Worldwide leaders in top performance sports
The success of horses from German breeding lines have taken German breeders to the very top on a global level. If one studies the pedigrees of the horses who are participating in and are successful at the very top internationally, one can see that many German genes can be found in the Olympic disciplines. German breeding of sports horses is consequently leading the world and setting benchmarks.
The breeding programme aimed at top performance sport demonstrates success in all disciplines:
At the Olympic Games in Paris, 66 of the 210 horses that competed came from German horse breeding. This means that over 30 percent of all horses competing in the dressage, show jumping and eventing disciplines were of German origin.
In the jumping discipline, 26 of a total of 85 horses came from German breeding. That is 31 percent.
In eventing, 12 out of 65 horses are from German breeding associations, which is 19 percent.
The largest proportion of German horses can be found in the dressage discipline. Of the 60 dressage horses competing in Paris, 28 horses were German-bred, which is 47 percent.
With seven gold, four silver and two bronze medals, German-bred horses won thirteen out of a possible 37 medals (35 percent). Six of these thirteen medals were won by German horses in dressage and five in eventing.
The quantity of German-bred horses at Olympic Games and their success prove that the breeding, training and assessment systems in Germany are ideally aligned. The development of young horses through state competitions and through the ultimate showcase of the Bundeschampionate, the German national championships for young horses, appears to form the foundations of the long-standing success of German horses.
Success of German breeding by Olympic Game
| No. of gold medals for German horses | No. of silver medals for German horses | No. of bronze medals for German horses | Sum of medals and percentage | Percentage of German horses recorded (*) or started, in % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 Seoul | 9 | 2 | 3 | 12 (31%) | nicht erfasst |
| 1992 Barcelona | 10 | 9 | 6 | 25 (56%) | 25%* |
| 1996 Atlanta | 7 | 5 | 6 | 18 (40%) | 27%* |
| 2000 Sydney | 8 | 6 | 4 | 18 (40%) | 27% |
| 2004 Athen | 5 | 3 | 9 | 17 (35%) | 32% |
| 2008 Peking | 9 | 5 | 4 | 18 (40%) | 27% |
| 2012 London | 5 | 4 | 3 | 12 (27%) | 31% |
| 2016 Rio de Janeiro | 5 | 5 | 7 | 17 (38%) | 30%* |
| 2021 Tokio | 5 | 5 | 1 | 11 (31%) | 30%* |
| 2024 Paris | 7 | 4 | 2 | 13 (35%) | 31% |
Quality in German pony breeding
If there were a world ranking of ponies, then the German breeding areas would be very well represented at the very top, as is the case with German riding horses. This is because German ponies are not just suitable for leisure riding and recreational sports, but they are also achieving significant competitive success in all disciplines, in national and international competitions.
German Horse Quality can be obtained from the German Breeders Associations
German Riding Horses
Cold blooded horses, heavy warm blooded horses, ponies, small horses and other breeds
