the Belgian Warmblood North American District |BWP/NAD

The Belgian Warmblood Association North American District, was established in 1987 as a non-profit organization. It was formed by a group of breeders and owners dedicated to the recognition, promotion, breeding and preservation of the Belgian Warmblood in North America. BWP/NAD is a fully recognized district of Belgium, BWP/ BE and serves as the sole administrating office for promotion and breeding practices in North America. BWP/NAD is a member of the WBFSH under BWP.

In 1988, the North American District hosted the first official Keuring Tour for the inspection of breeding stock in the United States by Belgian Judges. Since then, the annual event has grown to encompass more than two dozen Keuring inspection sites throughout the continental US and Canada each year. These Keurings serve to guarantee the continued quality and success of BWP horses bred in North America. Through dedication, hard work, and strong breeding practices, BWP/NAD has grown to be one of the strongest & most respected breed registries in North America.

Only top quality horses are admitted to the registry through the visual inspection and evaluation of stallions, mares and foals. Using the same stringent judging criteria from inspections in Belgium, the Belgian Jury looks for modern horses that have correct conformation for soundness, athletic potential for the Olympic disciplines, proven bloodlines for performance, good temperament for ride ability, and above all, the potential to pass these traits on to their offspring. As a result, this selectivity ensures that buyers, riders, and breeders of Belgian Warmbloods are getting the highest quality horse possible.

BWP/NAD fosters a unique relationship with our European counterpart in that all passports and papers are still generated by Belgium. The registry follows the rules and guidelines of Belgium for breeding, judging criteria and registration. All of the NAD Stallions that are approved in North America are fully approved and recognized in Europe. This reciprocity sets the BWP/NAD apart from other breed registries.

The Registry began with 8 approved stallions and has since grown to over 60 National & International performance stallions. There are now and impressive 34 “Elite” Stallions, 58 “Elite” Mares, and 7 “Ambassadors” owned by BWP/NAD Breeders. In 2014, the BWP/NAD was awarded our first “Ambassador” with “Rebozo La Silla aka HH Rebozo” (Dollar de la Pierre x Ramiro) owned by BWP/NAD breeder Double H Farm. In 2015 our second “Ambassador” was awarded to “Imothep” (Indoctro x Calvados) owned by BWP/NAD breeder Vicky Castegren of Hyperion Stud, LLC and in 2018 we were pleased to have the Olympic Gold Medal winner “Big Star” (Quick Star x Nimmerdor) owned by Gary and Beverley Widdowson, awarded as our third “Ambassador”.

In 2019 we had a record number of Ambassadors presented including “ASB Conquistador aka Bush vd Heffinck” (Clinton x Heartbreaker) owned by Signe Ostby and Pomponio Ranch, “Bull Run’s Faustino” (Berlin Darco) owned by Bull Run Jumpers Six LLC, “Flexible” (Cruising x Safari), and “Ultimo vt Moude” (Capitol I x Major de la Cour) owned by Stal Hendrix. We had our first BWP/NAD Stallions debut into the top 100 WBFSH Sires list for 2018; #39 Ambassador Dulf vd Bisschop (Heartbreaker x Libero H) and #94 Ambassador Ultimo vt Moude (Capitol I x Major de la Cour). Ultimo’s offspring, Rouge de Ravel, reached #22 in the 2019 WBFSH standings. Bull Run’s Faustino de Tilli continues his over $1million in career winning prize money and over 50 FEI Grand Prix wins with his rider Kristen Vanderveen.

Allyn McCracken was a pioneer in American Sport Horse Breeding and helped to found the Belgian Warmblood Breeding Association North American District in 1985. This organization has since grown to world renowned top performance stallions, mares, foals, and several hundred breeding members in North America. The Belgian Warmblood Registry in Belgium and North America is currently the leading showjumping breeding registry in the world.

