On September 4, the World Championships for Four-in-Hand Driving will kick off in Szilvásvárad, Hungary. Until September 8, the best teams from fourteen countries will compete for the medals. Among the participating teams, eleven include one or more KWPN horses, predominantly harness horses.

A total of 114 KWPN horses will participate in this championship, divided into five dressage horses, one Gelders horse, one jumper, and a remarkable 107 horses registered as harness horses. The American, Chester Weber, a longtime fan of harness horses, is once again participating in this edition of the World Championships with a four-in-hand team of harness horses. His team includes First Edition (Waldemar x Manno, bred by G. de Vaan), Julius V (Bocelli x Fabricius, bred by G.E. Veenstra), Kadora (Manno x Plain’s Liberator, bred by Gebr. Kimenai), and Kasper D (Atleet x Tendens HBC, bred by G.J. Dijk).

Fantastic Work
Chester and his team were also present at the National Harness Horse Day, where KWPN spoke with him about his passion for the Dutch harness horse. "I am a blessed man to have such good horses to compete with. I am truly very happy that the KWPN breeders are doing such a great job breeding even better horses. Today, at this event, I spoke with several breeders. It was very special; when you meet the breeder of a horse, it feels like you're seeing a part of someone's soul. For them, it often feels like they’re seeing their 'children' again after many years. I hope to make them proud because that’s part of my responsibility in Hungary. I also told the breeders that they have done fantastic work in breeding over the last decades. The walk has particularly improved drastically, but also the canter of the Dutch Harness Horse. We are getting more and more horses that can canter well and cover ground."

Ideally Suited
"My horses have been here since the end of April for training. I travel back and forth a lot, but most of the time, I’m here. My team competed in their first event of the season from April 30 to May 5 in Windsor, England. My plan was to take them to another event, so they could get off the property, and the National Harness Horse Day was ideally suited for this. I was very pleased with how they performed there. They were very relaxed and happy in the arena. I think it’s very important to keep the horses happy and relaxed in the lead-up to a big championship. And yes, it remains a challenge to keep them all in top shape."

Incredibly Proud
"Dressage remains the best foundation for my horses. If the dressage foundation is solid, and they are trained correctly, strong enough, and have the right energy, they can handle any competition. In the marathon, I don't want a horse that runs around like a maniac and is uncontrollable, as that also affects speed. I am especially careful with them and want the horses to be eager to compete. I always let them know when they’ve done their job well. I believe this four-in-hand has the potential to break world records, and both the breeders and the sport should be very happy with these harness horses. At the same time, I am incredibly proud to be the one holding the reins!"

Top Sires
Cizandro turns out to be the top sire at this World Championship. The stallion has thirteen offspring competing. Additionally, Eebert with six offspring, and Delviro HBC, Torino, and Unieko with five each, are also among the top sires at this World Championship. As damsires, Manno appears nineteen times, Patijn eight times, Fabricius seven times, Waterman six times, and Vaandrager HBC five times.

The performances of these horses can be followed through the mediaguide. Follow the World Championship Four-in-Hand Driving in Szilvásvárad via KWPN.org.

GJ for KWPN
Photo of Chester Weber: Dirk Caremans