The German Giant Exits Polo Breeding
- Dec 3
- 3 min read
For years, polo has moved through a landscape of uncertainty: a shortage of top-tier players, a lack of creative revenue streams from clubs, and skyrocketing operational costs have led to organizational closures and the loss of grounds to other equestrian sports. Against this backdrop, Germany's premier polo horse breeder, Schockemöhle, has announced its shift to breeding trotting horses.
In Germany, roughly 800 individuals are registered with polo clubs, but only half play actively. Some are drawn by prestige, others by business or pure enjoyment. Clubs like Mühlen Polo Club, active since 2014, continue this tradition.
The Schockemöhle family's equestrian legacy, however, runs much deeper. Alwin Schockemöhle clinched the gold medal in show jumping at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, and together with his brother Paul, they amassed countless medals at European and World Championships. Their stable was legendary, their stock among the world's most coveted. There is scarcely a corner of the globe where they haven't sold a horse or earned acclaim.
Schockemöhle is an empire that never limited itself to horses alone. From the start of his show jumping career in the 1960s, Alwin was always a visionary entrepreneur. He built a diversified portfolio spanning freight transport, logistics, feed production, real estate, and renewable energy.
Each year, top-tier dressage and show jumping horses, destined for international sporting success, are auctioned. The 45th auction, held in 2024, achieved total sales of nearly $21.5 million. Some horses have reportedly fetched prices as high as $1.72 million. According to German press, Schockemöhle caused an international sensation in 2010 by purchasing the wondrous dressage horse Totilas for a reported sum of around $10.75 million.
Their daughter Vanessa and her husband Patrick Maleitzke transformed the breeding operation into a benchmark for polo horses. They added a breeding and reproduction division at their club in Mühlen, Lower Saxony, to the already respected line of competition horses. It was a risky venture: European production costs far exceed those of importing horses from Argentina or Uruguay. Yet, over the years, they succeeded in consolidating elite genetic lines—including stallions from the prestigious Ellerstina stud—becoming continental Europe's most important polo breeding center, a feat once deemed impossible.
In short order, the stud farm grew to become the largest in the region. Under the leadership of Maleitzke—Germany's best polo player with a 5-goal handicap and the youngest to win the national tournament—the center firmly established itself as the reference point.
Today, however, the reality has shifted. Maleitzke notes a decline in their client base. A single polo horse costs at least $24,000; a player needs four to compete, totaling approximately $96,000. Costs continue to climb: minimum wages, social security for foreign workers, and rising prices for feed and care. Furthermore, training a horse takes five to six years, and breeding for quality commands an additional premium.
Despite this, the club operates at full capacity: hosting polo tournaments, running a school, and welcoming players from across Europe for classic summer events. It currently stables around 120 horses.
The atmosphere pulses with activity: employees shoe hooves, groom coats, distribute straw, veterinarians make their rounds, trucks come and go, maintenance staff work diligently—all to keep the sport alive and the horses primed to fly across the field.
Most employees are Argentinian—hailing from the home of the world's best polo—and work in spacious, modern facilities unique in Europe. A standout feature is a covered racetrack over a kilometer long, enabling training in any weather. The club also boasts two open polo fields for summer, an outdoor arena for stick-and-ball practice, and a racetrack stretching 1 to 2 kilometers.
For equine training and recovery, the center is outfitted with cutting-edge technology: walker machines for treatments or injuries, therapeutic pools for tendon and joint issues, and magnetic and shockwave therapy equipment—a veritable state-of-the-art clinic.
Although the breeding facilities have been repurposed for competition horses, the duo of Vanessa and Patrick continues to compete across the continent. Their presence is felt at classic Schockemöhle tournaments, where everything—from stalls and horse tack to player equipment and even the trucks—is adorned in the signature yellow and black, now a registered trademark of German polo.
