January 14, 2022
Jolanda Slootjes giving the clinic: What does the Jury focus on during the Stallion Inspection? Photo: Karin Sevink
In a short clinic on Friday the 14th of January KFPS Jury member Jolanda Slootjes answered the question: ‘What does the Jury focus on during the Stallion Inspection’. ‘Everywhere in the world the Jury works with the same method of inspecting. No matter where, stallions, mares and foals are all judged in the same way.’
Five elements
Horses are scored on five elements: breeding type, conformation, legwork, walk and trot, with both walk and trot counting double. The assessment per element is written on the score form and in the lower bar every element is given scores from 4 to 9, with a 4 being unsatisfactory and a 9 being excellent. ‘Horses with an average score of 6 are accepted in the Studbook, an average of 6.5 means a third premium’, Jolanda explained. ‘An average of 7 is awarded with Star second premium and a 7.5 or higher average results in the horse becoming Star with a first premium. Jury members compare the horse with an average Friesian horse and for every element determine whether the horse scores less, the same, or better than the average Friesian horse. ‘That’s where the difficulty lies’, Jolanda points out. ‘Because you must have seen many Friesian horses in order to get a clear picture of what the average Friesian horse looks like.’
Sidekick Grutte Pier (Markus 491)
Serving as sidekick was the young stallion Grutte Pier (Markus 491 x Wimer 461) from Stud Station Gaasterland. Jolanda could give a demonstration of how assessments are done in practice with the help of runner Jelte Gerrit. ‘In case you would like more information then check the site of the Studbook, get in touch with one of the breeding chapters in your region, or even better, visit inspections and talk to lovers of the Friesian horse.’
