German Breeding Values 2018 - on The Horse Magazine

Escolar, one of the two top-ranked Young Horse Sires.

The Horse Magazine has posted their annual analysis of the German Breeding Values. Author and publisher Chris Hector gives an in-depth analysis, including the new division into two sections: one for the sires of young horse stars, and one for sires of "competitors in open competition," i.e. sires of Grand Prix horses. He states that the Germans "are now recognizing two streams within their dressage population, and why not?" And yet in his article he has strong reservations about the sires of horses who do well only in young horse competitions. 

In the last ten years or more, Germany's love of flashy movement in young horses has only grown. Weanlings with flashy trots sell well, and are scored well in young horse competitions. But the big trot may not be the best indicator of a young horse's ability to move on to the "big sport" later on. There is some concern about this focus on flashy movement in foals and youngsters that is reminiscent of North American concerns about the judging of in-hand classes. We have a way of morphing young horse classes into something that is an end in itself, rather than an indicator of future performance ability - and apparently that is a German tendency also.

Dividing the sire rankings may be a way of allowing the appreciation - and sales - of flashy youngsters, while separating their sires from sires of performance horses.

In this article, Chris Hector analyses the effect of this change on the rankings - the good and bad. He then goes on to discuss some of the ranking stallions, from Follow Me (Fürstenball / Donnerschwee) and Escolar (Estobar / Fürst Piccolo), tied for first at 169, on down.

Read the full analysis on HorseMagazine.com - click here.