Dressage-News

BROKEN ARROW, Oklahoma, May 28–Silver Creek Farm in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma has released details of the 70-day stallion performance test to begin Oct. 4 through Dec. 12.

The testing will be conducted according to the rules and regulations of the German Equestrian Federation (FN) and the German Federal Ministry (BMELV) and will be recognized by both the American Hanoverian Society (AHS) and the Hannoveraner Verband (HV) who share a reciprocal studbook. The reciprocity means an AHS stallion fully approved at this testing will have the same status with the HV in Germany. The AHS board said it is pleased that this testing will be managed by an established central testing station not owned, operated or financed by any registry entity.

The training leader will be Harald Hoffman, and the final three days of judging when the stallions are evaluated by test judges and test riders will take place Dec. 10-12. Although not yet an avenue for AHS performance requirements, Silver Creek will concurrently host a 30-day test from Nov. 13 to Dec. 12.

Enrollment cost for the 70-day test is $8,500. Registration opened May 1 and closes Sept. 15. The testing is being hosted and managed by Silver Creek. Inquiries should be directed to Silver Creek Farm owner Summer Stoffel at +1 918 830-7776 or summer@silvercreeksporthorses.com or farm manager Barbara Sikkink at +1 918 830-4262 or barbara@silvercreeksporthorses.com.

The majority of participating stallions are expected to be registered by a member of the new North American Sport Horse Federation (NASHF) but the testing will be open to sporthorse stallions papered by associations not affiliated with the NASHF.

AHS rules require that licensed Hanoverian registered stallions fulfill their performance requirements either through successful completion of the stallion performance test (which in this case means a final score of 90 points), or through compilation of required scores in either dressage, eventing or jumping. An AHS-licensed non-Hanoverian warmblood stallion would be required to attain a final score of 120 points or better; the passing score for an AHS licensed Thoroughbred stallion is 90 points. Full details can be found in AHS’s breeding rules which can be downloaded from www.hanoverian.org/membership/rules.shtml.

At this time, the AHS has two stallions that could complete their performance requirements through successful completion of this fall’s 70-day test.

They are five-year-old Shakespeare RSF (Sandro Hit-EM Acapella/Arrian), owned and bred by Maurine Swanson of Slatington, Penn. and six-year-old Delacroix-RH (Don Frederico-SPS Mijou/Matcho x), bred in Germany and owned by Amy Delacruz Fiedler of Sparks, Nevada. Shakespeare was successfully licensed at Hilltop Farm in 2007 and thus his two-year provisional license expires in 2009. Delacroix, who has already completed the 30-day test at Silver Creek, was the only stallion approved by AHS in 2008 at Starr Vaughn Equestrian Center’s West Coast licensing.

Any young stallions licensed by the AHS during this year’s inspections would be eligible to proceed onto the testing.