Nz Warmblood Association Inc

11/06/2026

The New Zealand Warmblood Association is proud to once again support the Young Event Horse Championships held last month in Taupo.

Young horse classes are incredibly important in recognising the breeders, owners, riders, and trainers who invest so much into producing the next generation of sport horses. They showcase future talent while also highlighting the value of quality breeding, accurate records, and thoughtful horse development.

As a studbook, we believe the integrity of young horse competitions relies on horses having both verified ages and verified pedigrees. Accurate age verification ensures fair competition, while recorded breeding allows breeders and bloodlines to receive the recognition they deserve and helps preserve valuable information for future generations of sport horse breeding.

Congratulations to all competitors who took part in this year's championship, and a special congratulations to Kate Fleming and Christopher Robin VWNZ on taking out the title.

Christopher Robin VWNZ is by Carpaccio BDV Z out of Quiz Me VWNZ (Eurosport Centavos x Telereign xx), making him a wonderful example of New Zealand Warmblood breeding and the quality sport horses being produced here in New Zealand.

We thank Eventing New Zealand for the opportunity to support this important championship and look forward to watching Christopher Robin VWNZ and all the young horses continue their journey through the sport.

📸 Congratulations to Kate Fleming and Christopher Robin VWNZ, winners of the Young Event Horse Championship. PHOTO: Take The Moment

08/06/2026

How good is Katie Laurie and Django II (Lordano / Brilliant Invader xx / Decies xx ) bred by the McVean Family?? THIS GOOD!!

So good to see New Zealand Warmbloods getting recognised in the international press - and rightly so, with so many good jumping horses born here currently jumping at some incredible international shows around the globe.

New Zealand’s Katie Laurie and her 15-year-old homebred New Zealand Warmblood gelding, Django II, pulled off the only double-clear round in the class to win the AKITA Drilling Grand Prix CSI5* on Sunday at Spruce Meadows.

Read more at the link in comments.

📸Spruce Meadows Media/Mike Sturk

28/05/2026

How Does the NZWA Verify a Horse's Age?

With increasing discussion around age-group classes and young horse championships, we thought it might be helpful to explain how the New Zealand Warmblood Association verifies the age and identity of registered horses.

Contrary to popular belief, a horse's year of birth is not simply accepted because someone writes it on a registration form. Responsible studbooks rely on multiple sources of evidence that must align with one another.
For NZWA horses, age verification may include:
• Stallion Service Certificates supplied directly by the stallion owner
• Veterinary breeding records and insemination certificates
• Foaling records
and added in on top is DNA parentage verification and Microchip identification

• Registration timelines that must be consistent with the breeding and foaling dates provided

One of the most important pieces of evidence is the Stallion Service Certificate. These certificates record the mare, stallion, breeding method, and service dates. They are supplied by the stallion owner and retained on file by the NZWA. In many cases, we hold these records going back more than 50 years.

Where a service certificate has not already been lodged with the Association, stallion owners will be asked to provide one during the registration process. Additional supporting documentation may also be requested where necessary.

The veterinary certificate shown below provides another example of independent verification. In this case, a veterinarian has examined the mare, confirmed the pregnancy, and estimated the foaling date based on the stage of gestation. When combined with service records, DNA verification, and registration records, these documents create a robust chain of evidence supporting the horse's age and identity.

This is becoming increasingly important as equestrian sports move toward recognising actual dates of birth rather than relying solely on the traditional 1 August age system. If horses are to compete based on their true age, accurate and independently verifiable birth records become essential for ensuring fairness and integrity within the sport.

While ageing a horse by its teeth can sometimes provide a rough estimate, it is widely recognised as an imprecise method and should never be considered a substitute for formal breeding and veterinary records.

Independent third-party record keeping is also important. Official records held by recognised breeding organisations provide a permanent and traceable history that does not rely solely on private records, notebooks, memory, or paperwork that may one day be lost through accident, flood, fire, or simple human error.

The NZWA has worked hard over many years to improve horse identification, parentage verification, and age recording in New Zealand. While no system is perfect, maintaining accurate and evidence-based records helps protect breeders, owners, riders, young horse competitions, and ultimately the integrity of our sport.

Because when it comes to age-group competition, accurate records aren't red tape — they're the foundation of a level playing field.

28/05/2026

Fantastic article about a dedicated breeder of NZ Warmblood horses 🐎👏👍

Show Circuit Magazine delivers a dynamic digital publication for riders and horse owners who live and breathe the equestrian lifestyle. Covering all disciplines, it offers expert training insights, practical advice, and inspiring stories to support every step of your journey.

22/05/2026

What a fantastic time of it last weekend at the New Zealand Young Event Horse Championships - proudly sponsored by the New Zealand Warmblood Association.

As an Association, we strongly believe in supporting events like this that celebrate not only talented young horses and riders, but also the importance of breeding, pedigree recording, and correct age verification through internationally recognised passports. It was wonderful to see such a large and competitive class filled with beautifully bred, beautifully produced young horses, all showcasing the future of eventing in New Zealand.

