Belwood’s Lookout Farm to host Hanoverian mare, foal inspection

BELWOOD – Hanoverians are known for their athletic ability – from flying over jumps to their form bending through dressage events, these horses are bred to perform.  

But for Belwood breeder Janet Konyer, it’s the horses’ temperament she loves most. 

They’re willing and able to work with people, she said,  and this trainability and ridability “makes our jobs easier and much more fun. 

“I firmly believe a horse with a good temperament, that’s willing to work with you, will far exceed a horse maybe of superior athletic ability but not good temperament.” 

On Sept. 5, some of these qualities will be put to the test during the Canadian Hanoverian Society’s annual Mare and Foal Inspection. 

This year’s inspection will be taking place at Konyer’s Lookout Farm (6723 5th Line, Belwood). 

Konyer has been breeding Hanoverians at Lookout Farm for about 30 years, and has brought some all the way up to international competition.  

Using frozen semen means they have access to some of top-ranked Hanoverian stallions in the world, she said, who are performance tested over 120-day period for temperament, ridability, gaits (walk, trot, canter), movements and “ability to excel at any given sport, whether that be dressage or jumping.”  

During the inspection at Lookout Farm, foals from these world class stallions will be judged by German breeder Maren Schlender. 

Schlender will also judge registered Hanoverian  mares who are each between four and five years old and  have had at least one foal. 

“They will be assessed with their performance under saddle – walk, trot, canter ... so ridability will be assessed, gaits will be assessed,” Konyer said. 

They will be marked and scored with hopes of ranking high enough to enter the elite stud book, Konyer said, along with the other highest quality Hanoverian mares. 

Temperament and ridability matter, she said, because those traits will be passed down to the offspring. 

“That’s important,” she added, especially as she believes “mares have a stronger influence on the foals than the stallions.” 

Schlender will “talk openly about the foals, what they like, what they don’t like and what they want to see more of,” Konyer said. 

“If anyone wants to educate their eye this is a great learning experience.” 

Foals will be coming from all over Ontario for the event, including four of her own and six or seven from elsewhere, Konyer said.   

She decided to take a turn hosting the event in order to support the Hanoverian club, and because its good to see this year’s top foals. 

“It’s nice to see what other people are producing in Canada – what other stallions they’re using and the foals that are being produced,” Konyer said. 

“And it’s a nice chance for us all to get together as breeders.” 

Canadian Hanoverian Society

The Canadian Hanoverian Society is a daughter society under the German Hanoverin Verband. 

Its a non-profit organization that supports breeders with registration and paperwork, importing semen from Germany, providing genetic testing to ensure parentage and offering information to club members, Konyer said. 

“They also support us at our dressage shows – there are additional prizes for top Hanoverian,” she said. 

Anyone interested in attending the Mare and Foal Inspection should RSVP to Konyer at jkonyer@xplornet.ca or 226-820-5917. 

She said to show up around 8:30am, as the mare performance test begins at 9. 

The foal show will begin at 1pm. 

Bring a lawn chair to sit on, Konyer recommended. 

“It will be a fun event – you’ll see some nice horses,” she said. 

The event happens rain or shine and will take place in an indoor arena on the farm. 

“Curious horse kids are welcome to come along,” she added – “they might get some interest in the breeding aspect and our industry.”