Statement

News

Sanctions imposed by the Society on the animal welfare video from the USA.

The Oldenburg and Hannoveraner Horse Breeding Societies make a clear commitment to the fair treatment of the horse as a partner and to adherence to classical riding doctrine. Both breeding societies have made a joint decision after hearing Mr. Stefan Sandbrink and Ms. Dr. Kerstin Klieber and receiving a written statement. The background for the decision is the realization that the statement to the horse breeding societies as well as the self-declaration published on the Internet do not lead to an exoneration of the obvious procedure from the point of view of the representation of the societies.

Within the sphere of influence of the respective societies, the following procedure will be followed with the persons who are associated with the video in question from the USA and are thus part of the incident classified by the societies as relevant to animal welfare.

Mr. Stefan Sandbrink is not a member of the Oldenburg and Hannoveraner Horse Breeding Societies. At least until December 31, 2027, he will be banned from the two society facilities and from participating as a presenter/exhibitor at events organized by the societies. For the same period, it will not be possible for him to apply for membership of either of the two horse breeding societies.

Dr. Kerstin Klieber holds different memberships as a natural person and as managing director of Dressurstall Sandbrink GmbH, depending on the horse breeding societies. Both memberships are subject to immediate exclusion. A new application for membership can be submitted from January 1, 2027 at the earliest.  For the same period, they will be banned from the two society facilities and from participating as a presenter/exhibitor at events organized by the societies.

The other persons acting in the video in question will be banned from the two society facilities until December 31, 2027, regardless of their identification, and will be banned from participating in events organized by the societies as presenters/exhibitors. For the same period, they will not be able to apply for membership of either of the two horse breeding societies.

The above-mentioned video is part of published videos related to the training methods of Dr. Cesar Parra. He will be permanently banned from the two societies facilities and from participating as a presenter/exhibitor at events organized by the societies. It is not possible for him to apply for membership of the two horse breeding societies.

Individuals who are proven to be directly involved in animal welfare-related offenses (e.g. riders, trainers, handlers) will also be banned/excluded if they are subject to the jurisdiction of the two horse breeding societies or plan to participate in their events.