In the 2004 breeding season, and for the first time, nearly 1,000 foals in all of Germany and a few neighboring countries were registered OS.  That puts the OS Verband, which is deemed a special breed, among the top ten German Verbands in its just third year of existence "The extremely promising 2004 foal crop was the result of deliberate breeding and the use of very good broodmares", explained the OS Breeding Director, Dr. Wolfgang Schulze-Schleppinghoff.
His assessment of OS quality was confirmed at the German Foal Championships in Lienen: a Carolus-Landgraf I filly bred by Johannes Mans, Bettingen, made the final ring. All in all, as the year before, five OS foals qualified for the finals.  
At the State Show in Rastede, Incolor, the 2003 OS Reserve Champion by C-Indoctro-Argentinus bred by Karl-Heinz Oeltjen, Wardenburg, won the Oldenburg Championships in the class for four year old jumpers. 

Marketing

The sale of 13 OS foals at the 3rd Elite Foal Auction in Vechta brought a total of 98,500 Euro (average price 7,576 Euro). Five OS foals were sold abroad. The most expensive OS foal was a Carry Gold son called Charming Ideal (dam by Lacros, breeder: Helga Hahne, Bad Oeynhausen) who sold for 14,000 Euro.
On the first day of the free-jumping event held in January 2005 at the Oldenburg Horse Center in Vechta, not only promising and talented young jumpers showed up for the two judges, Hauke Luther and Alois Pollmann-Schweckhorst. Numerous talent hunters also came to the event. The next free-jumping event is planned for January 11, 2006.

Photographs: Incolor, Charming Ideal