Stallion Licensing and Approval

The American Hanoverian and Rhineland studbooks are open to Hanoverian and Rhineland registered stallions, and stallions from other warmblood registries, as well as Thoroughbred and Arabian stallions. The first step in determining eligibility is to have the stallion’s pedigree verified by the AHS Registrar. To be eligible for the Hanoverian Studbook, a stallion must have six generations of approved breeding; the Rhineland Studbook requires stallions to have a minimum of four generations of approved breeding. All stallions to be approved for breeding must also pass a standardized veterinary exam.

The next step for stallions is generally the licensing, which is done at age 3 or older. At a licensing, stallions are evaluated on their conformation, type, movement, rideability, and in the case of jumping stallions, their free-jumping technique and aptitude. Hanoverian and Rhineland-registered stallions must score an overall 7.0 with no sub score lower than 5.0. Stallions from outside populations must score an overall 7.5 for Hanoverian licensing or a 7.0 overall for Rhineland licensing.

The final step in the approval process is then meeting specific performance requirements. There are several avenues to complete the performance requirements for stallions. The following chart serves as an overview of the most common routes utilized currently. There are also hybrid options for different combinations of Sport Test, as well as participation in the German or US National Championships for Young Dressage Horses. The AHS Registrar can help stallion owners navigate through the timing and different options available to them to fulfill their stallions’ sport requirements to gain his lifetime approval.

The older 70-Day and 100-Day testing formats were designed for 3-year-old stallions (although older stallions could participate). The stallions arrived at the testing stations with often widely varying degrees of training and preparation. An appointed Training Director and his staff managed all care, training and riding of the stallions during the testing process. The longer time period with stallions and the unified care and training systems during that time allowed for a scoring system that included evaluations on qualities such as character and temperament in addition to gaits, jumping ability (free jumping and under saddle) and evaluation cross-country. With the ongoing move towards sport performance and breeding specialization, as well as the costs and logistisc for running these lengthy tests, this system is no longer utilized.

The 50-Day Stallion Test still offered in Germany is most like the prior testing system. Stallions are still trained and cared for by the Stallion Testing Training Director and staff, but unlike the prior system they are choosing to specialize in one specific discipline. Note: There are other similar stallion tests (35 to 70 days) offered in other European countries such as Holland and Denmark that are accepted by the Hanoverian/Rhineland Verband in Germany as completion for sport requirements. These longer format tests only need to be completed once.

The most popular stallion testing format in Germany is the short format tests. At 3-years-old, stallions complete a 14-Day Suitability Test that has a Training Director and staff for all the stallions and evaluates basic gaits and free jumping. Stallions are then required to attend two 3-Day Sport Tests over the next two years to earn their lifetime approval status.

The North American Stallion Sport Test (NASST) was established in 2017 and modeled after the 3-Day Sport Test format in Germany. With the emphasis on sport performance and a move to evaluate stallions’ progressive training, the Sport Test requires a stallion to be presented twice before earning their full approval with the major warmblood breed registries including Hanoverian and Rhineland.

Due to limited numbers of 3-year-old stallions being presented in North America, as well as the costs and logistics involved, the 14-Day test was not seen as a viable option for North America. However, because the stallions are presented in the United States at age 3 or older and shown under saddle at their initial licensing, it was agreed by all the registries and the German Federation (FN) that we could waive the 14-day test.

The 3-Day Sport Tests are discipline-specific (dressage or jumping) and are age-specific in their testing requirements. Another positive for the Sport Test format is it’s not judged on a bell-curve as the old 70/100-day formats were, so the scores related to each stallion’s performance are not impacted by the performances of other stallions at the testing. There is no minimum passing score established for the Sport Tests, but all scores are published and available for mare owners to use in their selections. Stallions are scored in five categories to create their final overall score for the testing.

The German Federation has endorsed the North American Stallion Sport Tests and approves the panel of judges, officials and test riders each year. This close cooperation allows NASST results to receive full acceptance by all the German Verbands and maintains the reciprocity of studbooks between North America and Germany.