The first day of the Holsteiner young stallion licensing is now over. Today, Thursday, 47 promising young stallions completed the first of two free-jumping sessions as well as the pavement test. And they did so with flying colours.
“The new concept, whereby the stallions run freely into the jumping line, was long overdue and worked very well. This is primarily down to the free jumping team led by Alexandra Bitter, who once again did a fantastic job today,” said licensing commissioner Horst-Klaus Heleine. “It was a pleasure to watch the stallions; we were presented with an excellent crop of horses of which the breeders can be very proud,” Heleine continued. However, this had not come as a major surprise, as the outstanding quality had already become apparent during the preliminary selections.
Tomorrow, Friday, at 8.30 am, the day will begin with the second free-jumping session, which will also count towards the licensing decisions. Things will get exciting again at 6.30 pm, when the commission, led by breeding director Stephan Haarhoff, will announce the licensing verdicts. “We’re drawing an absolutely positive conclusion after the first day and hope that the stallions can confirm the performances they’ve shown tomorrow,” says Horst-Klaus Heleine, looking forward to the second day of the event.
Following the licensing, the big breeders’ party will take place in the event hall – here, the collective ‘everso’, known from Aachen’s Media Night, will provide live music, featuring current chart hits as well as cult classics, all given a fresh twist and reinterpreted. On Saturday from 11.00 am, the winning stallion will be announced in the festive Fritz-Thiedemann-Halle. Afterwards, the two-and-a-half-year-olds available for sale, as well as the riding horses – which will have been presented live to the audience on Friday at 4.30 pm – will change hands via the auction.
Last-minute visitors will be in for a treat, as there are still a few tickets left for the Holsteiner Licensing in the Christmas Edition available at the box office in Elmshorn. Incidentally, a visit to the association’s grounds is also well worth it on Sunday, 17 December: at the Holsteiner Breeders’ Brunch organised by Hengsthaltungs GmbH, the younger stallions will be showcased in a presentation under training conditions from 10.30 am.
Stallion lot and riding horse collection
Photos: Janne Bugtrup
