The Danish KNN has named its first "daughter association!" Italy is the first, and only, daughter association approved by the Danish KNN which is based in Denmark - home of the fabulous spotted Danish horses and ponies known as Knabstruppers!  For more information see the KNN website and check back for current and accurate information about this breed which has grown in interest since SHOC began recognizing them worldwide, and registering them in SHOC in 1998. The Danish were approached by Americans in 2004 or 2005 to start an American branch/association with the KNN in the U.S.A. but the KNN declined these Americans.  To date, there is no Knabstrupper Association in North America approved or working with the KNN's approval.  SHOC remains steady in its efforts to educate interested breeders and enthusiasts about the Knabstrupper as they are recognized and bred under Danish KNN rules.  You can continue to rely on SHOC to report accurately and in conjunction with the KNN, as SHOC has done for the past several years since 'discovering' these magnificent spotted equines and bringing worldwide attention to them!

It is with immense pride and pleasure that SHOC re-introduced and brought the remarkable Danish Knabstrupper, in addition to several otherwise unknown colored European warmbloods, to the forefront of "sport" type horse and pony breeders, shortly after SHOC was launched in 1998. SHOC is pleased to help educate the world at large about uniquely colored and spotted warmbloods, including the Knabstrupper - which continues to gain in popularity in Europe and North America. SHOC enjoys working cohesively with color-oriented horse and pony organizations, stimulating and facilitating business on both sides of "the pond" (and, "down under") and, equally as important, slowly eliminating biases towards the colored horses in competitions, worldwide! For more information about the Knabstrupper, visit the Danish Knabstrup Society (KNN) website, some of which has been translated into English. See the KNN Index in English and Some History about The Knabstrup Horse, an informative article translated into English.

The Danish KNN members (various KNN Board of Directors over the past years) have generously provided SHOC with additional rare and historical Knabstrupper articles, also translated into English and published here to educate the world at large about the Knabstruppers. Read more at: Knabstrupper History and Landbrugets Radgivningscenter letter: Knabstrupper horses as a breed in Denmark - The KNN letter

SHOC has learned over the years about the Danish horse competitions and specifically, the Knabstruppers, as a warmblood breed, from the KNN, the Danish Riding Federation, DRF, (aka Danish FN) as well as the Danish Horse Breeding Office (Landbrugets Radgivningscente). SHOC is pleased to share the information with its members as well as the world at large. The increased interest in this unusual spotted breed has increased dramatically since SHOC's Director re-introduced the Knabstruppers to its members and exposed them on SHOC's website.



Due to the extremely high interest in the Knabstrupper and the lack of information available to the public, as well as the misinformation that has been published, SHOC requested the official short version of the "origin" of the Knabstrupper, as known by the Danish Knabstrup Society (KNN). The KNN's (then) Revisor, Kim Sparre, provided the following information to SHOC to publish and educate the world at large. Enjoy!

Origin of the Knabstrupper (and the KNN - condensed)
by: Kim Sparre (Revisor, KNN 2003 Board of Directors)

The history of the Knabstrupper breed in Denmark begins in 1812 when Christian Ditlev Lunn of Knabstrup Manor bought a spotted mare left behind in 1808 by the Spanish troops during the Napoleonic wars. This mare, called the "Flæbe Mare" after the previous owner the butcher Flæbe of Holbæk, became the foundation mare of the Knabstrupper breed. C.D.Lunn already had established a breeding program when he bought the Flæbe mare, and the mare became an important part of that program after an incident in 1816 where it showed exceptional stamina. His son Villars Lunn was run over by a wagon and broke a leg so the doctor had to be fetched. A team consisting of the Flæbe mare and another horse did a wagon trip of 18.75 miles in 105 minutes and the other horse was destroyed, but the Flæbe mare worked again the next day as if nothing had happened.

The Knabstruppers were renowned for their stamina and intelligence; in the "three years war" in Schleswig (1848-1850) they were popular officers horses, both colonel Læssøe and general Schleppegrell rode one when they fell. The Knabstrupper breed flourished in the 19th century but in 1890 lightning struck the stables at Knabstrup and almost the entire breeding stock perished in the fire. In 1931 veterinary surgeon K. Ahlstrand started the Association for the preservation of the Knabstrupper breed on the island of Bornholm; this association later fizzled out and in 1949 the Knabstrupper Association for Holbæk County was formed --- this was transformed into a nation-wide association in
1971. The Danish Knabstrupper Association (Knabstrupperforeningen for Danmark) that was formed in 1971 was a direct descendant of the Holbæk County association and is the same association that exists today. Kim Sparre