The majestic beauty of a Hanoverian horse is unmistakable. From their elegant confirmation and graceful gaits to their confident stature in showmanship, there is no mistaking the pride in the breed’s heritage. It is the guarantee of the Hanoverian’s future.
For German-born horse trainer Inga Hamilton, who currently resides in Fergus, the Hanoverian horse helped launch her career working with and competing as a rider with this breed.
“There is hundreds of years of genetics that have been selected and recorded, so there is a certain reliability in the breed,” said Hamilton. “There is a lot to learn about the breed too, especially for beginners. The Hanoverian Society has so much to offer.”
Hamilton was born in Bremen, Germany, in the breeding region of the Hanoverian, and apprenticed in horsemanship during her studies.
Arriving in Canada in 1988, she accepted a work placement at a Hanoverian breeding farm near Rockwood, where she showed dressage up to the grand prix level and was an auction rider for Hanoverian auction in Verden, Germany.
Hamilton had the fortunate opportunity to train with the late Fritz Floto, the man credited as “the pioneer of Hanoverian breeding in Canada.”
In 1980, Floto, an Ennotville resident, was awarded the Golden Badge of Honour of the Hannoveraner Verband.
“He introduced the Hanoverian to Canada, basically,” Hamilton said, adding Floto acted as a judge and representative for the breed in eastern Canada. “He became a dear friend and my mentor. As he got older, he asked if I wanted to become more involved in the Hanoverian Society.”
Hamilton returned to Germany to earn her qualifications to become an official judge and perform the task of inspector and mare performance test rider for the Hanoverian Society in her native land, Canada and the United States.
She has served as president of the Hanoverian Breeders Club of Eastern Canada, and had taken horses and riders to upper level dressage competitions and coached a member of Canada’s Paralympics team for the Athens games.
Now Hamilton continues her work at Parkwood Stables, in Guelph-Eramosa, owned by Ted and Elaine Parkinson.
This September, the couple played host to the 2012 Hanoverian Inspection for the western Ontario region of the Hanoverian Breeders’ Club of Eastern Canada.
“This is like the year-end for our breeders, when we all come together,” said Elaine Parkinson, who welcomed guests to the 100-acre family farm in Eramosa. “It’s our inspection and show for the breeders to bring their mare and foals.”
At the Rockwood event, more than 50 mares and foals were presented. The judging team was headed by Germany’s Hartmut Wilking.
It is an important day for horse owners who have invested in the prestigious lineage of the Hanoverian, with a heritage that dates back to the 16th century and can be traced afterward directly to royalty.
“The history goes back to 1735 and King George,” said Mike Boyd, chairman of the Canadian Hanoverian Society. “We can trace our horses’ pedigree back to that place in time.”
It was King George II, the King of England and Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who founded the State Stud at Celle, (in Celle, Germany), a region of the country known as the Lower Saxony.
The King’s goal was to establish a high quality horse breeding society. At the time, the focus was to create a genus of stallions that would be fit for agricultural work, harness labour and military use.
Mares were refined with other bloodlines, such as thoroughbreds, Prussian, Andalusian and Holsteiners, to name a few.
A formal archival recording of the breed’s lineage dates back to 1888, with The Hanoverian Studbook, know today as the annual Hannoveraner Verband e.V.
In 1922, the Association of Hanoverian Warmblood Breeders was formed to create a centralized focus for evaluating breed procedures out of Germany.
According to the Hannoveraner, a guideline resource for breeders, after the Second World War, the introduction of Trakehners and thoroughbreds to the breed helped the Hanoverian horse become “a rideable, noble, correct warmblood horse with large lines, appreciated as a partner in competition and recreation riding worldwide.”
The Hanoverian was introduced to Canada in the 1950s, but the formal organizational structure for breeders didn’t come until 1994.
“We are called the Canadian Hanoverian Society and we work under the umbrella of the German Hanoverian Society,” Hamilton said, noting Canadian breeders established two breeding clubs: eastern and western Canada.
“There are 167 Hanoverian breeders in Canada, and 101 in eastern Canada alone,” said Boyd. “In Germany, we have [approximately] 10,000 members.”
Once a year each of these factions host an inspection tour where mares are inspected, shown and performance tests are completed, while foals are documented and registered into the association.
“We inspect young brood mares and we grade them. They are evaluated for their suitability for breeding,” explains Hamilton. “We look at them at three to four years old. Some will be awarded elite mare candidacy. These mares have to do a performance test by the age of five.”
The test for an elite mare includes three steps. First they perform a free jumping exam where they are scored for scope and technique. Then the mare is shown by a rider or owner in a dressage suitability test, for ride-ability and walk, trot and canter gaits. Finally, a test rider will score for their own sense of ride-ability.
Her foal is then judged independently to earn their registration into the breed society and confirm their pedigree.
“A DNA sample is taken from the foal. We use a hair sample from their tails, so we can record them,” Parkinson said. “They have all their markings recorded.”
“In judging, we point out what we like,” Hamilton said. “The breeders like to have a guideline … you always want to improve on something as a breeder.”
The inspection process helps breeders learn and modify their practices.
“We want to make sure the mares that are encouraged to breed are good mares to produce great riding horses,” Hamilton said.
“The inspection is meant for grading and there are awards for best in show, but it is also a chance for the breeders to be social,” Hamilton said, adding, “It’s also an opportunity for breeders to show the horses that they potentially want to sell.”
Ultimately, the goal is to breed horses that will perform in the various disciplines that Hanoverians are known for, because they will be selected for their suitability to any given sport, from dressage, hunter jumping, driving and or pleasure riding.
“It’s the reliability that assures you a horse with a sound head and a sound body for their intended sport,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton points out the horses in the RCMP musical ride are predominantly Hanoverian stallions and mares.
“They are a very easy horse to ride, with a good brain and a good temperament,” she said. “Hanoverians have three good gaits … and because they also get selected for their confirmation, it ensures soundness for a long life.”
Hamilton is currently working with the Parkinsons to train their six-year-old Hanoverian dressage breeding stallion, Fabregas, imported from Germany in 2011.
Fabregas has produced champion foals, took the reserve champion dressage index in his performance test, and has been the winner of several dressage competitions.
“You have a quality horse so you want to have a lot of quality training,” said Hamilton, who is excited about Fabregas’s future. The pair also train with Rockwood’s Lorraine Stubbs, former member of Canada’s Olympic Dressage team.
“We have big plans for him,” said Hamilton. “He is enabling us to dream big things. He’s a horse that can go all the way to the top dressage level.”
Hamilton knows that her mentor Floto would also appreciate Fabregas’s potential. During the inspection gathering, the members of the eastern club paid tribute to his memory.
“Fritz leaves a big void, we will miss him a lot. He should be here today, as he loved these events,” Hamilton said, in her toast. “He was a man with a lot of wisdom, strong personality and character with a huge heart.”
In her tribute, Hamilton described not only the man, but the Hanoverians he helped foster in Canada and the community he helped build, too.
“Hanoverians are the biggest breeder now. They are world-wide, and the society looks after its breeders,” said Hamilton.
With a strong heritage and a promising future, these noble warm-blooded horses are an investment that owners believe is worth the effort.
For more information visit www.hanoverianbreedersclub.com.
