• German Horseman's Badges were used to display state appreciation for varied levels of achievement in equine sports.horse eye image by Dev from Fotolia.com
  
  German Horseman Badges were an official sports decoration awarded during Nazi Germany. In some cases, they were similar to Olympic medals in that they were offered in gold, silver and bronze. As with many of the decorations offered by the Third Reich, they were chiefly aimed at creating a sense of national pride, as well as an ethnic pride in German culture and achievement. Related badges appear in three principle types: the German Horseman's Badge, the Expert Horseman's Badge and the Horse Driver's Badge.
  
  

German Horseman's Badge

• This was one form of badges to come in all three gold, silver and bronze varieties. The Deutches Reiterabzeichen was first issued in 1930 and there are no solid guesses as to how many of these badges were issued. The criteria for the award was a displayed "equestrian excellence." Current market demand for these collectibles place the gold at about 250, silver 175 and bronze 100 (euros). There were also Horseman's badges for youth.
  
  

Expert Horseman's Badge

• The expert badge was harder to obtain than the former. In order to be awarded this badge, you had to be a member of the Nationalsocialistiche Reiterkorps, which was associated with the SS, or the Nazi storm troopers.You also had to be capable of passing specific tests in order to qualify. The candidate needed to be able to teach those skills as well. As with the Horseman's Badges, there is no certainty as to how many are in circulation, but prices for them are quite high, typically at about 3,500 euros.
  
  

Horse Driver's Badge

• The Driver's Badge was also given out in all three metals. It was given for exceptional skills in the sportive driving of horses and no outside criteria was necessary, unlike the expert's badge. The Driver's Badge is composed of a decorative outer ring with the image of the driver behind his horse team set in the middle, while the others show the mounted rider. While the Driver's bronze value is exactly similar to the Horseman's Badge, the values for gold and silver are significantly higher. Gold has been placed at 450 Euros and silver at 300.