Hannoveraner Verband e. V.  (VHW) and the American Hanoverian Society (AHS) are pleased to announce the Jumper Breeding Program. A cooperative effort between the AHS, the VhW and the two regional Hanoverian breeding clubs in Canada, the Jumper Breeding Program is intended to promote the breeding of high quality Hanoverian show jumping horses in North America. The Jumper Breeding Program is based in part on the successful experience of the Programm Hannoveraner Springpferdezucht ("PHS") in Germany.

By way of background, the PHS was created by the Hanoverian Verband in 1993 to recognize, promote, and market the breeding of Hanoverian show jumpers. About 1700 mares have been selected to participate in the PHS. These mares have been selected based on their pedigrees and their talent as measured via competition or mare performance test. Mares in the PHS are encouraged to be bred to stallions that have also been selected for the program. The Hanoverian Verband annually publishes a list of mares and stallions that have been selected to participate in the PHS.

The Hanoverian Verband showcases offspring from the PHS in a variety of ways. In addition to the PHS designation, which can be seen, for example, identifying certain horses in the auction catalogs, the Hanoverian Verband offers a foal show specifically for PHS offspring as well as an annual free jumping competition for three- and four-year olds. In 2005, nearly 150 horses were presented to a judges panel that included Toni Hassman and Dr. Guenther Friemel who scored each of them on their scope, technique and overall impression (which accounts for canter, type, etc.). Last year, Lars Nieberg and Anja Rietbrock were on the panel.

In the US, a team of jumper breeders worked together over the past year to initiate a plan and implement a similar program in North America. At the Annual Meeting of the AHS in February 2005, the Board of Directors approved the general concept and formed the Jumper Breeding Committee to implement and administer the Jumper Breeding Program. The Board, with input from Dr. Christmann, appointed the following Committee members: Michael Boyd, Hanoverian Breeding Club of Eastern Canada; Dr. Ludwig Christmann, VhW representative; Patricia Donahue, AHS Registrar; John Gillien, AHS member; Judy Hedreen, AHS member; Albert Kley, the Hanoverian Breeding Club of Western Canada; Edgar Schutte, AHS member and director, and Rick Toering, AHS member. In addition, the Mare and Stallion Committee appointed one of its members, Karin Himmelmayer, to act as a liaison to the Jumper Breeding Committee.