Weidevrouwe

The mare makes the difference
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text : KARIN DE HAAN
photos : JACOB MELISSEN, DIRK CAREMANS & ARCHIVE HENDRIKSEN FAMILY
Weidevrouwe
A broodmare is only deemed good when most of her
offspring excel in the sport. If, however, the broodma
re’s daughters also produce offspring which excel in
the sport, then we can assert that she is a world-class
broodmare Weidevrouwe (s.Roemer). Her grandson
Glock’s Undercover (s.Ferro) was recently the subject of
conversation in the international dressage community
when he was purchased as Edward Gal’s trump card for
the future. In addition, her grandson, the KWPN-appro
ved stallion Amazing Star, and her great-grandson Rising
Star (a successful competitor in the USA under Barbie
Asplundh) are two more examples of horses which hold
great promise for the future.
Perseus
Pilatus
Duele
Roemer pref
Cyrano
Cronella
Flocke
Weidevrouwe
keur pref prest
Wachtmeester pref
Folio pref
Zilfia pref kroon
Landsvrouwe
ster pref prest
Zodiac
Gomba
Somba
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KWPN International - 2
Archive Hendriksen family
broodmare. In this article, we profile the world-class
Weidevrouwe is a mare which produced good performance offspring time and again. She
is the granddam of Edward Gal’s new trump card Glock’s Undercover and his half-brother
Rising Star, who is causing a craze in the USA. Weidevrouwe is also the great-granddam of
the KWPN stallion Amazing Star.
Weidevrouwe’s story begins with the Folio daughter Landsvrouwe
ster pref prest (out of Gomba by Zodiac). The mare spent her first
years with Maas Hendriksen of Ede, before beginning a career as
a broodmare for the Norde family of Vorden. Landsvrouwe produced a total of 16 offspring, among them the Grand Prix dressage horses Best Man (s.Symfonie, rider: Victor Miracet) and Casanova (s. Kommandeur, rider: Els Jansen); the national dressage
horses Edelvrouwe (s. Saluut, rider: Barbara Koot), Fieldmaster
(s.Uniform, rider: Joyce Vroom) and Grand Soigneur M (s.Blanc
Rivage xx); and the prestatie mares Weidevrouwe keur pref prest
(s. Roemer), Zandvrouwe keur prest (s.Saluut), and Dansvrouw
elite pref prest (s. Kommandeur). With Landsvrouwe’s daughter
Ombola (s.Hoogheid), Peet van Zessen built a successful harness
horse-line, which subsequently produced Landheer (s.Ganges,
Singles Farm Wagon Champion of 2002 and 2003) and the top
inspection horse Rombola (s.Fabricius), among others.
Marianne Hendriksen recalls Landsvrouwe from the stories of her
husband Maas Hendriksen, who is a distant relative of Maas
Dutch breeding has become great because of its strict requirements for
stallions. However, mares are just as important as stallions in the quest to
breed continually better horses. But who imposes requirements on
mares? While stallions are selected through a systematic process, mares
are not. Breeders, not the Studbook, are responsible for choosing
potential broodmares. This type of selection structure, in which the best
stallions are approved for stud but the quality of new broodmares is
unknown, places a crucial responsibility on breeders and the decisions
they make. Therefore, when choosing a match for a stallion, the right
mare makes the difference.
A Fertile Line
Weidevrouwe developed into a big, imposing mare and stood
1.70m/16.3-hands tall. At age three, she easily earned the ster
Height:
1.70m
Color:
chestnut
Predicates:
keur preferent prestatie
Dirk Caremans
Hendriksen of Ede, the founder of the Landsvrouwe-line. Marianne: “Landsvrouwe was a lesson horse at the riding club. She
had a wonderful temperament, remarkably cooperative and honest. Back then, she was a modern mare with lots of presence,
and she had good movement. She was almost always in-foal or
nursing a foal - that’s when she was in her element. In that respect, she was a true broodmare.”
