Silvena Sport

Silvena Sport is the name of a sport riding club in Rousse, Bulgaria. It was founded in August 2002 by Krassimir and Ilian Iskarov. Silvena Sport has two principal objectives: to make horse riding a popular sport in Bulgaria, and to foster the growth of the East Bulgarian breed of horse.

The careful selection of stud horses exercises influence on the exterior, muscularity and character of East Bulgarians. The stud-horses are several fundamental breeds which have proven themselves - Holsteiner, Hanover, Oldenburg, etc. The club is in possession of some gorgeous mares. During the last decade in the past century this breed proved itself in national and international tournaments. Because of its fine qualities, the breed is sought out and sold beyond the borders of its native country.

History

Silvena Sport is a successor of a previous equestrian club, "Centaur," registered in 1995. The company's primary goals are to popularize equestrianism in the community, organizing and taking part in riding competitions in the country and abroad as well. Silvena Sport welcomes everyone willing to touch these beautiful animals, regardless of his or her age.

Since the beginning of 2005, a new discipline has been established – conquer ipic. The club competitor in the discipline is an honoured master of sports, Mr. Krasimir Kostadinov, a repeat Bulgarian champion for the past 20 years, and a winner of both national and international prizes.

The club will have a new trainer starting in 2005, when it will be able to provide training to all levels of riders.

Riders

Nedko Danchev Gaidarov was born on 12 October 1969 in Shumen. He started riding in 1980.

*1983 – second place individually in The Republican Championship for juveniles junior with stallion "Avtomat"
*1992 – champion in The Republican Championship of Eventing, class L, with stallion "Triental"
*2004 – second place in The Republican Championship of Eventing, class L, with stallion "Triental"
*2005 – second place in The Republican Championship of Show jumping, with mare "Ariva"

Mr. Gaidarov has enjoyed many successful appearances in international tournaments in the last 5 years.

Ilian Iskarov Ivanov was born on 15 Aug 1967 in Rousse. He has been riding since 1978. His first trainer in his childhood was Dimitar Nanev. Since 1980, Ivanov has attended competitions; he won every kind of prize in all age groups at Regional and Republic competitions until 1985.

*1981 - Champion for Juveniles Junior
*1984 - Bronze Medal, Balkan Games in Greece
*1983, 1984, 1985, 1989 - Winner of awards from competitions, valid for World Cup VOLVO - Plovdiv, Bulgaria
*1985 - Republic title of Eventing
*1987 - Champion for Men in Eventing
* Best qualification -7th place in Radihasa (Hungary) CCI** - a qualification for European Championship in Luhmuhllen (Germany).

He started privately training and selling of every kind of horses in the years of transition after 1989. Successful appearances in Marbah (Germany) in 1992 - 19th in CCN*. In November if the same year - 8th place of competition of Show Jumping in Murg-Niederhof (Germany).1999ã. - successful appearances with the mare Vegetitsia - 3th place in Republic Championship of Eventing.2000 - again 3th place in class "L" for the Cup of Bulgaria in Eventing with the young horse Dim.2001 - 3th place again with Dim for the Cup of Bulgaria- gold and bronse medal in Republic Championship in class "M"2002 - winner of the Cup of Bulgaria in the heavy class of Eventing again with Dim- 5th place in CCI** Arbanassi - Bulgaria At the end of 2006 year the repeated champion of the country Mr.Svetlozar Slavchev begin work in the club.There are some of his more successful positions:

1985 - first place Republican championship stripling staff age with horse Gluk.

1992 - first place Republican championship for men with horse Glukogen.

1987 second place individual on Balkaniad -stripling staff age

1993 - first place Republican championship men class T with horse Gluk

And many others successful classifications in ours and foreign tournaments until this days.

Horse breeds in the club

East Bulgarian

The East Bulgarian is a light riding and draft horse, usually chestnut, bay or black. They have originated since 1900 from Thoroughbred and English Halfbred crossed with Anglo-Arab, Arab and Bulgarian native horses. The breed's foundations were laid in the late 19th century in Kabiuk and in the former Bozhurishte Military Stud which was moved into the newly-launched Stefan Karazha Stud near Balchik in the middle of the last century.

Arabian

The Bedouin tribes of the desert, believing the Arabian pure blooded horse to be a gift from God, told many romantic tales of the Arabian's beginnings. One such legend claims God fashioned the desert south wind into a creature who "shall fly without wings". No matter how the horse came to the desert, Bedouins took them as prized members of their households. Individual horses were selected for the gentle, affectionate nature, the striking look and proud spirit the breed is known for today. The Arabian was also bred to withstand long treks across the desert and the tribal wars which sometimes followed such trips. The Bedouins developed horses with strength, courage and stamina required for survival, and for the speed and responsiveness needed to win the tribal skirmishes. All in all, the Arabian Horse developed a significant list of attributes!

When Europeans sought to improve their saddle horses, Arabians were imported to cross with native strains. The standard procedure was to use purebred Arabians, especially stallions, to improve stock. The Byerly Turk, Darley Arabian and Godolphin Arabian are conspicuous in English Thoroughbred pedigrees. Similar improvement plans took place in France, Germany, Spain, Poland, Hungary, and Russia. Today, Arabians are found throughout the world and the blood of Arabians flows in all breeds of light horses.

Ancient Bedouin breeders were careful to record bloodlines and jealously guarded the purity of their Arabians. As a result, even though centuries have passed, today's Arabian cannot be mistaken for any other breed. Whether ridden English or western, shown in park classes or used for trail riding, Arabians have the same basic distinctive appearance. The Arabian's head has a characteristic dished profile with a prominent eye, large nostrils and small teacup muzzle. His gracefully arched neck rises out of a long sloping shoulder and broad chest. A short, strong back and high trail carriage complete the picture.

