The KWPN of North America (KWPN-NA) held its annual meeting in conjunction with the 2012 KWPN Stallion Licensing in 's Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands. More than 80 KWPN-NA members flew to the Netherlands to attend their annual meeting
and experience an educational equestrian program, which included visits to leading stables, a lecture on osteochondrosis research, and four-days at the KWPN Stallion Show.
In addition, the group visited the world-renowned Delta Works. In short, they experienced the best of the KWPN in particular and the Netherlands in general.
On Monday morning 30 January the group set out by bus for a tour of the Hendrix brothers' stables, both in Baarlo and Kessel, where they viewed a variety of horses and learned about the Hendrix' business strategy. Emile Hendrix gave a short jumping clinic at his training facility in Kessel before the group departed for Baarlo where Paul Hendrix showed their approved stallions and talked of Stal Hendrix' breeding program.
On the way to their next stop, VDL Stud, each member of the group received the new breeding values reference book. En route, Bart Henstra explained the significance of the breeding values and how to use them to choose the best stallion to pair with a mare.
Upon their arrival in Bears, the VDL Stud staff gave the group a tour of the entire facility. Next the group was treated to a presentation of an assortment of foals and mares in-hand, several 4-year ster and keur mares as well as a 6-year old ster mare. Team coach Rob Ehrens was present and gave a short jumping clinic with two 6-year olds under saddle. Stal Laarakkers brought several dressage horses to VDL, which they showed under saddle in a short dressage clinic. There was plenty of time throughout the visit for questions and answers. The final presentation featured the approved stallions, young and old. Afterward the Van de Lageweg family treated the entire group to traditional Dutch dinner food in the viewing room.
The following day, the group travelled to Frenk Jespers' facility for another educational session, which included a discussion of several horses presented standing in hand and then later shown under saddle. The group greatly appreciated the Jespers' hospitality and the educational experience. One of the highlights was a demo by Kirsten Beckers and the approved stallion Broere Montecristo.
The afternoon was dedicated to learning about Dutch culture and history, with a visit to the Delta Works. Escorted by a guide, the group learned about the project, visited its museum, and toured the most important areas of the Netherlands' most famous water barrier.
The next stop was the town of Vught, where the entire KWPN board joined the group for dinner and the awards presentations. After gathering for the KWPN-NA annual meeting the following morning, the group departed for the Brabanthallen in 's-Hertogenbosch to enjoy the four-day KWPN Stallion Show powered by Massey Ferguson.
Willy Arts, Chairman of the KWPN-NA: “We were given a grand reception at all the stables. Everyone was very hospitable and spent plenty of time to make it a truly educational experience. The Stallion Show was also educational. We all sat in the Sky Box, which was really nice. Bart Henstra, Toine Hoefs, and Henk Dirksen provided translation via a microphone and headsets and commented on the horses in the ring, which helped clarify the differences between them. On Thursday, Emile Hendrix gave commentary during the GMB Stallion Competition for jumpers, and Patrick van der Meer did the same during the GMB Stallion Competition for dressage horses. We really enjoyed our trip to the Netherlands. The week exceeded all our expectations, and we're already thinking about a sequel to this visit.”
Top photo © Sandra Nieuwendijk
Related Links
Etoine, Champion of the 2012 KWPN Stallion Licensing
KWPN-NA Offers VIP Tour of the 2012 KWPN Stallion Licensing
Chamberlain, Burch, Lahey Awarded $3,000 KWPN-NA Training Grant