“We bought several of her offspring, one of which was Edelvrouwe. We eventually sold her to Dutch rider Johan Rockx, who
showed her at Z2-level dressage before selling her to Barbara
Koot. Later, we had the Grand Prix horse Casanova and the mare
Zandvrouwe on our property for a time. When Landsvrouwe was
12 years old, Maas Hendriksen sold her to Mr. Norde. A few
years later, Mr. Norde sold his farm. That’s when we took Landsvrouwe and cared for her through her old age,” explains Marianne.
Landsvrouwe’s third foal was Weidevrouwe. “At the time, I had
lost my horse, so we were looking to get another one. We knew
that Weidevrouwe, who was two years old at the time, was for
sale. We bought her and kept her until she passed away,” says
Marianne. Weidevrouwe was by Roemer, a stallion which is still
coveted in dressage horse pedigrees for producing willing offspring with a good hind leg.
Weidevrouwe’s great-grandson Amazing Star (Flemmingh out of Thaliavrouwe ster by
Ferro), a KWPN-approved stallion, is a sensation under Theo Hanzon.
predicate. Weidevrouwe proved to be a fertile mare, producing a
total of 17 foals. Marianne: “Fertility is really a trait of this line. All
the mares are easy to get in-foal, and they’re wonderful mothers.
dressage
- Pamona Vrouwe (s. Krack C), Z2 dressage
with Laurine Brucher; Small Tour under
Emmely Ward
- Romorantin (s. Krack C), Small Tour with
Vivienne Bos
- Smaragd Vrouwe (s. Krack C), Z2 dressage
A Description of Weidevrouwe:
A big, beautiful mare with good basic gaits and
a good hind leg. Her appearance was slightly
classic. Weidevrouwe was a very healthy and
fertile mare, who produced 17 foals in her
lifetime. Furthermore, she had an excellent
temperament, which she passed on to her
offspring and grand-offspring.
Achievements
Offspring:
- Goldstar (s. Ulft), Z2 dressage with Inge Fokker; Small Tour dressage in Germany under
Claudia Aulenbacher
- Joeri (s. Rex Magna xx), Z2 dressage with
Alex van Silfhout; sold to the UK
- Kingston (s. Wolfgang), 1.35m show jumping
in Germany
- Mimosavrouwe keur pref sport (dres) (s. Donnerhall), Z1 + 5 points dressage
- Orchideevrouwe keur (s. Jazz), Z1 + 6 points
Grand-Offspring:
- Remie B (Zeoliet out of Freule ster by Ulft), Z +
4 points jumping
- Timeless B (Donatelli out of Freule ster by
Ulft), Z1 + 1 point dressage
- Magistraal (Facet out of Heidevrouwe ster by
Rex Magna xx), Z2 + 10 points dressage
- Pronkvrouwe (Jimtown out of Heidevrouwe ster
by Rex Magna xx), Z1 + 2 points dressage
- Uw Vrouwe, sport name: Chokotoff (Wellington
out of Heidevrouwe ster by Rex Magna xx), Z1
+ 1 point dressage, Z + 2 points jumping;
international eventing horse
- Sacramento (Amsterdam out of Lentevrouwe
pref by Wolfgang), Z2 + 6 points dressage
- Troubadour (Amsterdam out of Lentevrouwe
pref by Wolfgang), Z + 3 points jumping
- Rising Star ster (Krack C out of Mimosavrouwe keur pref prest sport (dres), Small Tour
dressage
- Thalia Vrouwe ster (Ferro out of Mimosavrouwe
keur pref prest sport (dres), Z1 dressage
- Undercover (Ferro out of Mimosavrouwe keur
pref prest sport (dres), Grand Prix dressage
- Tallin (Gribaldi out of Orchideevrouwe keur by
Jazz), Small Tour dressage
- Zomervrouwe (Houston out of Orchideevrouwe keur by Jazz), Z2 + 6 points dressage
- Untouchable (Ferro out of Pamona Vrouwe by
Krack C), Small Tour dressage
- Vivace Vrouwe (Ferro out of Pamona Vrouwe
by Krack C), Z2 +1 point dressage
- Zaffiervrouwe (Ferro out of Smaragd Vrouwe
by Krack C), Z1 + 1 point dressage
Great-Grand-Offspring:
- Zhivago (Flemmingh out of Thalia Vrouwe ster
by Ferro), Z2 + 15 points dressage
- Amazing Star (Flemmingh out of Thalia Vrouwe ster by Ferro), KWPN-approved stallion
- Waikiki elite sport (dres), IBOP (dres) (Sandro
Hit out of Special Times by Goodtimes), Z2 +1
point dressage
(Note: This list includes only horses with an
official sport standing of > Z1-level dressage
and/or > Z-level show jumping, and approved
KWPN stallions.)
