By Jenneke Smit / KWPN
Photography: Dirk Caremans
Top international rider Eric van der Vleuten has been announced as the new member of the KWPN stallion selection committee for jumping. His immense track record gives him precise insights in what the sport demands. His rising interest in breeding has resulted in multiple successes and great motivation to make time to contribute to the KWPN stallion selection.
Eric van der Vleuten will succeed Henk van den Broek as of November 2021, thus joining international showjumper Wout-Jan van der Schans and chairman Cor Loeffen. This is sure to yield an interesting mix of sport and breeding expertise as they form the executive body to select the approved stallions of the future.
Sport and breeding
Still active at the top level at the age of 58, Eric van der Vleuten can already look back on an incredible sporting career which is characterised by many highlights. It includes participating in the World Championships in Kentucky (2010), Rome (1998) and Stockholm (1990), several European Championships, multiple World Cup Finals, as well as numerous Grands Prix and Nations Cup competitions. He has, thereby, developed into one of the pillars of Dutch sport, and thanks to his appointment as a member of the stallion selection committee he now gets the chance to strengthen Dutch breeding.
From Someren, North Brabant, where the stables of the Van der Vleuten family have been located since 2013, he is eagerly looking forward to this new challenge. “Breeding has always been of interest to me, and we have always bred horses ourselves. Mostly with mares we were active with in sports that we then used for breeding, sometimes together with co-owners. One of those mares was my former Grand Prix horse Jikke. She stands as the dam of Elwikke, the nine-year-old Eldorado van de Zeshoek daughter that is currently performing at 1m55 level with Maikel,” Eric explains. “During the time of our partnership with VDL Group we also used our sport mares for breeding, such as Dargita Z, Parmala Douche, and Naomi. Each and every one had lots of quality and an incredible attitude.” .. To read the complete article you need to be a subscriber
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