Association for horse races and exhibitions in Prussia
The association for horse races and exhibitions in Prussia - Königsberger Rennverein - was founded in 1835 by East Prussian horse enthusiasts due to a very high cabinet order of the King of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm III. , founded.
The Königsberger Rennverein is the oldest club founded in Prussia that is currently still active.
The main chairman is Hans-Heinrich von Loeper , the general secretary is Otto Lins. The association is subject to the supervision of the Cologne District President .
Purpose and activities of the association from 1835 to 1945
was the promotion of breeding and horse racing, primarily in Prussia ( East Prussia ). As a result of the far-reaching state reforms from 1806 onwards, the foundation of the association, initiated “from above”, was an economic policy measure aimed at more intensive horse breeding. At that time horses were an essential production factor in the (agricultural) economy and for the military. The measure was also intended to recover the great losses caused by the ravages of the Napoleonic Wars.
Appropriately, the measure was settled in the horse country East Prussia, where the (main) stud Trakehnen had been one of five centers of Prussian horse breeding since 1731. In the years that followed, the club organized flat and obstacle races at various locations, including a. in Metgethen until he found his home in Carolinenhof in the 1870s until the Second World War. Eight to ten days of racing took place there every year. There was a training facility on which several trainers trained thoroughbreds and half-bloods .
The East Prussian half-breed, which arose from the crossing of thoroughbred horses with East Prussian or Trakehner mares, produced many excellent racehorses that could successfully compete in obstacle races, even with thoroughbreds. Obstacle races were an important part of military training for officers (and horses fit for military use) and between 1872 and 1914 and in the 1930s they had a high level of sport that was no longer achieved in races for amateur riders.
Horse racing was important in East Prussia. There were several racetracks, the most famous of which was Trakehnen with the von der Goltz cyclo-cross race. Then there was Lyck, Osterode, Insterburg, Tilsit, Rastenburg, Cranz and Rauschen. Also in West Prussia Gdansk-Sopot and Marienburg. Correspondingly, horse breeders and officers from the local cavalry and artillery regiments were linked in the local racing clubs. Famous breeders and riders emerged from the best-known East Prussian families and so one can find among the members of the Königsberger Rennverein z. B. the counts Lehndorff, Dönhoff and Kalnein, A. v. Gramatzki, v. Zitzewitz-Weedern, v. Below-Lugowen, cancer….
Purpose and activities of the association after 1945 until today
Due to the important position that was even dominant in German horse breeding, a number of East Prussians found themselves immediately after the war, took part in racing again and, still feeling connected to their homeland and the horses, had also had the idea of joining "their" old club to keep alive a form appropriate to the present, even if almost no original documents of the association survived the world war. It was decided to keep the tradition alive until dreams come true: if East Prussia should one day belong to the EU, there will be horse people who want to build on old traditions there.
With this long-term goal, today's association sees its task in maintaining good Prussian virtues and further promoting horse racing in Germany, where it acts as a sponsor of selected races.
Another association task, which is currently gaining increasing importance, is to introduce people to the thoroughbred horse and to horse racing who are still far from this profession.
In the association, which was continued after 1945, members were and are still represented. Some of them played important roles in German horse racing. To be mentioned are z. B. Franz Chales de Beaulieu, Egbert v. Schmidt-Pauli and Hans-Heinrich v. Loeper, the current “main head” of the association, who were all secretaries general of the umbrella association of German thoroughbred breeding for many years.
The annual member trips, during which at least one equestrian and one cultural event are visited together, were always impressive for the participants. Since 1989 a. a. visit almost every leading thoroughbred stud in Germany and some training facilities. In 2003 and 2007, members of the association went on one-week round trips in East Prussia.