Tag Archives: kfps

Three “Firsts” in the KFPS Sport Predicate

The KFPS recently announced a number of ‘firsts’ in the awarding of the Sport predicate.

Jolmer Sport
Jolmer and one of New Zealand’s top riders, Bill Noble.

In June it was announced that Poland had gained its first Sport predicate, awarded to the Star mare Eefke van de Beeldhoeve (Tsjerk 328P Sport x Jakob 302 Sport), owned by  Joanna Frycze.  Eefke has been competing in dressage with rider Aleksandra Szulc, and “achieved the level of N8 and N9 + 5 x > 60%.”  Congratulations to everyone at farm Z Tartaku and the Polish association Zwiazek Hodowców Koni Fryzyjskich w Polsce!

This July, two more Sport predicate ‘firsts’ were announced:

Glenrose Friesians‘ 9 year old stallion Jolmer fan Twillens (Onne 376 Sport x Oege 267P) has become the first Friesian in New Zealand to be awarded the Sport Predicate! According to the KFPS, “Rider Bill Noble achieved 10 winning points at level 4, Medium.” Jolmer is a Star stallion with KFPS breeding privileges for New Zealand and Australia, owned by Louis and Marianne Weitenberg of Marton, NZ. Congratulations all!

Sjaantje Sport doing the FEI # 9 test in Hughesville, PA.
Photo by: Jessica Gabler

Meanwhile, in the United States, Gail Aumiller’s 7 year old Ster Mare Sjaantje (Tsjerk 328P Sport x Ritse 322) has become the first Sport Predicate to be awarded to a candidate in carriage driving. Driver Suzy Stafford & Sjaante recently gained the last two points needed to achieved the level of FEI#9 + 10 points, and the title of Sjaantje ‘Sport’. Congratulations to the crew at Dreams Come True Farm!

 

New KFPS Approved Stallion Bikkel 470

Photo by: persburo Melissen

From the KFPS:

“It is not often that the term “allround” is as appropriate as in the case of newly registered Bikkel 470 (Beart 411 Sport x Tsjerk 328 Sport Preferent). The stallion just finished his KFPS Central Stallion Proving scoring 77 points in all three disciplines and a 7 for nearly all elements. He acquired the license owing to his steady performance combined with his beautiful type, correct conformation and, judging team Bauke de Boer emphasised, his outstanding character, underlined beautifully by his calm reaction to the playful passage under his belly of his owner Monod’s two young daughters.
In conformation Bikkel does not take to his sire. His harmonious build and youthful expression bring to mind his dam’s sire Tsjerk 328 Sport Preferent. His movements mediate between the two. He owes his spacious movements to Beart 411 Sport, but with a faster hind leg than most of his half brothers and sisters.
Bikkel really progressed during the test. He had an easy trot from the start, but the quality of his walk in particular has really improved.
Bikkel 470 was born as Bikkel fan ’e Lange Ekers at H. Bakker’s from Haskerhorne. He descends from Stam 19, that originates from the well-known Model mares Landsvrouwe and Landsdochter from breeder Pasma’s Redia Stables. Bikkel’s dam is nine-year-old Ster mare Lysbeth fan ’e Lange Ekers. Her full brother Marco fan ’e Lange Ekers entered the Central Stallion Proving four years ago but did not manage to acquire approval. Bikkel granddam is a Ster Preferent daughter by Thomas 327. The next mare in line is also Ster and Preferent. She is by Tjimme 275.
Bikkel will be available for service at  De Nieuwe Heuvel in the Dutch Lunteren (www.denieuweheuvel.com).”

Bikkel’s scores as a saddle horse, driving horse and harness horse:

walk trot canter balans suppleness transitions impulsion total
7.0 7.5 6.5 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 77.0
walk trot balance suppleness transitions impulsion total
7.5 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 6.5 77.0
foreleg hind leg suspension carriage front suppleness impulsion total
7.0 7.5 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 6.5 77.0

Jakob 302 Sport Deceased

KFPS Approved stallion Jakob 302 Sport passed away this week at the age of 27. He leaves two approved sons, Olrik 383 and Take 455.