KWPN International - 2
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Proven Blood
Jacob Melissen
Edward Gal’s new Grand Prix trump card is Glock’s Undercover, a grandson of this
story’s main character, Weidevrouwe. Glock’s Undercover is by Ferro out of Mimosavrouwe keur pref prest sport-dres (s.Donnerhall), the granddam of the KWPN-approved
stallion Amazing Star.
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KWPN International - 2
Dirk Caremans
The line also produces solid, healthy horses. It’s no coincidence
that many of them excel in the sport through their later years.”
Weidevrouwe was first paired with Ulft twice. The result was the
ster mare Freule, followed by the stallion Goldstar. Freule eventually was purchased by Frans van de Burg of Berkel en Rodenrijs,
who used her and several of her daughters to breed jumpers.
Remie B (s.Zeoliet), a Z-level jumper, is one of Freule’s daughters.
The Ulft-son Goldstar finished fifth in Z2-level dressage at the
Levade under Inge Fokker before Johann Hinnemann facilitated
his sale to a German rider, who successfully competed Goldstar
at the national level.
Next, Weidevrouwe produced several foals by the English Thoroughbred Rex Magna xx. Among them was Joeri, who Alex van
Silfhout rode to Z2-level dressage before the ster gelding was
sold abroad. Another Weidevrouwe foal by Rex Magna xx is the
ster mare Heidevrouwe, who in turn produced offspring including
the Z2-level dressage horse Magistraal (s. Facet), the Z1-level
dressage horse Pronkvrouwe (s.Jimtown), and the international
eventer Uw Vrouwe (s.Wellington).
“Several of Weidevrouwe’s foals and her daughters’ foals were
sold abroad and are doing well, like Weidevrouwe’s foal Kingston
(s.Wolfgang). I sold him to dressage rider Stefano van Zuylen,
who rode him to M-level dressage and then sold him to a buyer
from Germany, where the horse competed in show jumping
(1.35m, red.),” according to Marianne.
Weidevrouwe also gave birth to a filly by Wolfgang named
Lentevrouwe, who became a broodmare for the Hofstra family in
Reduzum. She produced 11 foals, among them the Z2-level
dressage horse Sacramento (s. Amsterdam) and the Z-level
jumper Troubadour (s.Amsterdam).
Remarkably, almost all of Weidevrouwe’s daughters turned out to
be good broodmares, like the Z1-level dressage competitor Orchideevrouwe keur (s.Jazz), the Small Tour horse Tallin (s.Gribaldi), and the Z2-level dressage horse Zomerfee (s.Houston). Bred
to Krack C, Weidevrouwe gave birth to two fillies and a colt. The
two fillies, named Pamona Vrouwe ster sport (dres) and Smaragd
Vrouwe ster sport (dres), both achieved Z2-level dressage. Pamona Vrouwe was also a very successful broodmare, as evidenced by offspring including the Small Tour dressage horse
Untouchabel (s.Ferro) and his full sister Vivace Vrouwe ster prok
sport (dres), who is qualified at Z2-level dressage. The Krack C
colt eventually competed in the Small Tour under the name Romorantin, ridden by Vivienne Bos.
