Westphalian equestrian club

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First president of the association, Freiherr Engelbert von Landsberg-Velen zu Steinfurt

The Westfälische Reiterverein eV, founded in 1835 and based in Münster in Westphalia, is the oldest equestrian club in Germany and organizes the annual tournament of winners .

It was founded at a time when there was a shortage of horses in Germany after the end of the coalition wars and horse breeding was on the ground. The primary goal was therefore to rebuild horse breeding. For example, licensees were given to the breeders, which allowed them to use the stallions from a state stud in Warendorf for breeding purposes . In addition, the club acquired thoroughbred stallions from abroad and lent mares from England .

In order to motivate horse breeders, the association organized riding tournaments, initially exclusively in the form of horse races . The first races took place on the Loddenheide under provisional conditions, which nevertheless attracted up to 10,000 visitors. From 1890, the Westphalian Riding Club held its horse races at a newly built racetrack on Hammer Strasse near the Prussian Stadium , at that time still outside the city of Münster. At that time, the club was the most important equestrian club in the west of Germany, both in terms of the number of races held and the amount of the prize money.

After the Second World War , when most of the horses were lost and the racecourse was largely destroyed, the orientation of the equestrian club changed. At first he supported other clubs in organizing tournaments. He then turned to show jumping and dressage , disciplines that became increasingly popular during the Weimar Republic . In 1955 the Westfälische Reiterverein organized the first tournament of the winners on the Westerholt'schen Wiese , on which it had already organized its own tournament before the outbreak of the Second World War. This tournament has been held annually by the club since then and is still held on the Westerholt'schen Wiese next to the venue in front of the castle .

President

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