November 2004. Pete and I have just returned from the final four days of the 100-day Stallion Testing conducted by the Federation of North American Sport Horse Registries at Paxton Farms in Batavia, Ohio. A group of 19 stallions went through the 100-day test, with six in the short test and two in the pony test. The winner of this year's testing was Galeno Tyme, who broke the records for highest scores, achieving a 155.87 total index, with a dressage index of 144.54 and a jumping index of 152.19. What an impressive boy! I'll detail some of the highlights of his final tests below, but first I want to say a few things about the stallion test generally.

          The purpose of stallion tests is to identify stallions that possess the heritable traits that produce good riding horses. Internal characteristics such as temperament; character; rideability; and readiness, willingness, and capability to work, are assessed along with the more external qualities of conformation, movement, and jumping technique. Stallion tests have been conducted in Europe since the early 1800s, but in North America they have only been organized since 1986 when the ISR/Oldenburg NA held the first 100-day test. In the final three days of these tests, the stallions are judged by expert guest riders and judges in free jumping, basic gaits, rideability, jumping under saddle, and cross-country capabilities. Watching these final tests, one can't help being impressed--with the horses, first and foremost, but also with the test design, organization and execution, and with the people involved in this endeavor.

          Participating stallions range in age from 3-year-olds up to 8-year-olds and sometimes older. In the case of the 100-day participants, owners send the horses to the care of the training master (presently Helmut Schrandt) and his staff to be trained and tested for 100 days. Some of the younger horses come in having never been backed or only lightly started. Older horses are often seasoned campaigners with years of professional training.

          This age and training disparity is one of the challenges the test must deal with. Stallions five-years-old and older get a five-point handicap penalty to help level the field. The short test also helps address this situation. The short test allows horses with more training to come to the test for the last 30 days under the tutelage of their regular trainer. But the tests are not rigidly segregated by age. Older, more seasoned horses are frequent participants in the full 100-day testing, and, you also see 3-year-olds in the short test. In fact the highest score of the 2002 test was achieved by a 3-year-old in the short test--a horse named Raymeister, presented by owner/trainer Ken Borden, Jr. The short test is not the option of choice for some older horses because some breed registries have not approved this test for use in their procedures for licensing breeding stallions.

          This kind of flexibility in the test design is important in helping make the stallion testing more accessible to the American breeder. And it is important that the test continue to gain support from American breeders. This is no small concern. Sport horse breeders in this part of the world are relative newcomers. The problem we have is to establish a standard equal to that achieved by European breeders over hundreds of years, and to do this in spite of such organizational difficulties as our vast geographical distances and the fact that our approach to breeding horses sometimes differs significantly from the European model.

          The vast distances that separate breeders in North America make it hard for us to organize, discuss, look at each others' horses, train our eyes, and develop an understanding of the concepts that go into a meaningful standard. In this endeavor, generally, kudos go to those groups and individuals who are organizing and educating themselves for the advancement of our breeding programs. The Midwest Breeders Group and Scot Tolman's Dutch Breeders of North America (now WBNA) are two organizations that come to mind. Some registries are also doing a wonderful job on this front.

          As a member of the ISR/Oldenburg NA, I have been impressed with the "fit" of this organization to American breeding. Their goal is to gather and provide information to breeders about the mares and stallions they approve. Their inspections are, in my experience, unfailingly remarkable for the educational commentary provided by the judge. They are tactful and sensitive in their observations, but provide full explanations of the marks given each horse. They usually also discuss the normal range of scores they use in the multitude of horses they judge each year, and how a particular horse might vary from this "norm." They emphasize the importance of the information gathered when making decisions about which stallions to cross with which mares, and they answer countless questions from inspection participants and onlookers.

          This policy of openness is important not only in the service of educating breeders but, more fundamentally, in establishing trust. The issue of trust comes into play on several levels. Because American breeders understand the value of the European standard in sporthorse breeding, we are willing students of the European system. Many of our breed registries in this country are "daughter" institutions of the European societies, and, as such, remain under their close direction and rule. This student/teacher or child/parent relationship is a rewarding one. The friendships developed between Americans and Europeans in the service of breeding sporthorses should probably qualify us all for an international diplomacy award.

          But these types of unequal power relationships demand that the child or student eventually grow into equal power with the parent or teacher; otherwise the relationship has failed. As American breeders begin producing horses on a par with their European counterparts, some observers have complained that the European "fathers" are loathe to relinquish authority over our breeding programs. In part this is the natural reluctance of a father to see his daughter grow up. But it is also a stark reality that, as American breeders develop, they directly compete with European breeders for buyers. Up to now, American riders have constituted a significant market for European-bred horses. As the American breeding programs develop, one identifiable goal is surely to interest riders here and all over the world in American-bred horses.