Arabians come in grey, chestnut, bay and roan and an occasional solid black. Although some individuals will vary, most are between 14.2 and 15.2 hands in height and weigh between 800 and 1,000 pounds.

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is the most prestigious, expensive and numerous breed in our modern world. Its foundations were laid in the 17th-18th century in England on the basis of a sophisticated reproduction crossing between the local riding mares and eastern stallions including Arabian, Barbarian and Turkish types. The foundation stallions are believed to be Darley Arabian (Syria), Godlofin Barb (France) and Byerley Turk (Turkey).

Crossbreeds

Half-blooded horses are created with the aim of improving the qualities of sport horses. Usually in this sport the best achievements yield horses with a steady nerve system and calm character. This is one good basis on which can be built sport careers of horses who participate in three of the most popular disciplines -- dressage, SJ and eventing. The different selections of the sport horse in the world have one end purpose -- to achieve the effect of a calm, well-muscled and visually pleasing horse. The half-blooded horse is an excellent example of these qualities. It is suitable not only for the listed disciplines but for team and amateur riding and others. In his veins flow the blood of several breeds of horse.

Faroe pony

The horses found on the Faroe Islands are one of the oldest and purest breeds of horses found today. They are comparable with the Icelandic pony in that they also are of ancient origin and have been bred pure, at least in part due to isolated conditions.

The Faroe Islands are located in the North Atlantic between Iceland and the Shetland Islands. There are seventeen inhabited islands and several islets and reefs, in total, covering 540 square miles. The climate is oceanic and mild with little variation in temperature. The islands see frequent fog and rain, approximately 60 inches a year. There are no reptiles or indigenous land mammals found in the Faroe Islands. They are naturally treeless due to the strong western winds and frequent gales. The Faroes were first settled by Irish monks in approximately 700 A.D. and were colonized by Vikings around 800.

The Faroe pony resembles horses brought to Europe from Asia in about 200 A.D. These small horses were brought to the islands by the early Celtic and Scandinavian settlers.

Before the formation of the Association for the Faroe Pony, there were only five individuals of the breed still in existence. By 1988, this number had increased to 27 due to the preservation efforts of concerned breeders. All the animals have been entered into the stud book and their blood types have been identified. They have also been evaluated for breeding purposes, and 24 of the animals were approved for breeding.

Most Faroes are bay with some black. They are also sometimes found in brown, but never gray or skewbald. Occasionally a palomino or pale dun appears in the breed. The breed's hair is thick and grows very heavy in the winter.

Holsteiner

The Holsteiner horse is the product of systematic breeding that has been ongoing in the northermost province of Germany, Schleswig-Holstein, for 750 years. Originally the horse was valued by German farmers for its strength, steadiness and reliability, and by the military for its courage and agility. The age of mechanization and conditions in postwar Germany necessitated a new direction for the breed. The Holsteiner developed into one of the great German sporting horses, particularly suited for jumping, dressage, driving and eventing. This was accomplished through careful infusion of English Thoroughbred and Anglo-Norman blood which added elegance, refinement and jumping ability to the superior character of the Holsteiner foundation stock.

The modern Holsteiner is of medium frame and stands 16 to 17 hands with a powerful hind leg, strong back and loin. His arched neck rises from a well-angled shoulder to a small head with a large, intelligent eye. This conformation adapts easily to "self-carriage" - that expressive, elegant movement so essential in dressage, driving and jumping.

When the Holsteiner begins to move, his reputation as one of the world's finest sport horses is assured. With his strong haunches providing impulsion, he moves forward with elevation and suspension, producing an impression of strength, balance and elasticity. This fluid movement, coupled with renowned intelligence, willingness to work and kind temperament, makes him the ideal sport horse.

Hanoverian

The Hanoverian is a noble, correctly proportioned warmblooded horse with natural balance, impulsion and elegant, elastic movements characterized by a floating trot, a round rhythmic canter, and a ground-covering walk. The breed's historic home is in today's state of Lower Saxony, in northern Germany, the former Kingdom of Hanover where a flourishing horse-breeding industry has existed for 400 years. The Hanoverian has dispersed to all five continents and represents today one of the most prominent breeds of riding horses in the world.

There are several attributes which make the Hanoverian so valuable as an all-around riding horse and a high-performance completition horse, excelling in many different disciplines. These attributes are temperament, rideability, stamina, bone and substance.

The Hanoverian is calm and level-headed, keeping its cool even in difficult situations. It gives itself willingly to the rider, accepting aids and allowing itself to be ridden. It has been bred for centuries to stand up under a variety of demanding conditions and uses.

hagya Arabian

The Shagya Arabian is a considerably younger breed, related to the Purebred Arabian. Its development was first started in the 1830s on the stud farms of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, primarily at the Babolna Stud Farm in Hungary. The purpose of the selection was to produce an Arabian of a larger frame and more balanced temper, with all the positive features of the Purebred Arabian retained intact. The Shagya has a noble shape, hardiness and toughness, correct limbs and efficiency and smoothness in its movements.

Oldenburg

The Oldenburg takes its name from its creator, the German count Anton Guenter Fon Oldenburg (1603-1667). The count used a stallion, Kramin, and a mare, Frizone.

The Oldenburg's ancestry is mixed, with Spanish, Neapolitan and cross-bred English stock. During the 19th century Thoroughbreds such as Klivland bay, Hanover and Franko Normano were selected to contribute to the bloodline of the Oldenburg. From this mixture was bred a massive horse, 170 cm high.

Because of its height, the Oldenburg has been used primarily in farming to pull carts with heavy loads.

External links

* [http://www.silvena.com/ Silvena Sport website]

External links

** [http://silvena.com/index.html Silvena Sport]