09/02/2026
When American buyers look for their next jumper or dressage horse, they often turn to Europe. The breeding isn’t necessarily better overseas, says trainer and rider David Reichert. The problem lies in the pipeline.
“The breeding is good in the U.S.,” Reichert explained on The Plaidcast. “The problem’s not the breeding. The problem is what are we doing with these horses when they’re four, five, six, seven years old?”
In Germany, where Reichert grew up, young horses move through a deliberate, accessible development system. In the U.S., he argues, the system doesn’t exist in a meaningful way and that gap shows.
In Germany, the structure is simple and consistent:
Four-year-olds go to about 10 shows, competing in 70–80 cm classes.
Five-year-olds compete in 1.00–1.10 m classes at 15–20 shows a year.
Six-year-olds step up to 1.20–1.30 m, again in 15–20 shows.
By the time a horse is seven, it has seen 40–50 quality, confidence-building classes. Importantly, these shows are designed for development: shorter courses, fewer fences, and judging based on performance rather than time.
“You trailer to the show, you ride the class, and then you go back home,” Reichert said. “You don’t keep the horse at the show for weeks and weeks. And it’s judged on the performance of the horse. It’s not timed, it’s not 13 jumps, it’s seven, eight, nine jumps built fairly to give the horse confidence.”
This repetition, he explains, is what makes German seven- and eight-year-olds so competitive and why American buyers so often import them.
📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2025/09/10/fixing-the-young-horse-pipeline-why-the-u-s-falls-behind-europe/
📸 © Heather N. Photography
