Can the American (Breeding) Dream Become a Reality?

If you’re buying a horse, are you hopping across the pond?

When it comes to the competition ring, American riders and trainers regularly hold their own (and sometimes surpass) their competitors from the equestrian sport powerhouses of Germany, Ireland, Great Britain and the like. But is the United States a sport horse breeder superpower? Not quite. Europe has centuries of bloodline recordings and a unified regulation system with tighter geographical borders. Not to mention, a head start of a few hundred years on this country. And that only scratches the surface of the disparity.

The irony lies in the fact that the U.S. does have solid horses. Its Thoroughbred bloodlines are some of the best in the world. And since the boom of imported warmbloods in the ‘80s, U.S.-based sport horse breeding programs have grown by leaps and bounds to produce the modern, typey show horse. But the pipeline to the top level is anything but straight – and that’s an issue that affects all of us in the sport horse world whether we are competitors, trainers, riders or owners. More often than not, the American competition horse, from children’s hunters to grand prix jumpers, is outsourced.

Cue the U.S. Sport Horse Breeders Association. This fledgling group was announced in mid November and will enter its first official year in 2014. Its’ aim is to support the efforts of breeders through education and outreach, to provide a platform for the breeding community to present a unified voice, and to serve as a resource as well as promoting the welfare of sport horses in the United States.

It’s a tall order, but they’re not backing down. In fact, the initial outpouring of support since the USSHBA’s very recent formation was announced, has been overwhelming.

The First Step: Admitting There’s A Problem
Interim USSHBA President Mary O’Connor has worn many hats in the industry. Working as a groom for the likes of Joe Fargis and Conrad Homfeld, and serving as a judge, trainer and breeder, O’Connor’s background is multifaceted.

But when she decided to breed a nice mare she owned, she realized how little of a stateside support structure existed. “I saw that there was no overarching umbrella entity that could embrace the entire American sport horse breeder scene and bring separate parts together,” she explained.

The process of breeding, training, and making up the finished product of a top-level sport horse in this country has been a cause of concern for industry players for quite some time. The disconnect from a foal on the ground to a successful show horse is glaringly obvious – whether it’s in the prohibitive cost of putting miles on a young horse at American shows, or the lack of trainers specializing in young horse training. O’Connor’s breeding experience turned out well, but that’s not always the case - and she knew it.

“So, what I did at that point of seeing this big void was I solicited names from breeders interested in participating in a group, and that is how I amassed a contact list of just over 100 breeders. From there, I started having a more limited conversation with those breeders,” O’Connor said. The current members of the organization’s steering committee who were part of that initial discussion, include Tish Quirk, Tim Kammerer, Diane Halpin, Natalie DiBerardinis, Diana Dodge, Maryanna Haymon, Anne Hedge, Judy Hedreen and Dr. Rachel Kane, DVM.

The USSHBA is an independent organization, and will seek to become an affiliated group member of the USEF and other organizations where possible. Breeding committees within groups such as the USEF are inherently limited where such initiatives compete with other priorities and must go up the chain of command.

By maintaining independent status, USSHBA’s voice remains steadfast. “The time was right to form an independent organization to present a united voice that can work with all the existing organizations and address the issues,” said Quirk, a sporthorse renowned breeder based out of Rancho Santa Fe, California.

When asked why the scope does not extend to all of North America, the answer came down to keeping the mission undiluted. “Almost everything in the entire realm of equestrian sport, other than different breed registries, is organized along national lines. You have the FEI, and beneath it are all national governing bodies and then discipline groups and then all the different affiliate organizations,” O’Connor explained. ”We will be somewhere in that organizational dynamic – in between discipline groups or underneath, but it fits more neatly when we limit it to the US.”

Diane Halpin's Fanfare LL competing in the Sallie B. Wheeler Hunter Breeding Championships this year. Halpin is a member of the USSHBA steering committee. Photo ©Equine Events Photos.

Playing with the Big Boys
The organization began with the question of what, exactly, breeders need. Their top priority is establishing one identity for one horse for its lifetime. As anyone in the industry knows, registering a horse with the USEF is a matter of filling out a piece of paper and sending it in without any verification that the horse you recorded isn’t already in the system under, say, 10 other names. With seasoned horses “slipping through the cracks” and competing in age-restricted classes at major horse shows, the USSHBA argues that U.S. shows are a hotbed for unfair competition. Currently, past history of competition horses at any level can be erased with a few discreet maneuvers. Simply put, the USEF’s recording system is not keeping up with current times.

The USHJA has proposed a rule change beginning December 1, 2014 that the USEF should require all horses that receive a new or change of name USEF Recording or USHJA Registration receive a microchip ID. The USSHBA supports this initiative.

“The whole situation is such a big problem that conversations always start in the middle. The situation is that USEF horse recordings are not necessarily papers that indicate the identity of a horse,” O’Connor said. “But that was not the original purpose of recording with the USEF. The purpose was to track awards points. It’s a system of tracking horses and tracking points for purposes of handing out awards at the end of the year.”

In turn, many valuable industry individuals turn sour on the lack of a fair playing field and the steep investment of a young horse. It begs the question of if it’s all worth it.

And if the American sporthorse market is to advance without a grave dependence on European stock, the answer needs to be yes for breeders.

“I think probably 100% of breeders want to record their horses with confidence that they will be able to track that horse and its results throughout its lifetime,” O’Connor said. “They want to know whether their programs are successful,” O’Connor said. She doesn’t see a defensible reason against the one horse, one identity initiative.

The road ahead may be long, but the organization plans to strategize and work with other young horse initiatives already in place, such as the Young Horse Show Series, the International Hunter Futurity and the Young Jumper Championships as they work to grow. “I think the biggest challenge at the outset is to establish our credibility and legitimacy. We don’t want to fail,” O’Connor said.

And at the end of the day, despite envisioning big things for the future of our breeders and showcasing American talent at an unprecedented level, it also brings with it simple, intangible pleasures. As O’Connor posed, “Doesn’t every owner look at their horse and wonder what that horse was like as a foal?” With the USSHBA, we may get closer to knowing.
 

U.S. bred foals at Hilltop Farm, Colora, MD.