Hot-Blooded Plus Cold-Blooded Equals The American Warmblood Sporthorse

The American Warmblood, like many of the European Warmbloods, is generally thought to be any horse that fits into the warmblood type that is used primarily for jumping or dressage competition. It originated in the United States, and an American Warmblood must have been born in the United States, Canada, or Mexico to be registered in the American Warmblood Registry. It has also been called the Sport Horse, the American Warmblood Sporthorse, or simply Warmblood.

American Warmbloods often excel in dressage, show jumping and eventing, which is what they are being bred for.

The American Warmblood is a result of breeding hot-blooded horses (Thoroughbreds) with cold-blooded horses (drafts) to produce an athletic, well-rounded "warm-blooded" mount. Many American breeders claim that all the various European Warmbloods are highly intermingled and do not represent distinct breeds, but rather various types of Warmbloods. So, rather than splitting up the various types in the United States, the American Warmbloods have been grouped into a single registry. Out of this desire to combine all imports, the American Warmblood Registry has been registering European imports and their American offspring on an equal basis. The combining of all European Warmbloods into one American Warmblood Registry is believed to be a way to save the Warmblood from being ruined by too many splinter groups trying to control small numbers of horses.

The American Warmblood has been influenced by Thoroughbreds for speed, Arabians for stamina and has also added other European Warmbloods to further enhance the American breed. The European Warmbloods also have draft horses in their backgrounds. Horses of nearly all bloodlines are acceptable for registration as long as they are of a sport horse or warmblood type, and are able to meet the appropriate studbook selection or performance criteria. Yet the American Warmblood breeders consider them to be a more distinct breed than the European Warmbloods, even though they are mixed with the Europeans and thus share the same backgrounds. Even though they are still selecting breeding specimens to very high standards, the American Warmblood type is a work in progress at this time. Since the stud books are still open to outcrossing, they are not yet a pure breed.

American Warmbloods come in all shapes, colors and sizes, but average between 16 to 18 hands. They have many of the quality characteristics found in other competition warmblood types in Europe, such as being powerful and balanced with elastic gaits. Its head is similar to the Thoroughbred, as well as having the sloping shoulders with powerful, well-muscles hindquarters, which are much needed in jumping competition. Its short back makes it an excellent horse for all riding events. All colors are accepted, but the solid colors and Bay are the most common.

There are two main gaits of the American Warmblood. The Quality Walk is four even beats in length as well as height. When stepping forward from behind in a generous & athletic way, it creates a swinging momentum throughout the body. The horse should be freely reaching forward through the shoulders down to the hooves showing articulation in all the joints which results in a harmonious and balanced walk with a marching tempo. The Quality Trot is two even beats in length as well as height. When stepping clearly forward from behind with there is an "uphill" profile with suspension off the ground. The head reflects the balanced self-carriage of the horse being nearly vertical.

The American Warmblood is a noble, well mannered and attentive horse with an alert presence. It possesses a willing, yet calm, attitude and is attentive, obedient, tractable, and eager to please to its handler or rider. The energetic way that the horse approaches its work, and the concentration and focus it has, shows an inner drive that indicates a propensity towards performance.

There are two registering bodies for the American Warmblood, neither of which is affiliated with the other.

The American Warmblood Registry (AWR) was established in 1981 and is the one most people consider to be the main registry. The American Warmblood Registry has a goal to develop the American Warmblood Sporthorse to the highest possible standard in North America through careful maintenance of their registries, studbooks, and annual breeding stock approvals. They have chosen a distinct and unique brand to identify these American-bred Warmblood Sporthorses.

There is also the American Warmblood Society (AWS), which is an International, non-profit Performance horse corporation founded in 1983, that is dedicated to the development of Sport horses from grass roots through the Olympic levels. As one of the Associate Members of the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH), the AWS promotes, represents, nominates, records and registers horses for the Olympic sports and for combined driving.

American Warmbloods are rapidly gaining ground as the horse of choice in the demanding sports of 3 Day Eventing, which includes dressage, cross-country and stadium jumping. The American Warmblood has also proven to be competitive at the world class level in dressage.


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