The Westfalen Verband NA offers an extensive North American inspection tour reaching nearly every corner of the USA and many parts of Canada, as well as private inspections on-farm. We provide WBFSH passports from our parent verband the Westfälisches Pferdestammbuch e.V., as well as USEF sanctioned Horse Identification Document passports with microchips, which are available by mail. Westfalen Verband breed passports are produced in Germany and are WBFSH sanctioned, with the breed-name Westfalen. All foals and horses receiving passports will also be DNA typed and microchipped, and foals registered in their Year of Birth are issued a complementary USEF lifetime number. 2024 In-Person Inspections are planned for mid July - October, while Mail-In Registration will continue to be offered under certain circumstances.

The Westfalen Verband NA is the official representative of the Westfälisches Pferdestammbuch e.V, and our main office where passports are printed is in Münster, Germany. This close connection brings to North America a 100+ year tradition of excellence in Warmblood breeding. The Westfälisches Pferdestammbuch e.V. was founded in 1904, and now defines one of the most successful horse breeds in the professional sport, as well as the largest breeding base for German Riding Ponies anywhere in the world. In Germany the breed name is spelled Westfalen, while the Anglicized version ‘Westphalian’ added a ‘ph’ and extra ‘i’ to the breed-name. While both spellings can be used, the German word Westfalen is the standard breed-name used worldwide.

Warmblood mares and stallions from Westfalen as well as other accepted WB breeding organizations (i.e. Hanoverian, Oldenburg, Holsteiner, South German, and others) are eligible for the Westfalen Warmblood books, as are Thoroughbreds and Anglo-Arabs. Breed books for German Riding Ponies, and Haflingers also exist, and have their own eligibility and bylaws. The brand for the Westfalen district - the W inside a shield and crown - has become a symbol of excellence, worldwide, and is given to both horses and ponies with eligibility for full pink papers.

Over the decades Westfalen has taken great care and pride in the steady development of bloodstock that excels in show jumping, dressage and eventing. Famous stallions such as Pilot, Florestan I, Cornet Obolensky, Rubinstein I, and Damon Hill are cornerstones of the Westfalen Breeding Program. Some very successful Westfalens you may know from the dressage ring range from Dr. Reiner Klimke’s Ahlerichthe the more recently popular Escolar, who like his famous sire Estobar is ridden by Olympian Hubertus Schmidt. Here in the USA Legolas comes to mind, ridden to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio by Steffen Peters. Westfalen jumper breeding has top international stars like Comme il Faut under Olympian Marcus Ehning, Colestus and Ludgar Beerbaum, and Daniel Deusser’s ride Cornet d’Amour.