please contact us directly via email at solterbeck@holsteiner-verband.de
We Want To Help
If you have additional questions,
please do not hesitate to contact us in Germany at solterbeck@holsteiner-verband.de
The Holsteiner Verband is looking forward to a successful Approval tour in North America and hopes that the events will be enthusiastically received by breeders and owners.
Visit Our Forms Page to For All Forms and Additional Help
QUICK REFERENCE
Foals
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Send the completed membership form
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Complete the Breeding Certificate and send it to us via email (After the Certificate of Birth has been received, we will send you the registration documents (diagram, documents for the DNA testing) from Germany via email. You will receive the microchip from our office of the North American Breeding District by postal service.)
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Send the Approval Entry form by July 30th.
For the foal inspection you must bring the registration card! In addition, please note, that the mare has to be presented if she has not been Approved as a breeding mare with the Holsteiner Verband.
Mares
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Send the Approval Entry form by July 30th with the mare portion completed and submit a copy of the mare’s pedigree papers.
Please note that you must bring the original pedigree paper (Equine Pass or Certificate of Registration) to the inspection site.
Stallions
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Send the completed Approval Entry form by June 15th for Stallion Licensing and submit a copy of the stallion’s pedigree papers and performance data.
Please note that you must bring the original pedigree paper (Equine Pass or Certificate of Registration) to the inspection place.
NEW: MARE APPROVAL VIA VIDEO SUBMISSION
The Holsteiner Verband is now offering the ability to get your mare approved any time during the year utilizing video submissions.
What to know
Specific guidelines must be followed, starting with the submission of a copy of your mare's registration papers and lineage to determine eligibility.
Videos will be reviewed by the breeding director of the Holsteiner Verband, Stephan Haarhoff.
Video approvals are offered for registered mares only. To present a stallion, please contact our office for more information.
