The Tradition Continues

The Oldenburg horse achieved fame throughout Europe under Graf Anton Günther von Oldenburg (1603 - 1667) who was renowned as a great horseman. In 1612 the Graf began transforming an old monastery in the village of Rastede on the outskirts of Oldenburg into a Royal Stud to continue the work of his predecessor, Graf Johann XVI von Oldenburg (1573-1603) who had founded many small breeding farms within the Oldenburg region for the purpose of producing war horses. These horses were given to important rulers and those who had distinguished themselves in battle. Graf Johann had used Turkish, Neopolitan, Andalusians, and Danish stallions to improve his Friesian horses, described as being large and strong.

Graf Anton traveled even more extensively, bringing back stallions from Naples, Spain, Poland, England, Tartary, and Barbary (North Africa). He permitted his tenants and other commoners to use his stallions, and soon the 17th Century Oldenburgs were in great demand throughout Europe, serving as riding and carriage horses. Leopold I, King of the Holy Roman Empire, rode through Vienna on his wedding day astride a black Oldenburg stallion. He was followed by his wife who sat in a splendid carriage pulled by eight dark brown Oldenburgs. Graf Anton was also well known for his traditional dressage riding, most notably on his Oldenburg stallion, Kranich who is portrayed with him in the painting above.

 

The period following was shaped by three important events: the first stallion approval decreed by state in the year 1820, the introduction of a register of origins in 1861, and the foundation of two horse breeding societies by the Horse Breeding Act of April 9, 1897. These two societies merged in 1923 to form today's "Verband der Züchter des Oldenburger Pferdes". The first measures to refine the breed were introduced in 1935 with the thoroughbred Adonis xx. By the 60's, more thoroughbred stallions were approved, and the turnaround in breeding towards the modern sport horse was underway.

 

Towards the end of the 1960's the French stallion, Condor, was proving to be very successful so Oldenburg stallion owners once again turned to France. Practically no other breeding area was able to achieve the success Oldenburg reached with stallions of French origin. Furioso II was the first Anglo-Norman of modern breeding times. Horse breeders the world over still have the highest regard for this sire. French Anglo-Arabians such as Inschallah AA were also used in Oldenburg in small doses with great success. By combining the various bloodlines on the base of Oldenburg mares, our breeders were able to breed a horse in a relatively short period of time that now belongs to the top group of modern sport horse breeds.

In 1986, a privately-owned Oldenburg stallion, Donnerhall, became DLG Champion for the first time. Donnerhall, born in 1981, was one of the most successful sires of his generation in Germany. As no other, he combined success in breeding and sport - in 1994 in Den Haag he was a member of the German gold medal winning dressage team at the World Championships,  and won the individual bronze medal. He was also a member of the German European Championship team and won the individual bronze medal there as well. 

The next legend in the making in the world of sport horse breeding is the Oldenburg bred, licensed, and approved stallion, Sandro Hit. Sandro Hit not only won the World Championships for the 6 year old dressage horses in 1999, but his offspring have dominated the young horse championships and are emerging with great success at Grand Prix in international competition. His daughter, Poetin, won both the German National Championships and the World Championships for the 5 year old dressage horses in 2003 before selling for the record price of 2.5 million Euro at the PSI auction the same year. The success of his daughters continues through Silberaster, two time German Champion, and Samira who also broke records winning the German National Championships in 2007 for the 6 year old dressage horses. Judge Christoph Hess commented, "We've never seen anything like this in this arena" before awarding her 2 perfect scores of 10 resulting in an overall score of 9.7.

Sandro Hit's licensed and approved sons are also dominate in the sport horse world. Sir Donnerhall who combines the lines of Sandro Hit and Donnerhall, was the Reserve Champion of the 5 year old dressage horses and the German National Champion in 2006 has already produced the Reserve Champion of the 2007 Oldenburg stallion licensing, Sir Rubin, and the Champion of the 2008 Southern German stallion licensing, Sir Nymphenburg.

Around the globe today, Oldenburg dressage horses such as Salieri, Don Schufro, Silberaster, Deveroux, Don Angelo, Dolomit, Ringo Starr, or jumpers the likes of Sandro Boy, Air Jordan Z, Special Ed, Sancho, Leena, and Coleur Rubin put fear into the hearts of competitors. Outstanding athletes such as these and Bonfire, ridden to unprecedented 5 World Cup titles by Anky van Grunsven, and an individual dressage gold medal in the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia are excellent examples of the high standards of breeding from the Oldenburg Verband that will continue into the future.