I will be visiting Basel, Switzerland for work in April '10.
Is is possible to visit the Hanovarian Verband? Not to buy any horses, unfortunately…lol…but just to see it?
I have a Hanovarian and would love to visit his original home. Do they allow tourists?
Any other tourist suggestions? 
The Elite Auktion is on April 9 & 10 next year in Verden. The horses arrive several weeks ahead of that date, and people are usually welcome to stop by and visit pretty much any time.
Not sure how that is during non- auktion times.
Your best bet is to call ahead, or send them an e-mail, since it’s probably about an 10 hour drive for you.
Instead of driving by car, you might as well consider the train.
The fast ICE travels from Basel to Hanover. In Hanover you change the train that directly brings you to Verden. Depending on the connection: Approx. 7 hours.
You can then either walk to the Verband (done that – approx 20 min.) or take a cab. If you book a room at http://www.niedersachsenhof-verden.de/ you just cross the road for visiting the Verband. Or walk down the road for visiting the Verband’s riding school. Or walk 20 min again to the center of Verden with plenty of shops and good food.
I don’t think ‘Der Verband’ is a worthy destination, but the auction lot will certainly be worth a trip or, the stallions in Celle.
If you have an original import, you migt be able to contact the breeder and visit the farm tho.
more than you ever wanted to know about Hannoverians
My sister lives in Hannover, so I’ve been to visit the state stud a few times. It is outside of Hannover in a small town called Adelheidsdorf. This is where Weltmeyer, World Cup, etc. all live. They also do stallion testing there, so they have an outdoor course and jumping area. Herr Winter was in charge there, he might still be. He was very nice and just pretty much left me alone to walk around and see all the horses. There is an indoor arena where they work the horses most of the time, and there’s a place to sit and watch. The place is very nondescript from the parking area. It just looks like any other boarding facility, no big signs or anything. If anyone asked me, I just said I was a tourist there to see the stallions and no one bothered me.
Verden is a big horse show grounds. The stallions don’t live there. There is a museum of the horse in Verden that is fun to go through, though. They have a mechanical horse wearing a side saddle which was a blast to ride.
Celle is where they have the Hengstparade every fall. It’s just down the road from Adelheidsdorf. There is a show grounds there, very brick and cavalry looking, but again, no horses are boarded there. However, Celle is a great place to visit if you’re in Adelheidsdorf. It is a small medieval village that was never bombed in WWII, so all the old buildings are intact. There’s a castle nearby the village where you’ll find the famous statue of the rearing Hannoverian.
I have so many fond memories of visiting that area. Just acres of flat farmland, small breeding operations, and those amazing stallions.
If it dosen’t have to be Hannoverians, the bavarian state stud is a lot closer. www.schwaiganger.bayern.de
And I am sure there is horse related stuff to do around Basel…
It’s just so far from there to Hannover, Celle or Verden.
This looks like a bigger trainings center near Basel
www.reitsportzentrum-lyss.ch
There are a bunch of listings for training and breeding farms here:
http://www.schweiz24.ch/index.php?src=bc_suche&search=1&wort=reitschulen+in+basel&branche=433&ort=
Hope you have a great time!!
I visited the Hannoverian verband in 1997 as part of a tour of German stud farms organized by ISR/Oldenburg NA. We had a blast and learned alot.
When you go to Verden, take time to visit the great tack store in town. Sorry I forget the name - perhaps someone on COTH will know.
Trip Highlight: Our very first visit was at the Holsteiner verband. Our group was star struck and thrilled to be there. After we walked through one of the barns, we were directed into the adjacent indoor ring. We were told to stand quietly along the side, which we did, very obediently.
A handler brought in the stallion Alcatraz. We oooed and aahhhed as he was led around in front of us, and we heard all about his bloodlines. He was then turned loose, and as his handler urged him on, we watched Alcatraz trot and canter, wheel and play. Around the indoor he went. Beautiful !
And then he galloped out the door.
And onto the huge track outside of the barns.
We all stood perfectly still and some of us
whispered “Was he supposed to do that ??”
His handler ran after him, and we couldn’t help but peek outside to see how would they catch this stallion.
With a mare, of course.
After a few minutes they caught him, and brought him back in.
Someone commented, “Gee, just like home.”
When you go to Verden, take time to visit the great tack store in town. Sorry I forget the name - perhaps someone on COTH will know.
Sporthaus Verden…??
[QUOTE=Equi88;4558966]
Sporthaus Verden…??[/QUOTE]
That’s the one. They have some killer prices on some stuff. Got a Kentucky dressage coat for like $225.
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