Mourning for Hans-Christian Först
Sören (fn-press). Hans-Christian Först, former chairman of the horse studbook Schleswig-Holstein / Hamburg and longstanding member of the breeding board of the German Equestrian Association (FN), is no longer alive. He died on December 31, 2021 at the age of 93.
The farmer from Sören near Kiel was for many years chairman of the working group of pony and small horse breeders (AGP) and until recently its honorary chairman. Once an active rider and driver himself, organized youth work in equestrian sport, for which he first set the course in Schleswig-Holstein and then also at the federal level, was always close to his heart. From 1970 to 1980, Först was a federal youth warden and a member of the FN's sports board. For his voluntary work, he was awarded the Gustav Rau Medal and the gold equestrian cross, among other things.
But his services also found high recognition beyond the horse scene. In 1982 Först received the Federal Cross of Merit. In 2001 he was awarded the Cross of Merit 1st Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by the then Federal President Johannes Rau. The reasoning stated that Först had set standards, especially in the field of horse breeding and equestrian sport, through his special voluntary commitment at the state and federal level. Particularly noteworthy were his services to the youth work, the training and further education of the riders, the initiation of numerous equestrian events as well as the successful management of the AGP and the horse studbook Schleswig-Holstein / Hamburg.
