Dutch Team Horse Hero Sold to Japan

Dressage

The Netherlands

Devenda Dijkstra's career-starting Grand Prix horse Hero has been sold to Japan. He was a two-time Dutch team horse.

Hero is a 13-year old Dutch warmblood gelding by Johnson out of Alanda (by OO-Seven x Ramiro Z). He is bred by J. van de Moosdijk.

Devenda Dijkstra

Hero was owned by Dutch horse investor Jan Pieter Dalsem and Devenda's life partner Laurens van Lieren.

Devenda took the gelding from novice level to Grand Prix with the help of Van Lieren. The pair began competing at B-level in Holland six and a half years ago and gradually moved up.

The paire made its international show debut in the Under 25 rider division in Le Mans in June 2021 and represented The Netherlands at the 2021 European Under 25 Championships in Hagen, where she won team silver and placed 14th in the short Grand Prix. They won silver at the 2021 Dutch Under 25 Championships.

In 2022 she moved into the senior ranks with three international shows in Geesteren, Leeuwarden and Kronenberg. They were 12th in the consolation finals of the 2022 Dutch Grand Prix Championships

Their career highlight was in 2023. After competing in Den Bosch, the Aachen Festival 4 Dressage, Exloo, Falsterbo and Kronenberg they were second reserve for the Dutch team for the 2023 European Championships in Riesenbeck. When Dinja van Liere's Hermes dropped out due to an injury and Adelinde Cornelissen declined the spot with Fleau de Baian, Devenda got the opportunity of a life-time to compete for The Netherlands in her first senior Europeans. She finished 30th in the Special with 67.584%. They were seventh in 2023 Dutch Grand Prix Championships.

In 2024 the pair went full throttle and showed in no less than 10 international competitions: Basel, Amsterdam, Doha, Den Bosch, Aachen Festival 4 Dressage, Crozet, Hagen, Lyon, Stuttgart and Mechelen. They were 9th in the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix Championships

Japan

Hero has now been sold to Japanese Grand Prix rider Akiko Yonemoto.

Akiko has competed on and off in Europe over the last twenty years and trains with Heiner Schiergen.

Her first Grand Prix horse was Elmegardens Fight (by Fruhling x Locarno) which she bought at Hof Kasselmann and showed at international GP level in 2005 and 2006 (CDI's Hagen, Frankfurt and Bremen). Since 2022 she has been competing Aaron and Den Haag at international Grand Prix level under Schiergen's supervision. She also owns Deneuve, shown by Isabell Werth.

"At the start of our adventure I knew that my very best mate would be sold even though I had hoped to keep him until his retirement with me," Dijkstra took to social media. "He made all my dreams come true, things I didn't even dare to dream of. I'm inconsolable for now but I hope he'll be very happy with his new owner, that he gets pampered and get unlimited attention because that's what he deserves."