Her passion for the BWP all started at the 1987 Pan American Games qualifier hosted by her Indianapolis hunt club, Trader’s Point, when Allyn was serving as an auxiliary timer in the jumper ring. She wasn’t expecting the epiphany that occurred as she clocked in its winner, ‘Big Ben’ - BWP registered name Winston - (Etretat x Flevo) ridden by Ian Millar, The big flashy Belgian Warmblood sparked her fascination with the Belgian Warmblood breed. “I was just so impressed with this horse that I began to do research on the BWP”. She spent the following year studying bloodlines before purchasing her first stud, Branco (Rothschild x Ugonda x Amor), who became the first approved stallion by the North American District of the Belgian Warmblood Breeding Association (BWP/ NAD). “We then decided we needed to add a stallion for our breeding program and in 95’ we bought ‘Simsalabim’ (Nonstop x Feinschnitt). We specifically went looking for a son of ‘Nonstop’ (Darco x Carneval). When we went to the stallion selections in Belgium and saw Nonstop, we fell in love. He had a fantastic jump. I found a farm that had about twenty Nonstop colts and had two with the dam lines I was looking for. We chose Simsalabim and he has produced several phenomenal foals for us. We always want stallions with wonderful temperaments because they have to fit the amateur market. I’ve developed what I would consider to be a strong broodmare band with bloodlines from most of the top producers now incorporated in my breeding program. It took several years to achieve but that is what the foundation of a solid breeding program is.”

Allyn continued to research varying performance pedigrees as a foundation practice to advancing her breeding program. “What makes a difference to people who are doing research is finding exactly what a horse’s pedigree is, so you can see what connection between what mares are making the best horses.” She devoted endless hours to studying European websites detailing horses’ pedigrees and performance records. “I spent almost a year doing that kind of work, and then I decided to go to Europe and buy some mares. I’m way more involved with mares than I am with stallions because, in my opinion, the mare is the basis of everything. What happens a lot in the United States is people think they’ll breed a really good stallion to a not-so-good mare and get something that’s good. It doesn’t work out that way. So I bought some really good mares, and that was kind of my start.”

Allyn explained what she looks for in a mare and stallion to produce the right match: “I always want to free jump to see potential. Every horse has a certain sense about the jumps, and I want to see how they react. Good conformation is a must. Of course bloodlines are very important; there are a couple of lines that always produce great horses. Certainly a mare with a good mind is very important. I want to see a horse that carries itself well. The walk is indicative of what they can do, shows potential and ability. There has to be swing in the loins, and I look really hard at the canter. What they do up front is not nearly as important as what they do behind. You can train through gymnastics to help create a better front end, but you can’t train or create a horse that doesn’t naturally have a good hind end. Many people get caught up on the ‘popular stallions’ but it’s the mare that is most important. Essentially, the mare is the cake, and the stallion is the icing. You have to have the foundation before you can add in the stallion.”

“When I was a kid our farm overlooked a race horse farm, and I would go back to see them. The manager would tell me that to choose a stallion, it has to have presence. When you look in the field you should be able to tell the horse is a stallion. There are too many stallions that get approved that don’t have presence. In a natural herd, the stallion that is the best and strongest is the one that gets to pass on his genes, as it should be. When we attend the stallion selection in Belgium, one of the main comments we will hear as to why a stallion that jumped and moved well but did not get approved will be, ‘That one is not a true stallion.’ In other words, no presence. There are several top stallions here in the States, but I also purchase semen from Europe. I choose a stallion that has had very good, solid performance and consistently good offspring. I’ll try a younger stallion that doesn’t have as many offspring if he has a fantastic mare-line and is with a top rider. I find that there are too many stallions standing here in the States that lack good bloodlines and performance. Breeders need to realize this and understand that paying a higher stud fee for a higher-quality stallion is at times necessary to breeding good offspring.”

Allyn began her BWP/NAD breeding with her first foal crop during the 1994 “R” class. The BWP foal names run alphabetically each year ending in W and returning to A the following year. She since has bred over 150 horses including multi Grand Prix winner and 1.60m competitor, Centurion B (Rebel I Z x Indoctro) with Lisa Goldman, several Approved BWP/NAD Stallions and many successful youngsters in every sport horse discipline. She was the leading or top American Breeder recognized by USEF for several years. Allyn’s leadership with the BWP/NAD and her breeding program were recognized and celebrated in Belgium in 2016 and by the United States Equestrian Federation as a leading breeder in Showjumping in the U.S. by receiving the 2018 USEF Ellen Scripps Davis Memorial Breeder Award. Allyn was recently awarded the 2022 Top American Breeder of 5YO Showjumper Breeders and a Top Breeder of 6YO Showjumpers from 2022.

Excerpts and quotes from several interviews with Chris Sallee and Chronicle of the Horse