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Introduction.

The Hanoverian is a Warmblood horse which is bred to excel in the equestrian disciplines of jumping, dressage, eventing, and driving.

The Hanoverian horse originated with the establishment of the State Stud of Lower Saxony at Celle, Germany in 1735. Refining stallions, primarily Thoroughbreds, were crossed with domestic mares to improve the quality of horses for cavalry and farming. Through the years the Hanoverian breeding program has adapted to the need for a more athletic riding horses, introducing other breeds as appropriate. The result is the modern Hanoverian horse.

There can be no question that today the Hanoverian horse represents one of the most prominent breeds for riding horses in the world. The stud-book has close to 19,000 active brood mares and 450 approved breeding stallions and covers the largest homogeneous breeding area in Europe. Hanoverians are currently found on all five continents.

The Hanoverian horse represents the most important breed of sport horses in the world. Olympic as well as World champions and the largest number of World Cup winners are from the Hanoverian breeding area. A huge number of top competition horses have the H brand - the Hanoverian trade mark - on their back left side, which takes its inspiration from the crossed horse heads at the gable of the breeding farms in Lower Saxony. But not only top riders benefit from Hanoverian Horses. The Horses with the "H"-Brand also delight pleasure riders in many countries throughout the world.

History.

The Hanoverian's origin is the Kingdom of Hanover, now the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany.

The State Stud was established at Celle in 1735, and the Hanoverian Studbook was officially begun in 1888. Refining stallions, primarily Thoroughbreds were crossed with domestic mares to improve the quality of horses for cavalry and farming. Through the years the breeding program has adapted to the need for a more athletic riding horse, introducing other breeds as appropriate. The result is the modern Hanoverian horse. The breed retains the substantial bone, sturdiness and stamina of its heritage: nearly 300 years ago the Hanoverian was bred to serve as a robust carriage and military horse. Since the end of World War II, the breeding goal has been exclusively to produce a versatile performance horse. Breeding stock is carefully selected for correct conformation, athletic ability and inner qualities such as disposition and trainability.

The Hanoverian has natural impulsion and light and elastic gaits characterized by a ground-covering walk, a floating trot and a round, rhythmic canter. The success of Hanoverian horses in competition proves the soundness of this breeding program - 13 medals in the 1992 Olympics and four consecutive World Breeding Championships as well as five gold, one silver and two bronze medals in dressage and show jumping at the 1996 Olympics. In 1998, the Hanoverian breed was awarded the World Breeding Championship in both Dressage and Show Jumping, a first ever for any breed and the fifth consecutive year for show jumping.

Foundation.

The usual process is that breeders of common interests and breeding aims come together and form an association, start a stud-book and establish rules and regulations concerning registration.

That is, however, not the way it happened in Hanover. There, it all started with the foundation of the State Stud at Celle in 1735. Since this time the State stud has kept careful records of pedigrees of their stallions and the mares bred to them, so when in 1888 the Royal Agricultural Society officially established the "Hanoverian Warmblood Stud-book" it had already an excellent basis which could be build upon.

The "Verband" came into being in 1922 through the unification of 54 local breeding clubs, which existed in Hanover at the same time, and of which some were more than 50 years old. Combined, they accounted for more than 10,560 breeders. The idea was not so much to rob these clubs of their independence and their individual, character but rather to co-ordinate their activities for the good of all.

These local clubs, (that still exist today and have increased in number) are the main pillars of the Verband. They determine to a great degree the choice of state stallions sent to their district and they also organize the annual mare grading shows. The constitution of the Verband provides that in Lower Saxony each individual member must also belong to one of 7 district societies, which in most cases cover the area of a country or similar governmental unit.

The American Hanoverian Society (AHS) is the Registry for Hanoverians in North America, and it maintains a close relationship with the German Registry known as the Verband hannoverscher Warmblutzuechter (VhW).

The goal of the Hanoverian breeding program is to produce a noble horse with a cooperative temperament, elastic gaits, correct conformation, and outstanding ability in international equestrian disciplines.

Stallions must pass an inspection for conformation, movement, and jumping ability to get a temporary breeding license. They then undergo at least 100 days of performance testing where their tractability, rideability, and jumping ability are evaluated. Those who receive a score of 90 or better earn a final breeding approval.

Mare inspections take place at age 2 1/2 or older. They are evaluated for type, conformation and gaits. Mares are placed in the various sections of the Studbook based on both their overall scores and their dam's Studbook placement. The very best mares can earn the title of Elite Mare upon successfully completing the Mare Performance Test.

Type.

The Hanoverian is a Sport Horse type. It stands 15.2 to 17.1 HH. It has a plain head, long strong neck and powerful body with deep girth and strong hindquarters. Hanoverians have powerful action, are long striding, and make excellent jumpers. They also are ideal general riding horses.

They are known to be willing, bold, sensible and intelligent.
The American Hanoverian Society (AHS) is the Registry for Hanoverians in North America, and it maintains a close relationship with the German Registry known as the Verband hannoverscher Warmblutzuechter (VhW).

Colors.

The Hanoverian horse can be any solid color. They are usually chestnut, brown, or bay with black.