From the KFPS:
“Owned by the Hofstee family from the Dutch Gorredijk, JJakob 302 Sport RIPakob was KFPS approved in 1989. He serviced continuously at the Hofstee family station, but despite the fact that he had completed his Central Stallion Proving with fine marks, the mares wouldn’t really come. Perhaps it’s because at the annual KFPS Stallion Show he always had to settle for a second premium. As a 25 year old, Jakob was honoured at that same show.
Jakob became more popular when he started making a name for himself in the ring. He made it to the Dutch Z dressage category and was an honour class harness horse. He was more a sport horse than he was a model horse, which is also seen in his offspring, who are particularly successful in dressage. Jakob is among the stallions with the highest breeding index for sport.
As a son of Naen 264 and with Gerke 220 and Oene 201 in his dam line Jakob had relatively free blood. Because of the increasing interest in sport and the growing awareness of the need for genetic diversity Jakob was popular for a long time. There was even a revival in his older days.
KFPS has registered 1288 offspring by Jakob 302 Sport, 134 of which acquired the Sterpredicate. There’s one Model mare, 14 were awarded with the Sport predicate and 8 mares arePreferent. His influence is secured by his two approved sons. The first is sixteen-year-old Olrik 383, also stationed at the Hofstee family. In 2009, another stallion by Jakob was approved: Take 455. Since last year, his daughters are also influential as dams of stallions. Jakob also sired the dams of the newly approved KFPS stallions Wolfert 467 (Felle 422 Sport) and Alke 468 (Fabe 348). He’s also the sire of Wybren 464’s granddam.

Jacob 302 was still honoured at the Stallion Show in 2010 as a 25 year old stallion. He died this week at the age of 27 years old”.

Studbook

003_1A[for the stallion studbook, see ‘Approval’]

The mare and gelding studbook is the primary book for adult mares and geldings, older than three years old. Certain horses may qualify for status/predicates within the studbook if they are shown to be of a higher quality in movement, conformation or produce superior offspring. These predicates are: star, crownmodelpreferent, or performance mother.

Also, see ‘Inspections’ for more on Studbook qualifications.

Star

024_22Star or ‘Ster’ is an FPS rating given to mares and geldings in the Studbook and unapproved stallions in the Foal Book, who are found to meet a higher standard in movement and/or conformation.

Eligibility for Star Mare or Gelding requires that they previously be entered as a Studbook mare or gelding and be at least 1.56 meters for mares (~15.1 hands) and 1.58 meters for geldings (~15.2 1/4 hands) at the withers. Criteria for designation to Star status requires that the horse demonstrate:

 

  • conformation meeting the breeding objective of the FPS
  • totally correct movement
  • the walk must be straight, powerful and flexible with good reach from the shoulder while the hind quarters swing forward with power
  • The trot should be a reaching and forward movement with power from the hind quarters and flexion in the hock; it should be elevated and light-footed with a moment of suspension; there should be no winging, paddling or interfering

Mares and geldings are automatically evaluated for Star status when they are first entered into the Studbook. If they do not achieve the rating at that time,they may be re-evaluated at later inspections. Older horses with star status may be branded with an ‘S’ to accompany the studbook ‘F’ upon their neck (FS). This is the highest rating possible for geldings and Foal Book (unapproved) stallions.

[See also: ‘Inspections’ for more on Star qualifications.]

Stam

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAStam or stam lines refers to the recorded lines of significant breeding mares in the breed. It is essentially the motherline, that is, the bottom-most line of names on a pedigree (Dam, Grand-dam, Great-grand-dam..etc). While many are familiar with the more common practice of tracing lineage via the sire, the dam plays an equal role in the production of quality offspring, and there are certain lines of mares which are noted for their history of producing approved stallions.
For a good listing of the Stam Lines, see Signature Friesians’ page on Mother-lines, or check out the Facebook page KFPS Stamline Offspring.

 

If you can find it, the best resource which documents the stam lines, their founders their unique characteristics is “Friese Merriestammen” (also known as the Mare Books), initially published in 1989 by R. Geurts in two volumes, and last updated in 1997. The books can be hard to come by, and aren’t cheap, but offer a great resource to interested breeders, and each book contains the full text in three languages: Dutch, English and German.

