Four major equine organizations came together in May to announce that they would dispense with one of the worst-kept secrets in the horse world.
The press release began, “At next year's Paris Olympic Games, Thoroughbreds competing in any of the equestrian disciplines – dressage, show jumping and eventing – will, for the first time, be recognised in the starting lists and results. In past Olympics, the retired Thoroughbred racehorses competing were listed only as 'breeding unknown.'”
This announcement was made in conjunction by the European and Mediterranean Horseracing Federation (EMHF), the World Breeding Federation for Sports Horses (WBFSH), the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), and the International Stud Book Committee (ISBC). It's worth applauding any time multiple horse organizations come together in support of the Thoroughbred breed, but it's worth understanding what we're actually applauding.
This announcement, at least in part, resolves the following scenario: a horse begins a show jumping round at the Château de Versailles during the 2024 Olympics, and spectators would like to know the breed of that horse. Before, they would look in the program only to see that it says “breeding unknown.” Now, it will say “Thoroughbred.”
However, the fact that the horse previously had “breeding unknown” is not actually true or accurate. The identity of a Thoroughbred is based on the horse having a Thoroughbred sire and Thoroughbred dam. Thoroughbred breeding lines are not a secret; the “General Studbook for Thoroughbred Horses” launched in England in 1791 is regarded as the first official horse studbook and the model warmblood breeds have subsequently used to catalogue pedigrees for their registries. If they were “retired Thoroughbred racehorses,” as the press release identifies, they also would have been registered with a Thoroughbred stud book, such as The Jockey Club in the United States or one of the members of the EMHF.
So, really, the fact that “Thoroughbred” was not identified in the starting lists and results at the Olympics was not because their breeding was “unknown,” but rather because it was not “recognized.” The press release explains the reason for this, “The issue arises because, under a Memorandum of Understanding between the FEI and the WBFSH, only member stud books of the WBFSH have historically been credited, and the WBFSH only has members that specifically breed horses for the Olympic disciplines.”
The word “historically” in that last sentence carries a lot of weight, and let's just say it's a lot closer to the rise of the current French president, Emmanuel Macron, than it is to any member of the French monarchy that lived at Versailles. The Memorandum of Understanding between the WBFSH and the FEI is from 2015, which was quite a significant year for the Thoroughbred breed. It's the year that American Pharoah was “finally the one,” as announcer Larry Collmus exclaimed to a worldwide audience when the Triple Crown was won for the first time in 37 years. It's also the year that the Retired Racehorse Project hosted the Thoroughbred Makeover at the Kentucky Horse Park for the first time, establishing the annual pilgrimage of Thoroughbred enthusiasts to Lexington for “the largest Thoroughbred retraining competition in the world for recently-retired ex-racehorses,” according to the RRP's website.
However, while these events put the Thoroughbred racehorse and the Thoroughbred sporthorse under arguably the biggest spotlight the breed has seen in the 21st century, the year 2015 is also the year that the Thoroughbred breed became erased from the FEI's database of international sporthorse competitions. The WBFSH was founded in 1994 with 25 studbooks of different sporthorse breeds and has grown to include 86 studbooks. A studbook for Thoroughbreds is not one of them. Spoiler alert: it never will be, at least under the current framework and mission of the WBFSH.
More on that later, but when the WBFSH became old enough to drink legally in America, the organization whose mission is “to foster breeding progress to produce the best sport horses,” according to its website, partnered with the FEI to exclude the Thoroughbred breed from appearing on the guest list of the party that puts the biggest spotlight on equestrian sports outside of horse racing—the Olympics. Thoroughbred could compete but would not be identified as Thoroughbreds.
The Olympics used to recognize Thoroughbreds, contrary to the press release's claim that the 2024 Games in Paris will be “for the first time.” For example, the “Official Results Book” for the 2012 London Games designates seven Thoroughbreds that competed in eventing and show jumping with “THB” under “Breed.” The same is the case for the “Official Results Book” for previous Olympics.
The graphic below includes a page from the 2012 “Official Results Book,” and I've highlighted the two Thoroughbreds listed on it—Clifton Promise and Flintstar. Five other horses on the page are by Thoroughbred stallions. The Thoroughbred stallion Heraldik, the sire of Butts Leon, is approved for at least 10 different warmblood studbooks in Germany. He sired four horses at the 2012 Olympics—three in eventing and one in dressage.
The Thoroughbred influence on sporthorse breeding is undeniable from this page alone. It's baffling why the FEI would then agree to the removal of “Thoroughbred” given the breed's clear influence on sporthorse breeding.
Only in 2020 (because the organizing committee in Rio did not produce an Official Report after the 2016 Olympics) did a Thoroughbred like Glenfly, a former steeplechaser in England who was a member of the Brazilian eventing team with Marcelo Tosi, have his breeding designated as “OTHER.”
So, this idea that Thoroughbreds will be officially recognized in the 2024 Olympics is not “for the first time,” and not even “For the First Time in Forever.” Reading between the lines, what this announcement has shown is that the relationship between the racehorse world and the sporthorse world is “Frozen.” Given that the racing industry continues to make improvements to provide racehorses with their best opportunities to succeed in second careers (and there is still plenty of progress to be made), it's time to work together to unfreeze the winter that exists in equine Arendelle and get to the foundation of what the Thoroughbred is.
Although the Thoroughbred breed has been developed over the past four centuries with the goal of producing the ultimate racehorse, the selective breeding to create horses that could excel at racing has also produced horses that can be successful at many other equine sports. That's a good thing because even the oldest racehorses are still very young with many good years potentially ahead of them.
