The Royal Dutch Sport Horse Studbook in North America (KWPN-NA), the continent’s premier warmblood registry, welcomes sport horse enthusiasts to join in events and festivities during their upcoming annual meeting to be held March 14 – 16, 2013 at Hassler Dressage at Riveredge in Chesapeake City, Md.
The KWPN is one of the largest sport horse registries in the world, and has consistently been ranked the number one studbook for both jumping and dressage by the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH). In 1983, the Dutch Warmblood Studbook in North America was established as the North American Department of the Royal Warmblood Studbook of the Netherlands (KWPN) in order to promote breeding and enjoyment of the KWPN horse in the United States and Canada. The highlight of each year is the KWPN-NA annual meeting, where members from across the continent have a unique opportunity to come together to support and celebrate some of the world’s best equine athletes.
“Our annual meeting is an important way for our organization to provide new information and education for our members, and to get to know the breeders and members on a personal basis,” said Willy Arts, Chair of the KWPN-NA Board of Directors. “For members, it’s a terrific opportunity to receive education, share knowledge, and interact with other breeders, obtaining ideas and information to take back and use in their own breeding programs.”
Hosted by Scott and Susanne Hassler at the fabulous Riveredge facility in Maryland, the 2013 KWPN-NA annual meeting will have exciting features for not only breeders, but also riders, breed fans, and the general public. “We are so excited to host the KWPN-NA annual meeting this year,” noted Scott Hassler. “The clinics and educational sessions are a great opportunity to bring the breeders, owners, and trainers together to benefit breeding programs and the quality of training of young horses. We invite everyone to join us for what will be a great weekend.”
Festivities kick off on Thursday evening, March 14th with a welcome reception at the host hotel followed by a full day of lectures, touring, exhibitions, and demonstrations on Friday. Attendees will participate in a special behind-the-scenes tour of a Select Breeder Services (SBS) Clinic, the largest provider of frozen semen services in the world. Also featured will be lectures from Dr. Paul Loomis and his staff regarding technological and scientific advances in equestrian breeding; Dr. David Scofield will speak to health issues associated with broodmare management; and nutrition experts will discuss the latest scientific advances in diet for mares and foals, young developing horses, and competition mounts. In the afternoon, jumping horses take center stage as Bart Henstra (head of the North American KWPN Jury) will show footage of top jumping stallions from the 2013 KWPN Stallion Show and discuss pedigrees and jumping technique. Then, live jumpers will show off their talents both in hand and under saddle in the main arena at Riveredge as Henstra leads the audience through a conformation and technique clinic showcasing a group of well-bred KWPN jumping horses of a variety of ages, including a special presentation of a jumper mare and several of her offspring by different stallions in order to interactively discuss breeding decisions and direction.
ADVERTISEMENT
Saturday, March 16th will get down to business as the morning starts with an open member meeting led by the KWPN-NA Board of Directors, who will discuss the current direction and strategic initiatives of the organization for 2013, soliciting ideas and feedback from the membership. This meeting will be followed by an impressive line-up of speakers, starting with Dr. Deborah Harrison, who will give a report and discuss news from the latest AAEP convention. Faith Fessenden will host an interactive workshop where attendees will work together to come up with breeding ideas and solutions, followed by a discussion of the traits of successful KWPN eventing horses as well as new markets for breeders. The meeting’s keynote speaker and host, Scott Hassler, will share his observations as the USEF National Young Horse Dressage Coach. He will also discuss the North American studbooks and what they are producing, and the direction breeders should take in order to produce top horses not only for North America, but also the world. Bart Henstra will return for a second presentation, this time focusing on dressage, and showing footage of the top dressage stallions from the 2013 KWPN Stallion Show. This will be followed by a discussion of pedigrees, technique, and the future of the KWPN dressage horse.
Returning to the beautiful Riveredge indoor arena, Scott Hassler will lead short clinics with young dressage horses bred throughout North America, discussing their development and future. Throughout the afternoon, KWPN dressage horses will also be exhibited in-hand and at liberty for both conformation and movement discussions surrounding pedigrees and desirable traits, as well as another special presentation of a well-bred dressage mare and her off-spring from different stallions. Wrapping up the demonstrations will be a exceptional freestyle exhibition and special awards presentation for a very influential dressage horse in North America and the world. Finally, on Saturday evening, the KWPN-NA members will celebrate the close of the 2013 annual meeting with a festive dinner and awards banquet which promises good food, fun, and special awards honoring elite achievements.
“It’s been more than a dozen years since our annual meeting was held in the northeastern U.S., and I’m thrilled that it’s returning to the region to be hosted by the Hasslers,” noted Dan Ruediger, Vice Chair of the KWPN-NA Board of Directors. “Whether you’re a KWPN-NA member or just a fan of horse sports, join us at this beautiful facility to take advantage of our dynamic agenda full of education, learn from industry experts, and see a wealth of exciting equine ‘eye candy’.”
Pre-registration at discounted rates for the entire 2013 KWPN-NA annual meeting and/or individual events is available for both organization members and the general public until February 25th. Special room rates are offered at the host hotel, the Hilton Homewood Suites in Newark, DE; but hurry – reservations close February 12th. For more information, contact the KWPN-NA office, http://kwpn-na.org/ or by phone (541) 459-3232.