Sport

The sport predicate is awarded to mares, geldings and stallions within the registry which have shown an aptitude for competitive sport. The competitions must be recognized by the FPS and the scores must be of a satisfactorily high level in order to give eligibility for the predicate.The minimum requirements to achieve the sport predicate include accomplishing at least one of the following:

  • Dressage Z1+5 (Z1 is the equivalent of a US Third level test, +5 is the number of winning points required.)
  • Show Driving: cat/ I & II honor class and cat. III open class in one season six placements as prize winner in the “green season” (April 15 until October 1).
  • Driving (Dressage) Z+10
  • Driving (Combined): class 3+10. It has to be announced ahead of time to both KFPS and KNHS with which Friesian horse(s) one will participate. The horse has to have obtained at least 10 gain points in class 3 at the time the horse is entered with KFPS and KNHS to this end.

Currently the requirements for eligibility listed above are only specific to show standards in the Netherlands. For sport predicate applicants in other countries, comparable scores from their own country’s rating system are needed and will be reviewed by the KFPS judging team at the Inspection.

(For more information on the difference between US and NL dressage levels, see Legacy Friesian’s explanation here.)

Preferent

The Preferential status applies to both stallions and mares, and is determined by the quality of their offspring. This designation may be awarded to living mares and stallions or posthumously, though the qualifications for Preferential Mare and Preferential Stallion differ.To become preferent, the mare must be in the Studbook or Auxiliary Studbook and must have produced at least four quality offspring. These offspring must have been either, a star or model mare, a star gelding, a studbook stallion with approved breeding privileges, or a stallion that has reached the second level of a recognized stallion inspection. (This would mean the stallion has been qualified for consideration in the Central Stallion Proving, or if in the Netherlands, been judged on the Saturday of the annual Stallion judging. For more see: Approval)

Preferential status is awarded to Studbook Stallions who have shown consistency and quality in passing on their genetic qualities to their offspring. In order to become Preferent, the stallion’s oldest offspring must be at least ten years old and there must be sufficient numbers to judge sport performance and growth of older offspring. The stallion should have one or more of his sons approved on offspring. The stallion’s percentage of Star, Model, Approved Stallion, Preferential and not approved offspring will be compared against the overall averages of all the other stallions during the general time period. His offspring will be considered for their performance, as shown in various sport associations, IBOP, ABFP, performance tests of stallions and national and regional competitions. His fertility must be a 50% average over the entire breeding period. Hereditary defects and growth of his offspring that may not have come into effect until after his full Approval to the Studbook shall be considered. Also the color and markings of his offspring will be considered in regard to the average, as well as the average sizes, taking into consideration the size of the dams; and offspring character.

Premiums

007_5Premiums, or premies, are essentially a rating or classification. Premiums are awarded at Friesian inspections and classify a particular horse into categories of excellence. Each horse is judged individually against the Friesian standard, not against each other, and premies are awarded to those who show exceptional qualities. A Friesian normally receives two premium ratings in their lives, one when they are foals, at their first inspection, and and another when they are presented for Studbook at age three or older. There are three premium classes. The third, awarded with a white ribbon, indicates a good Friesian horse of average quality and is the most commonly awarded, at 50%. The second premie, awarded with a red ribbon, is a very good quality Friesian and makes up about 35% of the population. First premium horses are awarded with an orange ribbon (update: now awarded with a blue ribbon in the USA), are of exceptional quality, and only the top 5% of the Friesian population will receive this rating. When inspected as adults, horses that receive a first or second premie may also be evaluated for and receive the exceptional ‘Star’ rating.

Friesians may also be accepted into the Foalbook with no premie if the horse qualifies based on lineage but displays illegal white markings, unsoundness or general poor physical condition. About 10% of inspected Friesians fall into this category.

[See also: B-Book IB-Book IIFoal BookInspections, and Star.]

References:

FHANA Rules & Regulations: Section 5.5

Performance Mother

The Performance Mother or “Prestatie” is a mare from the Studbook or Auxiliary Studbook who has three or more of her offspring who have achieved high levels of performance under saddle or driving. Performance must be demonstrated in competition at very high levels, such as qualification for international level driving events, successful competition at fourth level dressage or over jumps of up to four feet. Unlike other FPS designations, a Performance Mother does not have to undergo evaluation herself, and her offspring are judged upon their accomplishments, and not particularly to the breed standard.