Sports results or Sports apptitude information is only available in a limited number of mares. The introduction of the Sport and Crown predicates has produced a significant increase in the amount of available data. There has been a substantial growth in the number of horses entered for the IBOP tests. In the meantime there has been considerable activity to outline the rules, tests, assessment bars, and judging criteria. Additionally, more attention was given to clarification and documentation. This was necessary because a closer linking of predicates to IBOP scores meant more emphasis on performance. Before 2009 the IBOP was in fact merely a formality, but this is no longer the case. Not all preliminary Crown mares succeed in securing the permanent status.
This meant that during the first years of the Crown predicate some catching up was taking place. In the end a good 70% of the preliminary Crown mares acquire permanent status of the predicate. So far the 2010 and the 2011 inspection rounds show a somewhat lower percentage, but part of the horses are still wrapped up in the IBOP or in the process of acquiring the Sport predicate.
One attemp:
By far the majority of horses obtain their permanent Crown predicate by way of the IBOP. Around 70% or the participating preliminary Crown mares meet the IBOP standard of 77 points. The 2011 collection has shown that most horses meet the IBOP standards at their first attempt. A small number of mares reach permanent Crown at a later stage by way of the Sport predicate. Another way to obtain permanent Crown status is by way of the ABFP test (this is not offered in North America), but up till now this option is little used. Four horse of the 2011 collection made Crown by way of the ABFP test.
The annual standard is fairly stable, between 72 and 74 points. We aim to achieve and annual average of around 6.5 for all IBOP criteria. The KFPS monitors all assessment results categorized per year and per judging team. What comes to light is that 4 year olds have higher scores than 5 year olds and older horses. If the horse has been in constant training it may be wise to enter it for the IBOP test when it is older. However, there are some reservations concerning the emerging tendency to postpone the IBOP until a later age. This could prove to be a distinct disadvantage of dropping the one year period.
As printed in the KFPS newsletter
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