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..Imported from Norway, Fløtren is one of only a few Norwegian Fjord Horse stallions in North America to have undergone the rigorous Norwegian testing process and he scored impressively. Here is a description of that process:
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License to Breed
..In Norway, in order to receive a license to breed, stallions are tested at age three and again at age five. The three-year-old test includes evaluation of conformation and movement, draft performance pulling a wagon up a hill and down, and a timed trotting test in light harness pulling a sulky. If the stallion’s scores are good enough, he is given a temporary license to breed, but must come back at age five to participate in what is called the “station testing”.
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Six Weeks of Comprehensive Testing
..Generally only 8 to 12 stallions are station tested each year. They are housed for six weeks at the Norsk Hestesenter at Nordfjordeid and are ridden and driven daily, not by their owners, but by the skilled trainers who run the program. Every aspect of their temperament and ability is tracked on a daily basis. Stable manners, behavior with the farrier, willingness to work, ability to learn, and soundness all contribute to their scores.
..At the end of the six weeks, the horses perform before a panel of judges to demonstrate their abilities in draft harness, light harness, under saddle and loose jumping. Only the stallions that have satisfactory results in all areas are allowed to continue breeding.
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1st Pr., 2nd Pr., 3rd Pr.
..The approved stallions are awarded either a second or third premium, based on their overall scores. Fløtren received the coveted second premium at the five-year-old station testing. A first premium, Norway’s highest award, is given only to older stallions who have sired many excellent quality offspring and have also maintained correct conformation, soundness and ability to perform over the years. (Fløtren’s dam is a 1st Pr. mare, the fifth in a line of 1st Pr. mares.)
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Fløtren’s Norwegian Scores

AGE 3	8	8	7	8	8	9	9
AGE 5	8	8	8	8	8	8	9

..When he was imported from Norway in 1999, Fløtren was one of only two stallions in North America and the only stallion in the United States to have completed the Norwegian station testing program. At age three his conformation score was 39. (A perfect score is 50 and is never awarded.) His performance score was 44, the best of all the three-year-olds. At age five his conformation score was 40, and in the fourteen performance tests he earned 220 overall points, the highest of the 9 stallions tested in 1998.

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American Evaluations
In earning his blue ribbons in the American evaluations, in conformation/movement and performance, Fløtren has been awarded some of the highest scores ever given to a stallion.

NFHR Evaluation- Morrisville, NY 2002

Conformation and Movement
Introductory Riding Test - English
Advanced Riding Test - English [Part A & B]
Introductory Driving Test

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To see more pictures of Fløtren, click on a thumbnail to the left