By Steef Roest / KWPN
Photography: Jessica Pijlman

Last spring, the Veurink family witnessed how Pitch Perfect became their second home-bred KWPN-approved stallion. The family from Bergentheim owes its success to Antine-Nomia, a Negro daughter they found on the internet, that completely represents their vision of rideability and character.

In Bergentheim, a small village surrounding a green located between Hardenberg and Almelo in the province of Overijssel, a future in dressage horse breeding was not regarded as a natural path for the Veurink family. Multiple preceding generations had earned their living from rabbit farming, and according to them that explains why breeding is in their blood. “Every year, we love the breeding season. The excitement of the mare management, the waiting game that follows, and then hoping the outcome meets the expectations. It’s a source of joy for the entire family,” explains Herman Veurink.
Thanks to their five children, Herman (68) and Bertha Veurink (66) were introduced to equestrian sport and breeding was a logical next step. “We were quickly fed up with driving back and forth to the riding school and that resulted in the arrival of a pony. Since breeding is in our blood, it did not take long before that pony had a foal at foot. When our son Mark made the transition to horses, we also added a mare to breed with. It started out as a hobby, but it slowly became more serious. The rabbit farm has been converted to modern horse stables that we are looking to expand further in the future.”

A strong start

The Veurink family began with the mare Jamorka, a star daughter of Faram (out of Zamorka ster pref prest by Amor, bred by B. Winters of Beerze). Her first foal in Bergentheim is the young Kennedy offspring Vamor that was elected vice-champion of the foals at the Central Inspection of Overijssel. Vamor later advanced to Z2-level dressage with Wilma and was sold to a Swedish youth rider where he was active just under Small Tour level. Aragom (Rousseau) was sold as a foal and went on to compete in the Fourth Level in the United States. “At a certain moment, we began our search for a mare that could take our breeding program to the next level. Jamorka was not an easy mare to handle, and we believed we would have more fun with a mare with more quality and a pleasant character.”

Small risk

Keen to continue the dressage horse breeding endeavours, son Mark (37) and daughter in law Wilma (38) aimed to find a dressage mare that would suit the sport and family’s breeding goals. After a lengthy search the couple stumbled upon Antine-Nomia on the internet. The three-year-old Negro daughter immediately gave the family a good feeling, although the purchase came with a small risk. Wilma Veurink explains: “At the studbook inspection she didn’t convince the jury with her movements, although she received sufficient marks for her conformation for the ster predicate. We knew we had to obtain the predicates via the sport route. We thought she was a very appealing mare and instantly felt a connection. She had received only three weeks of training under saddle, but she was immediately a comfortable ride. For us, it’s essential a horse has a pleasant character, so her friendly and resigned character was a decisive factor.“.. To read the complete article you need to be a subscriber
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