Leunus van Lieren Passed Away

Dressage

The Netherlands

Leunus van Lieren, Dutch Grand Prix rider, trainer and decorated KWPN breeder, has passed away on 6 December 2024. He lost his battle against cancer and was 71 years old.

Stable Hexagon

The hard-working Leunus van Lieren was the founder of Stable Hexagon in Schore, The Netherlands in 1980 together with his late wife Mieke (+ 1992) . He was a multi-talented horseman: a farrier, a Grand Prix rider, a trainer of numerous students, and a very successful breeder and stallion owner.

His most important students were of course his son, Laurens van Lieren as well as his partner Thamar Zweistra. He also coached numerous assistent riders who began their professional career at Stable Hexagon, such as Dinja van Liere, Jeanine Nieuwenhuis, Benedek Pachl, Sergio Garcia Bermejo. He also coached Jazmin Yom Tov at the start of her FEI career as a junior.

Van Lieren was a highly recognizable figure on the dressage and breeding scene: always dressed in black clothes with the signature red details to represent the colours of his stable.

KWPN Breeder of the Year

Leunus on Louisville at the 2003 Dutch Championships
(Photo © Dirk Caremans)

Louisville and Rubiquil (by Rubinstein) were the foundation stallions of Van Lieren's breeding programme. The Manda-line was the mare line unequivocally connected to Hexagon with Amanda (by Doruto) as foundation mare.

He would present numerous young stallions for licensing with the KWPN and in case the KWPN committee rejected them, he would promptly present them with NRPS, or would breed with them nonetheless as he believed in his own horses. Gorgeous Latino, for instance, became the NRPS Licensing champion and later sold to the U.S.A. (Sabine Schut-Kery).

Van Lieren was proclaimed KWPN Breeder of the Year in 2017 after having bred 28 horses that competed at Grand Prix level, including Ich Weiss, Double Dutch, Zodinde, Ortello, Conquest, Innuendo, Rumania, Leon, Joella, Luxuriouzz, etc.

Since 2021 he was member of the KWPN Breeding Council.

International Dressage Sport

Leunus at the 2005 European Championships

The Van Lieren family came into the international spotlight at the start of the 2000s. Leunus learnt dressage with Jo and Bert Rutten and achieved a milestone on a national level aboard the stallion Louisville (by Burggraaf) with whom he won the 2004 Dutch Indoor Grand Prix Championships.

The first horse that made its breakthrough was Hexagon's Ollright (by Rubiquil x El Corona), who debuted as a 6-year old at the 2002 World Young Horse Championships in Verden u-nder Nicolette van Leeuwen (then Van Lierop). That same year Laurens van Lieren competed Ollright as a 6-year old (!) in the small tour classes at the 2002 CDIO Aachen. Laurens made his Grand Prix debut on Rubiquil and Ollright became his second Grand Prix ride in his career. They won the 2005 Dutch Indoor Grand Prix Championships and then went on to represent The Netherlands at the 2005 European Championships and 2006 World Equestrian Games, where they won team silver, and at the 2007 European Championships in Turin, where the Netherlands won historic team gold.

Thamar Zweistra made her international show debut on the home-bred Hexagon's Kyrain (by Crain x Lorenz) in 2000 as a junior rider and debuted at Grand Prix level in 2004. He was the first Hexagon horse to reach Grand Prix level. Zweistra also rode the home bred stallion Hexagon's Truppa at the 2006 World Young Horse Championships before her international Grand Prix career truly kicked off.

A Severe Loss

Van Lieren was diagnosed with cancer in 2023 but continued his life with the same vigour and dedication.

On 25 July 2024 he survived a severe riding accident thanks to the immediate help of Zweistra and paramedics. He fell with a horse that slipped and got crushed underneath it. When the horse tried to get up it hit Leunus several times with its legs. It caused multiple injuries, including broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and an open femur fracture with arterial bleeding. Zweistra applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. Van Lieren was rushed to the hospital were he underwent emergency surgery. He stayed in the hospital for several weeks and grumbled that he had to miss the Pavo Cup Finals. At the start of September 2024 he was present at the World Young Horse Championships in Ermelo.

Unfortunately on 6 December 2024, Leunus lost his battle against cancer. He passed surrounding by his family and loved ones.

A memorial service will be held at Stable Hexagon on 12 December. The funeral will take place privately.

At the 2018 CDIO Uggerhalne