The Jockey Club celebrates this in several ways, a big one being through the recognition of racehorses as sporthorses in the Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.). Putting the spotlight on Thoroughbred successes through ribbons recognizing former racehorses at horse shows and through Thoroughbred-only championships across a variety of equine sports accomplishes two things, although the intensity of each one is in the eye of the beholder: 1) it honors the rich history of Thoroughbreds in equine sports; 2) it treats the Thoroughbred as different from other breeds. Depending on which of these two considerations are more valued determines how the Thoroughbred is viewed.
“We are still always fighting the stigma, 'Well, that's just a Thoroughbred.' And we think, 'Yeah, that's a Thoroughbred,'” said Kristin Werner, Senior Counsel of The Jockey Club.
While celebrating that their racehorses “can” achieve success in other sports, much of the racing world still treats this as separate from or even an anomaly to the primary goal of racing success. For instance, several Thoroughbred breeding lines are standing out as successful sporthorse producers, but there's still a stigma that sporthorse success only comes about because of racehorse failure.
“With the ones that are showing at the Olympics or five-star eventers, I'm like, 'How are you not as proud of this horse, who at 20 years old is doing this, that shows that your breeding works?” Werner said.
The WBFSH, the organization that unites warmblood studbooks that are purpose-bred for sport, also pigeonholes Thoroughbreds into racing first and anything else secondary. Therefore, Thoroughbred studbooks are not eligible for WBFSH membership.
“This is because the WBFSH members must have one of their breeding [goals] that they breed for at least one of the Olympic disciplines,” said Nadine Brandtner, General Manager of the WBFSH. “This is not a breeding goal of the Thoroughbreds.”
This distinction means that Thoroughbreds are not eligible to participate in the World Breeding Championships for Young Horses (WBCYH) or be included in the discussion with other breeds in WBFSH rankings. This is in spite of the fact that Thoroughbreds have a rich history of Olympic success, and the breed is actually sought-after in breeding for sporthorses within the studbooks that are members of the WBFSH. Here's an excerpt from when “Horowitz on OTTBs” tackled the issue of Thoroughbred genetics:
In fact, the qualities that the Thoroughbred possesses have inspired crossing other breeds with the Thoroughbred. For example, the Irish Sport Horse Stud Book that has excelled in eventing has developed through crossing with Thoroughbreds.
Horses with a high percentage of Thoroughbred blood were some of the highest sellers at the recent Monart Sale and Goresbridge Go For Gold Sale for event horse prospects in Ireland.
There are even full Thoroughbreds for sale through Monart and Goresbridge. Because they're registered as Irish Sport Horses, they're eligible to compete at World Breeding Championships. The absurdity is you just can't call them “Thoroughbreds.” There are also Thoroughbreds in the United States that are purpose-bred for sport rather than racing, but unless they're registered with another studbook, they will be excluded from the World Breeding Championships.
Brandtner joined the WBFSH in 2016, and the Thoroughbred breed has made strides within the organization. Her family bred racehorses, so she understands their value, particularly when it comes to the role racing plays in the big picture of equine sports having a social license to operate.
“The social license to operate is the endorsement that the whole of the equine sector needs for us to keep doing what we do,” she said. “The most basic element is that we are still allowed to use the horse, and then on top of that comes how we do this, and how we treat and keep our horses. This is no different in racing as in equestrian sport. The public, that may not be involved with horses at all, will not distinguish between the two industries when it comes to the rights of the horse. And therefore we in the sector have a collective and collaborative responsibility to work on our social license.”
The recognition of Thoroughbreds in starts lists and results at the Olympics and other FEI competitions is a step in the right direction.
“Initial discussions within the WBFSH recognized the significant impact that the Thoroughbred has had, and still has on the evolution of the warmblood,” Brandtner said. “That, and the joint responsibility that both industries have on the SLO, played a part in the decision of the WBFSH to recognize the Thoroughbred on starting lists, even if the [breed] cannot be a member of the WBFSH, and therefore cannot participate in the WBCYH, or appear in the WBFSH rankings.”
The next step for the good of the horse is for the leaders of the racehorse and sporthorse industries to come together, not just to talk about how great it is that racehorses can go on to second careers, but to ensure that Thoroughbreds have equal opportunities as other breeds in other equine sports. Thoroughbreds are not outliers; they are just as worthy and just as valued by upper-level riders as any other breed out there.
“A working collaboration between the Thoroughbred and the WBFSH might be a consideration for the future, since there are many common interests and challenges facing our two industries,” Brandtner said.
Thoroughbreds have a rich history in the Olympics.
They stole the show at the two Summer Games held in Los Angeles. Taine and Xavier Lesage won individual and team gold in dressage for France in 1932.
Touch of Class and Joe Fargis won individual and team gold in jumping for the United States in 1984.
“Now, we're trying to catch back up in the other direction and remind people that Thoroughbreds are still good sporthorses,” Werner said.
Hopefully, with the Olympics set to return to Los Angeles in 2028, The Jockey Club and the rest of the racehorse world can expand on its efforts to recognize and to trace Thoroughbreds outside of racing. And, the WBFSH and the rest of the sporthorse world can expand on its efforts to collaborate with the racing industry to address equine sports' social license to operate.
Announcing horse races inspired Jonathan Horowitz to become an advocate for off-track Thoroughbreds and Arabians, as well as to learn to event on horses he used to announce at the track. He also serves as Acting Director for the Arabian Jockey Club and runs the Super G Sporthorses eventing barn with his wife, Ashley. He can be reached on Facebook and Twitter at @jjhorowitz.
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