By Jenneke Smit / KWPN
Photography: Jacob Melissen
No stallion inspection passes by without Reinie Tewis. He turned his childhood dream of becoming a stallion keeper, into his profession and is a master at discovering talent among young stallions, and has built up an impressive track record as a trainer.
After being based in Westdorp for 20 years, Reinie, along with Sonja Vlaar and their daughters Lynn and Rose, settled in Zweeloo, also located in Drenthe, three years ago. On a slightly smaller scale than before but with undiminished enthusiasm, the stallion owner prepares the stallions for the stallion inspection every year. This year, this resulted in among other things the premium stallion Raven (Comme il faut - Ietrichta x Catoki) and four other selected stallions.
Preparing themselves
Although Reinie does not come from a horse family, the profession he wanted to pursue quickly became clear to him. “Breeding has always fascinated me, and I sterted following the inspections at a young age. I attended agricultural school, and when I was 16 I did an internship with Matty Marissink. That’s how I ended up at the stallion inspection, where the stallion Wolfgang crossed my path. That was the first stallion I could lease, and that’s how it sterted,” Reinie reflects.
The later keur-declared stallion Cavalier, who performed at the highest level with Franke Slootaak under the name San Patrignano Mister (1999: out of Uricarla x Meteoor), was subsequently his first stallion. Even during that time, Reinie already prepared stallions for the inspection, and the enjoyment he derives from it has only increased. “At that time, I prepared one or two stallions every year and was already very happy if they made it to the second viewing. By now, the bar is set a bit higher because I have trained many good stallions, and the quality keeps improving,” Reinie explains.
Very few people will miss the enthusiasm with which Reinie presents his stallions. He beams from ear to ear when his stallions provide a remarkable performance. “Discovering talent is the most beautiful thing for me, as well as the connection with other breeders with whom I often collaborate on the stallions. The stallion inspection is something I am busy with year-round. We stert the actual training of the horses in mid September, and then the winter months are always focused on the stallion inspections. If that then yields success, I can really enjoy it.”
Five selected
Last season, Reinie prepared 10 stallions for the inspection, nine of which were selected for the second round viewing. In ’s-Hertogenbosch, five stallions were selected for the performance test, including the premium stallion Raven (Mattias - Annelita C elite pref prest IBOP-spr PROK x Guidam), who comes from their own breeding program... To read the complete article you need to be a subscriber
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