Left to right standing: Christine McCarthy (KWPN NA), Lana Sneddon (KWPN NA), Ernie Cohn (RPSI), Holly Simensen (GOV),
Kathy St. Martin (BWP/NAD), Jo Ann Cohn (RPSI), Jos Mottershead (CSHA), Ronda Stavisky (BWP/NAD), Maggie Sjoberg (AHHA),
Suzanne Quarles (AHS), Barbara Sikkink (Silver Creek Farms), Ken Heineken (AHHA), Carol Reid (SWANA), Helmut Schrant
(ISR/Old NA) and Hugh Bellis-Jones (AHS). Kneeling front: Harald Hoffman (Training Director) and Summer Stoffel (Silver Creek Farms).

March 6^th and 7^th marked the final days of the 30-Day Stallion Testing hosted by Silver Creek Farms.  Located in Broken Arrow, OK, Silver Creek Farms recognized the need for a universal stallion licensing format comparable to the 30/70-Day tests held in Germany and accepted by the FN.  Silver Creek Farms is establishing a program that will be accepted and embraced by most, if not all of the sport horse registries currently operating in North America.  To that end, a meeting took place on March 5^th, 2009, in which the majority of the North American sport horse registries participated.  The American Hanoverian Society, American Holsteiner Horse Association, American Trakehner Association, Belgian Warmblood Breeding Association, Canadian Sport Horse Association, International Sporthorse Registry / Oldenburg North America, KWPN NA, Oldenburg Horse Breeders’ Society, Rheinland Pfalz-Saar International, and Swedish Warmblood Association of North America were all represented at the meeting.  In an effort to create a dynamic, progressive, and cohesive performance test, input was requested from all of the registries in attendance.  The meeting was extremely productive and the collective brainstorming that occurred from some of the top representatives of sport horse breeding in North America was energizing and refreshing.

“Our hope,” stated Summer Stoffel, president of Silver Creek Farms, “is to create a unified testing for all sport horse registries.  The testings at Silver Creek Farms are conducted in accordance to the rules and regulations of the FN (German Equestrian Federation) and the BMELV (German Federal Ministry).”  Barbara Sikkink, manager of Silver Creek Farms, went on to state, “We are trying to create a testing location that is central in North America, and that is not owned, operated, or financed by any registry entity.”  The goal is to establish a performance test which will be recognized both in North America and allow reciprocity with the European registries.

There have been two previous 30-Day tests held at Silver Creek Farms with the third completed this past weekend.  The first 70-Day test at Silver Creek will be held this fall.  There has been a real need to launch an alternative performance test that would replace the longer 100-Day format.  Previous 100-Day tests have put North American breeders on par with Europe and have moved North American breeding programs forward.   With the changes made to the test in Europe, and concerns about long-term impact and injuries on young stallions, an implementation of the 30/70- Day test program will address those issues.

It was the unanimous decision of the representatives present that there was a need for the creation of the new North American Sport Horse Federation (NASHF).  This new Federation will act as a unified voice for sport horse breeders and registries in North America.  Barbara and Summer will coordinate the Federation’s efforts internally and with national organizations such as the USDF and USEF.   In addition to the registries present at the meeting, the American Knabstrupper Association (AKA), American Warmblood Registry (AWR), American Warmblood Society (AWS), Canadian Trakehner Horse Society (CTHS), and Canadian Warmblood Horse Breeders Association (CWHBA) have been invited to join this new organization which collectively will represent many thousands of sport breeders in North America. 

Further plans include quarterly news bulletins and an up-to-date website which will not only help keep breeders abreast of all new developments, but will also offer educational tools.  The website will provide a list of associations who will be accepting the testing format as well as links to each individual registry’s performance and stallion licensing requirements.  Stay tuned for more information!