A Dream of Breeding

by Shilo Johanson

Over the years I have met and interviewed some pretty amazing people. However, I’ve never met anyone who knows as much about breeding based on performance bloodlines as Joe Selinger.

I first met Joe about ten years ago. I was instantly impressed with his knowledge of Warmblood bloodlines.

His vision, determination and drive have contributed much to the production of Warmbloods in Canada.

Joe’s passion for horses began at a young age. He worked at a stallion station, doing whatever was required. Whether it be cleaning stalls, lungeing or riding, he was eager to learn.

As he matured, so did his passion and knowledge. When Joe immigrated to Canada in 1957, it was assumed at the immigration office that he would choose an occupation in the oil and gas industry. However, Selinger had another agenda.

In 1959, Selinger purchased 25 acres south of Calgary. One of his customers, a columnist for the German magazine, Sankt Georg, suggested naming his stable after the publication. Thus was the birth of St. George, the riding stable and breeding facility that still exists today.

In 1960, a riding arena was built on the property and eventually in 1962, the facility would host one of the largest Pony Clubs in southern Alberta.

When Joe first immigrated to Canada, he came with a dream - to import Warmbloods and to breed them. Although he remained active while operating his facility, giving lessons and running summer day camps, Selinger still had a burning desire to return to Germany and bring back with him a Warmblood stallion.

His dream would be realized in 1960, when Selinger and Pat Morasch went into partnership and imported the Stallion, Weimar, from the Hanoverian State Stud Farm in Celle, Germany.

The stallion’s arrival attracted a lot of attention and caused a media frenzy. Weimar was the first Warmblood to be imported into Western Canada. As the 17hh chestnut made his way from Montreal toward Calgary, the media would give constant public updates as to his whereabouts.

Rearing to Go!

Once Selinger and the six-year-old Hanoverian arrived in Calgary, they were greeted by media and a city alderman at the Stampede Corral. They were encouraged to perform and although the stallion was fresh from his long trip, Selinger wasn’t deterred from climbing atop him bareback for a quick demo for the eagerly waiting crowd.

An article appeared the next day in the Calgary Herald and a picture of Selinger on the rearing stallion was published in the Albertan. Obviously an impression was made as reports were published of Selinger and Morasch’s intent of breeding the stallion, to produce quality jumping and dressage horses capable of competing on an international level - a concept unfamiliar at this time.

Selinger and Morasch did breed the stallion to a variety of mares. Weimar was eventually sold to Ontario. In 1967, Joe solely imported the Hanoverian stallion, Abrupt. The stallion was later renamed Centennial to mark Canada’s Centennial year.

Also in 1967, as part of a Centennial project, Selinger and some of his students formed a vaulting team, the only one in existence in Western Canada at this time. They called themselves the “Jack and Jill Gymnastic team” and performed for a variety of audiences. In 1981, the “Apollo” team was formed and they performed well into the 1980s including presentations at Spruce Meadows.

Selinger would return to Germany again in 1968, to purchase a Hanoverian/Trakehner gelding for Nancy Southern to compete with. Joe first met the Southerns in the early 1960s when Nancy attended a summer camp. It was in 1968, that Ron Southern entrusted Selinger to purchase a Warmblood suitable for his young daughter to compete on.

Obviously Selinger made a wise purchase because he was inducted into the Spruce Meadows Hall of Fame in 1975, when he was presented with an Honorary Life Membership. The award was in recognition of his efforts to introduce the Hanoverian horse to Canada, introducing the sport of show jumping to the Southern family, as well as being Nancy Southern’s first teacher. There have only been nine other recipients of this award.

Also, in 1977, Joe was selected as “Horseman of the Year” by the Alberta Light Horse Association and in 1984 he received the Alberta Achievement Award for outstanding contribution to equestrian sport by the Alberta Government.

Over the years, Joe has gone on to achieve many more successes. He has imported some magnificent Warmbloods, from Hanoverians to Holsteiners. He has also been able to see his son Frank, succeed as a grand prix rider and coach.

His intent has been to improve the standards and quality of horses in Canada. He considers his greatest accomplishment to be his current Holsteiner stallion, Carthago Sun I, otherwise known as “Sonny”.

Sonny was the “Top Stallion” at the first-ever Canadian Warmblood Horse Breeders Association’s Performance Test last September. He is the result of years of breeding for performance. He has the best combination from the top and bottom lines. Selinger believes that it is essential to breed for performance and not just conformation. “When you breed for performance, everything else seems to fall into place.”

The Mare Matters

He stresses that people need to be more conscious when breeding and to remember that the mare is the key, as 70% of what goes into the foal comes directly from the mare. He believes that people are focusing on importing stallions, when they really need to consider the quality of their mares. He says that in the U.S. they have superb stallions, but only recently has the need been recognized to improve the quality of the mare base.

Joe informed me that the “best article in point” was one written for Horse International by Michael Bullman. The article touches on the importance of having quality mares for a successful breeding program. “There is more focus on performance breeding today. The introduction of imported semen from top European stallions will inevitably lead to a great improvement in home bred stock but this will take several years. The priority is to have good competition mares to breed from; they are the most important commodity and the acquisition of top class mares is essential,” says Bullman in his article entitled “The Way Forward For Britain”.

I asked Joe for his input as to how we can improve the quality of sport horses in Canada. He believes that by moving towards Performance Testing of young stallions, we will ensure more quality stock, but that it is still essential to have quality mares.

He also feels there are too many associations and that each province should have their own brand, like they have in Europe. By having a provincial brand, horses can be more identifiable when sold across the border.

Joe went on to say that it took him years to get to where he is today. He believes that he was “at the right place at the right time.”

It was Joe’s intention to improve the quality of horses in Canada. As I reflect on his past

successes and where he is today with his current breeding program, I believe that Joe Selinger has accomplished what he set out to achieve.