The New Zealand Warmblood Association was proud to be in attendance, with the NZWA President commentating throughout the event and enjoying the opportunity to highlight the breeding and backgrounds of many of the horses competing.

While the standard of horses and horsemanship was exceptional, it was unfortunately still noticeable that a small number of horses in the class remained unregistered or without full passport / papers and documentation. In a class designed to celebrate breeders and breeding, this does create challenges for commentators and organisers alike, as we are unable to access accurate pedigree information, breeding details, or even acknowledge the breeders behind these horses. We believe this is an area that still requires some continued attention and improvement within our sport.

Most importantly - congratulations to our outstanding New Zealand Warmblood results!

🥇 1st Overall
Christopher Robin VWNZ (Carpaccio BDV Z / Euro Sport Centavos / Telereign xx) 5-year-old New Zealand Warmblood gelding
Bred by Vicky Wilson
Ridden by Kate Fleming

🥉 3rd Overall & Best Mare
Sweet Celeste (Euro Sport Diamant B / Drums of Time xx)
5-year-old New Zealand Warmblood mare
Bred, owned and ridden by Kristen Lane

✨ 5th Overall
Couture VWNZ (Captivate VWNZ / Cassiano / Corofino II)
5-year-old New Zealand Warmblood mare
Bred by Vicky Wilson
Owner Anna Mowbray
Rider Mia Cadwallader

An especially fantastic result for breeder Vicky Wilson, and wonderful to see three internationally passported New Zealand Warmbloods finish in the Top 5 of such a prestigious young horse event — with many more New Zealand Warmbloods also competing with distinction throughout the weekend.

Congratulations to all riders, owners, breeders, organisers, and supporters involved in making this such a successful showcase of the future of New Zealand eventing.

Photo Credit Take the Moment

16/05/2026

14/05/2026

The countdown is on for the Eventing Taupō / Taupo Equestrian Supplies National Three Day Eventing Championships at the National Equestrian Centre - and the New Zealand Warmblood Association is incredibly proud to once again sponsor the National Young Event Horse Championship, taking place this Sunday morning. 🐴🏆

This year’s class is shaping up to be one of the biggest yet, with an incredible 22 horses entered. Even more exciting is that 12 of those horses are registered New Zealand Warmbloods — a fantastic reflection of the growing strength, quality, and versatility of New Zealand-bred warmbloods in the eventing world.

The class also includes one Thoroughbred, two New Zealand Hanoverians, and seven horses competing outside of stud book registration.

We absolutely love supporting this championship because young horse classes are such an important showcase for the future of our sport - highlighting careful breeding, correct training, and the next generation of equine talent coming through the ranks.

We wish all competitors, owners, breeders, and riders the very best for the week ahead and can’t wait to see these exciting young horses in action.

We’ll be bringing you updates from the grounds this Sunday morning, so stay tuned to the New Zealand Warmblood Association page! 🎥✨

12/05/2026

BADMINTON HORSE TRIALS 2026 - What an extraordinary achievement for New Zealand breeding on the world stage 🇳🇿🐴

A massive congratulations from all of us at the New Zealand Warmblood Association to Tayla Mason and the incredible Centennial - NZWB (by Eurosport Centavos, out of a Belmont Moonwalker mare), proudly owned by Sue Rutler, Sonya Mason, Kyle Mason, and Tayla herself, and beautifully bred by Sonya Mason.

To finish 6th at the prestigious Badminton Horse Trials - against some of the very best horses and riders in the world - is simply phenomenal.

Centennial was one of only SIX combinations to come home clear and inside the time on one of the toughest cross-country tracks in the world. After sitting equal 40th following the dressage, Taylor and Centennial stormed up the leaderboard with an exceptional clear cross-country round to move into 14th, before a beautiful clear showjumping round with just a small time penalty secured an incredible 6th place overall.

To make the result even more special, Taylor and Centennial were awarded the prestigious Glentrool Trophy for the horse and rider combination making the greatest improvement on their dressage placing - an extraordinary accomplishment at one of the world’s toughest and most competitive events.

This was only Taylor and Centennial’s second appearance at Badminton, after already impressing everyone last year, but this result has exceeded even the loftiest expectations. To see the ONLY New Zealand-bred horse in the field not only compete, but finish in the top six at Badminton, representing the New Zealand Warmblood Studbook with such distinction, is an enormously proud moment for our breeding community.

Tayla, Sonya, and the entire team behind Centennial — thank you for flying the flag for New Zealand breeding and showing the world what Kiwi horses and riders are capable of.

We could not be prouder. 🇳🇿✨

05/05/2026

The latest NZWA newsletter has been sent to the inboxs of members this morning - and as always it is also available to non members via this link on our website:

Latest Newsletter from NZ Warmblood Association