Dr. Frederic Bünger succeeds Dr. Hinni Lührs-Behnke as President of the Hannoveraner Verband

Dr. Frederic Bünger, veterinarian with chiropractic training, holder of the golden riding badge for success in advanced (S) level dressage and show jumping! – and horse breeding firmly anchored in the family DNA, is the new President of the Hanoverian Association. Growing up in the Lüneburg Heath as the son of stallion breeder Klaus Bünger, he grew up not only with horses but also with the Hannoveraner Verband. His father Klaus bred Anky van Grunsvens (NED), Olympic dressage champion Salinero and was active in many honorary positions for the Hanoverian Verband. A prominent stallion born to the Bünger family bears Frederic Bünger’s name: the Celle state stud stallion Don Frederico, sire of Isabell Werth’s European Championship horse Don Johnson.

Dr. Frederic Bünger, who was German student rider champion as a student, now lives south of Hildesheim, where he runs his practice in Harbarnsen. The Bünger family’s most recent breeding success is the stallion Lindenberg, who won the Bundeschampionat in 2024 under Jakob Schenk. In his active career as a rider, Bünger has achieved 90 placings in advanced (S) to Grand Prix dressage tests alone. In show jumping, he has achieved 26 advanced (S) level successes, including three victories.

Dr. Hinni Lührs-Behnke was no longer available

The previous President, Dr. Hinni Lührs-Behnke, did not stand for re-election. He was awarded the Golden Badge of Honor for his many years of dedicated work. There were also changes to the Supervisory Board: Henning Schmidt did not stand for re-election, so Stefan Kallaß was newly elected to the board. Hendrik Hüsker from Syke will take over as Chairman in future.

New Executive Board team

Dr. Michael Lühs from Wagenfeld, who will now be responsible for the area of breeder loyalty, has joined the Executive Board. He succeeds Helmut Bäßmann and emphasizes that the horses should always be the focus of committee work. Nils zur Lage from Bersenbrück will take over the vacant position on the Dressage Breeding Committee previously held by Dr. Frederic Bünger. The 27-year-old is particularly keen to incorporate the interests and ideas of the younger generation into the association’s work.

In a first video message, the newly elected president addressed the breeders and drew their attention to the changes in the Hanoverian Verband’s mare show system. He also appealed to breeders to market their good horses via the Verden auction venue. He held out the prospect of further innovations for exhibitors of auction horses, which should keep costs as low as possible. Like the other German horse breeding associations, the Hannoveraner Verband is also struggling with falling numbers of mares and foals born(an overview can be found here).

It was also decided that horses from other populations would also be auctioned at the Hanoverian Verband’s riding horse auctions in the future. The Hanoverian Verband, which had long pursued a rigid breeding policy and only admitted Hanoverian and Rhineland stallions for licensing, has been admitting potential sires that are not registered in Hanover for a few years now.