          So, the issue of trust arises in instances in which our horses are judged by those in direct competition with us. Without trust there is a tendency to blame this factor when owners perceive their scores as too low. This is one of the reasons it is important to establish mechanisms for keeping the faith in our testing and our inspections. Because we don't want a rubber stamp either. We want meaningful standards that everyone can comprehend, and work to obtain. This means recognizing that standards themselves may be something we must educate ourselves to understand--hearing the standards stated or reading them is not synonymous with understanding all of what they imply. In terms of keeping faith with our teachers and coming to stand on our own feet as breeders of world-class horses, there can be no more effective course than education and communication.

          Again, I congratulate the people involved in the 100-Day Stallion Test for establishing an atmosphere of collegiality and an expectation that American Sport Horse breeding can compete with the best in the world. Certainly I am thinking here of the tireless efforts of Ekhard Brysch, Dr. Karsten Kuehl, and the staff of the ISR/Old NA, as well as the very generous hosts and staff of Paxton Farm. But I am mostly thinking of the stallion owners who sent horses to the testing. No one has their trust tested more.

          In part this is because of that "American thang" we do. While European breeders fill pasture-lots full of young horses and prepare them en-masse to go to sales, the American model is peppered with back-yard breeders of one or two foals, which they raise like members of the family and have as much difficulty selling as marrying off a beloved daughter. The very idea of sending your best colt to strangers to train for 100 days gives many stallion owners pause. Add to this the further stress owners feel watching the final testing and receiving scores and rankings in a public forum, and you have some idea of the importance these breeders place on the 100-Day test--and the faith they show in sending their horses to be tested.

          So, here are just a few things I observed at the 2004 Stallion Testing that might further the faith. The stallions looked healthy. Sure, they are at the end of a marathon training stint. They are as prone to being sore and over-trained as any horse being readied for an important competition; they definitely want some turn-out time. But when I walked through the barn, stopping at each stall to look, chat, and assess the stallion within, most of the horses came to the door eagerly. They still seemed ready to look to people for care, friendship, interaction. A few were napping soundly. None of them seemed sour.

          In the arena, when the guest riders approached the horses, and Helmut Schrandt and the staff riders were helping with mounting and dismounting, I observed that the horses had calm, curious, trusting attitudes towards their trainers and the strangers alike. Most of them displayed good work ethics and correct basics. In the free jumping sessions, the stallions displayed well-developed communication with and trust of the staff. In fact, the stallion free-jumping might serve as a premier example of the fine interaction that all horse-lovers/trainers strive for in our daily work with our horses.

          The staff riders, in the true tradition of fine horsemanship, fell in love with the horses. You could see it in the usual small details: the tone of their voices, talking to the horses as they braided or tacked up; the extra session a rider patiently put in after-hours with a colt having difficulty over the water hazard; the wistfulness in their faces as the time with the horses drew to an end; the absolute pride they took in presenting the stallions during the tests.

          Some horses did not pass. Unfortunately, failure is part of any meaningful accomplishment, and, painful though it is, it is likely more instructive than success. I remember the morning the scores were to be announced, I said to Pete: "I hate it for those owners, but if X and Y pass, I'm not going to have much respect for this test." It gave me a greater sense of confidence in the test to see that horses with significant flaws or weaknesses which might be passed to their offspring were not approved.

          Last but not least, the horses were simply awesome. Some were not quite ready for such a big test, while others were obviously in full bloom. But each one had achieved a kind of awareness of his talents, a confidence that he can meet difficult challenges, learn, and improve. Watching them come galloping out of the woods to the bank on the cross-country phase, even the least of them caused me to catch my breath in awe. Each one, in his own right, was utterly beautiful.

          As for Galeno Tyme, here's the kind of horse he is: Five-years-old, he's in his rideability test by the guest riders, with George Williams aboard. George is having a ball finding out what this guy can do. He rides each gait, testing the amount of extension and collection GT will offer. He swirls through serpentines, reveling in the suppleness and strength of this gorgeous horse. At one point he takes Galeno Tyme in a big trot across the diagonal and, at the far end, half-halts. The horse springs into a buoyant, rhythmic passage. A thrill ripples through the hall. A grin breaks out on George's face. He rides the passage a few strides and then, conservatively, brings the young stallion back to working trot and sends him across the diagonal again. At the far end Galeno Tyme joyfully offers the passage again. With an almost visible shrug, George accepts the offer, rides the passage through the short end and a third of the way down the long side before he settles the colt back to trot. The excitement in the hall is palpable, though no one actually speaks of what has happened.

          Galeno Tyme happens to be a horse bred in Germany. But he made clear one thing about American breeders that day. The simple and undeniable joy Galeno Tyme takes in his own motion is the gift--it's the gift--we're all breeding for. And we're getting there. Congratulations to all the stallions who participated in the testing and to their lion-hearted owners for their contributions to all of our goals.