The first stallion show for riding horses in Belgium took place, illegally, in 1953; the BWP was founded in 1955. Without native riding horses or all-purpose heavy warmbloods, Belgian breeders had to import stallions and mares. Over the course of 50 years, the BWP accrued a mare base of over 3,500 broodmares and produced a significant number of international-quality show jumpers. In 2010, the BWP was ranked 4th in the FEI/WBFSH International Show Jumping standings, below only the KWPN-Dutch Warmblood, Selle Français and Holsteiner studbooks.