After last year’s pilot event in December, with the grading of the Holsteiner young stallions held at the Elmshorn Verband facility for the first time at this time of the year, a decision on future Holsteiner events has been made: the grading of the two-and-a-half-year-olds will be continued at Elmshorn. 

Those in charge of the Verband der Züchter des Holsteiner Pferdes e.V., the board and the executive directors, have received clearly positive feedback regarding the Elmshorn location and the December date from stallion owners and producers. The chairpersons of the Holsteiner Verband breeding districts had also been involved with the decision making process in their most recent meeting with the board where they voted unanimously in favour of continuing the grading of the young stallions at Elmshorn. “With the festive decorations and packed stands, the atmosphere in the indoor arena was excellent”, chairman Ulrich Steuber sums up the reactions and breeding director Stephan Haarhoff adds: “The exhibitors appreciated above all the peace and quiet the stables afforded the stallions and that they also benefitted from the free jumping chute set up along the long side of the arena.” According to Felix Flinzer, executive director of the Holsteiner Verband marketing and auction GmbH, the rescheduling has another key advantage: “By the time the spring event was held, many stallion owners had already acquired their new additions and most international sport stables were already away, competing abroad. The December event’s clearly positive auction results confirm the decision has been right from a marketing perspective”, he is certain.  

“Our team has impressively demonstrated Elmshorn’s suitability for events on this scale”, says Ulrich Steuber. “With the concept to be further optimised, we can already look forward to the next grading of the young Holsteiner stallions.” The event will again be held on the third weekend in Advent, on 12-14 December 2024. 

Photo: Janne Bugtrup