I know that this is not important to most, but we do need a way to get on the same level playing field as Europe. We don’t have to mimic them, but we need to have a format that recognizes talent. We will get to the point when we are consistently producing international caliber horses and those horses will be going to other countries in greater numbers. When that happens, they need to have been produced from the highest quality standards in regards to performance testing of the stallions, approval of breeding stock, pedigree verification, etc. While this may not be important in our culture, it is VERY important in other cultures. I would like to see DNA testing and microchips required to help prevent the paper shuffle that is such a problem in our country.
The current Young Jumpers program does not recognize the potential talent as they do not offer a score for scope/technique/suitability. Sure, the most talented horse could win, but you could also have a horse win that is scoped out at that level or has a style that while it gets the job done it is not a style that you want to continue in a breeding program. They require pedigree documentation for age verification, but there is no recognition for the breeders of these horses.
We have no system of recognizing breeding programs at all. We need a means to track how our mare families are producing. When a breeding program is successful, it needs to be recognized at the national level. The mares need to be recognized. Some of the registries do this for their breeders, but we need to see this recognition on the USEF/National level. It becomes so difficult because of the trends of renaming horses and breeders often lose track of their horses, but if we can start offering incentives for keeping the original paperwork with the horse and completing the paperwork appropriately when applying for a USEF number, then maybe we can start to shift the mentality.
Another aspect is that the top riders are not always the best judge of young horses or the experts in young horse development. I understand the appeal of having a “name” participating in a young horse program, but it is far more important to have people who are experts in the field of young horses for the international platform specifically. Don’t have dressage judges/handlers for jumper prospect classes. There is a difference between a dressage prospect and a jumper prospect. Also, it is an art handling a horse in a jump chute to present him to the best of his ability. We have access to several experts who could appropriately train handlers such as Janko van de Lageweg who handles for the NA KWPN tour yearly and Harald Hoffmann who is the training director for the stallion test in NA, prepares stallions for keurings, and is a licensed judge in Germany. There are others.
