Dutch O-judge Wim Ernes will be appointed the new Dutch team trainer, succeeding Sjef Janssen whose contract came to an end after the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
The Dutch Equestrian Federation (KNHS) was supposed to announce the new coach on Monday at the 2012 Global Dressage Forum in Hooge Mierde, The Netherlands, but the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf broke the news today, which the KNHS confirmed a few hours later.
De Telegraaf wrote that "according to the Dutch Equestrian Federation the Limburg based Ernes is the ideal successor for Janssen because the O-judge is current with the demands of dressage riders at top level."
Wim Ernes became an I-judge in 1993 and received the O status in 2007. He is married and has a daughter. He was a successful dressage rider and trained several horses to small tour level. In 1992 Ernes served as Dutch Team Coach at the Olympic Gams in Atlanta and in 2002 he became President of the Dutch Dressage Committee. One year later he started to chair the Dutch Dressage Judges Committee. He is also a member of the KWPN Stallion Licensing Committee.
With his appointment as Dutch team trainer, Ernes will no longer be able to judge at competitions where the Dutch team is showing. The Netherlands now has two O-judges left in function, Francis Verbeek and FEI Judge General Ghislain Fouarge. Judge Mariette Sanders-Van Gansewinkel is working hard to climb the ladder to O-status.
The 62-year old Janssen, who recently started training top German combination Matthias Rath-Totilas, will not disappear entirely from the Dutch scene. The Dutch Equestrian Federation has asked him if they could continue to rely on his skills and expertise as trainer which he accepted.
Photo © Astrid Appels
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