Analysis of competition performance in dressage and show jumping of Dutch Warmblood horses.
Abstract: Most Warmblood horse studbooks aim to improve the performance in dressage and show jumping. The Dutch Royal Warmblood Studbook (KWPN) includes the highest score achieved in competition by a horse to evaluate its genetic ability of performance. However, the records collected during competition are associated with some aspects that might affect the quality of the genetic evaluation based on these records. These aspects include the influence of rider, censoring and preselection of the data. The aim of this study was to quantify the impact of rider effect, censoring and preselection on the genetic analysis of competition data of dressage and show jumping of KWPN. Different models including rider effect were evaluated. To assess the impact of censoring, genetic parameters were estimated in data sets that differed in the degree of censoring. The effect of preselection on variance components was analysed by defining a binary trait (sport-status) depending on whether the horse has a competition record or not. This trait was included in a bivariate model with the competition trait and used all horses registered by KWPN since 1984. Results showed that performance in competition for dressage and show jumping is a heritable trait (h2 ~ 0.11-0.13) and that it is important to account for the effect of rider in the genetic analysis. Censoring had a small effect on the genetic parameter for highest performance achieved by the horse. A moderate heritability obtained for sport-status indicates that preselection has a genetic basis, but the effect on genetic parameters was relatively small.
© 2016 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.
Publication Date: 2016-05-30 PubMed ID: 27237865DOI: 10.1111/jbg.12221Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The research examined factors influencing the genetic evaluation of Dutch Warmblood horses‘ performance in dressage and show jumping. It found that rider effect, censoring and preselection of data had varied impacts, with rider effect being particularly important, and both performance types proving to be heritable.
Introduction
- The study investigated aspects impacting the genetic evaluation of Dutch Royal Warmblood Studbook (KWPN) horses based on their dressage and show jumping performance.
- Typically, the highest score achieved in competition is used to appraise a horse’s genetic ability of performance.
- The researchers aimed to measure the effects of certain factors on this genetic analysis. These factors include the rider’s effect, censoring (where some data points are not fully observed or tracked), and preselection of data.
Rider Effect
- Different models including rider effect were evaluated.
- Results indicated that the performance in dressage and show jumping is indeed affected by the rider, making it crucial to account for the rider’s influence in the genetic analysis.
Censoring Impact
- To assess the impact of censoring, or the incomplete tracking of some data points, genetic parameters were estimated in data sets with varying degrees of censoring.
- The study findings revealed that censoring had only a minor effect on the genetic parameter for the highest performance achieved by the horse.
Preselection Effect
- A binary trait was defined (sport-status) based on whether the horse had a competition record or not to analyse the effect of preselection on variance components.
- All horses registered by the KWPN since 1984 were included in a bivariate model with this competition trait.
- Results showed that sport-status has a moderate heritability, indicating that preselection process has a genetic basis.
- However, the study found that the effect of preselection on the genetic parameters was relatively minimal.
Conclusion
- The study concluded that both dressage and show jumping performance are heritable traits in Dutch Warmblood horses (heritability valued at 0.11–0.13).
- Rider effect was found to significantly influence a horse’s performance, whereas censoring and preselection had a smaller impact on genetic evaluation.
Cite This Article
APA
Rovere G, Ducro BJ, van Arendonk JA, Norberg E, Madsen P.
(2016).
Analysis of competition performance in dressage and show jumping of Dutch Warmblood horses.
J Anim Breed Genet, 133(6), 503-512.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jbg.12221 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Animal Breeding and Genomic Centre, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Centre for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus University, Tjele, Denmark.
- Animal Breeding and Genomic Centre, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
- Animal Breeding and Genomic Centre, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Centre for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus University, Tjele, Denmark.
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Centre for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus University, Tjele, Denmark.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Breeding
- Horses / classification
- Horses / genetics
- Horses / physiology
- Models, Biological
- Models, Statistical
- Physical Conditioning, Animal
Citations
This article has been cited 9 times.- Ennsmann LH, Licka TF. Association between radiographic equine distal phalanx characteristics and absence, presence and type of horseshoes. Front Vet Sci 2025;12:1598038.
- Gelinder Viklund Å, Blom Y, Eriksson S. To Start or Not to Start-A Matter of Genetics in Swedish Warmblood Horses?. J Anim Breed Genet 2026 Jan;143(1):130-139.
- Walz KR, McCormick ME, Fedorka CE. The Thoroughbred Theory: Influence of Breed on Performance at the CCI5*-L Level of Eventing. Animals (Basel) 2025 Jun 18;15(12).
- Boozarjomehri Amnieh S, Hassanpour A, Moghaddam S, Sakhaee F, Ropka-Molik K. Study of Variation of ACOX1 Gene Among Different Horse Breeds Maintained in Iran. Animals (Basel) 2024 Dec 10;14(24).
- Giusto G, Gandini M. Return of showjumping horses to sporting activity after colic surgery. Equine Vet J 2025 May;57(3):629-635.
- Chapard L, Van Thillo A, Meyermans R, Gorssen W, Buys N, Janssens S. Adjusted fence height: an improved phenotype for the genetic evaluation of show jumping performance in Warmblood horses. Genet Sel Evol 2023 Feb 23;55(1):12.
- Bartolomé E, Valera M, Fernández J, Rodríguez-Ramilo ST. Effects of Selection on Breed Contribution in the Caballo de Deporte Español. Animals (Basel) 2022 Jun 25;12(13).
- Doyle JL, Carroll CJ, Corbally AF, Fahey AG. An overview of international genetic evaluations of show jumping in sport horses. Transl Anim Sci 2022 Apr;6(2):txac038.
- Próchniak T, Kasperek K, Knaga S, Rozempolska-Rucińska I, Batkowska J, Drabik K, Ziȩba G. Pedigree Analysis of Warmblood Horses Participating in Competitions for Young Horses. Front Genet 2021;12:658403.
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