The Hendriksen family also experienced great success combining Ferro and Flemmingh blood. Marianne: “Choosing stallions
is something my husband and I do together. Actually, old
Landsvrouwe could be combined with any stallion. She always
threw a good foal. This line simply breeds well. Nevertheless,
we’re very selective about the stallions we use, and indeed we
generally prefer the more proven stallions. In the past, we used
Flemmingh a lot as well as his son Krack C and Ferro. We only
used Jazz once, which gave us Orchideevrouwe, the mare I
mentioned earlier. However, we bred two of our mares this year
with the Jazz son Johnson. With young stallions, there’s always
Although the Landsvrouwe-line is generally associated with quality dressage horses,
it has also produced a number of good jumpers like Uw Vrouwe (sport name: Chokotoff), an international eventer under Merel Schurink.
Susan Stickle
Barbie Asplundh of the USA competes successfully in the Small Tour on
Weidevrouwe’s grandson Rising Star (s.Krack C).
a waiting period to find out how they breed. On the other hand,
if there’s a young stallion out of a good line, we also use him.
That’s how we achieved good results with Bordeaux, and we
used Vivaldi from the beginning.”
name was changed to Glock’s Undercover when news broke that
he was acquired as a new future trump card for Edward Gal. Undercover’s full sister Thalia Vrouwe is still with the Hendriksens.
Mimosavrouwe also produced offspring by Houston, Olivi, and
Vivaldi. Last year, the productive broodmare passed away after
giving birth again. Fortunately, the Hendriksens still have her
daughters Thaliavrouwe ster and Weidevrouwe ster, who are used
for breeding. Thalia Vrouwe especially deserves mention. “Thaliavrouwe is a really nice, healthy mare and has good movement.
She’s a true asset to breeding because she passes on size and a
super disposition. Although she’s qualified to compete in Z1-level
dressage, she should be further along in the sport. However, it’s
difficult to combine breeding with sport”, asserts Marianne.
Thalia Vrouwe was bred to Flemmingh twice. The oldest offspring
of the pairing, Zhivago, is currently qualified at Z2-level dressage.
His brother, born one year earlier, is the KWPN-approved stallion
Amazing Star. Although Thalia Vrouwe also boasts offspring by
Lingh, Vivaldi, and Bordeaux, her son Amazing Star was remarkable even as a foal. “We always believed he’d go far. Joop van
Uytert came to our place because we had bred three mares to
Vivaldi. I remember the occasion well. Amazing Star was two years
old at the time and kept in pasture. He was always really easy on
the ground. He trotted and cantered around the pasture, and Joop
really liked him. We ended up selling him a 50% share in Amazing
Star. After he was selected for the performance test, we sold the
other 50%”, explains Marianne.
Amazing Star already boasts several noteworthy achievements. For
example, he won the Pavo Cup for five-year-olds; and last year, he
competed in the final of the FEI World Breeding Championships for
Young Dressage Horses. The stallion is currently in training with
Theo Hanzon and recently made his winning debut at ZZ-light level.
“It’s fantastic to achieve such good results with the horses we’ve
bred, but what’s equally fantastic is that the offspring of Weidevrouwe’s daughters are also excelling in the sport. Now that’s horse
breeding! It’s not about a single achievement but about building
one successful generation after the next”, concludes Marianne.
Weidevrouwe’s daughter Mimosavrouwe (s.Donnerhall) proved
to be the Hendriksens’ most important mare as she helped expand the line. Her legendary sire Donnerhall, who competed at
the top of international dressage under Karin Rehbein, passes
on a willing disposition and talent for collection. Fortunately,
Mimosavrouwe inherited Donnerhall’s talent and willingness.
Within eight months, she achieved Z1-level dressage, which
was sufficient in those days to earn her the sport predicate. She
then became a broodmare.
Mimosavrouwe’s oldest offspring is the Krack C son Rising Star,
who shows in the Small Tour in the USA. He recently excelled at
that level in Florida’s Palm Beach Dressage Derby.
Next, Mimosavrouwe was bred to Ferro twice, which resulted in a
colt and a filly. The colt, who was named Undercover, was purchased by Bert den Uijl, who put him in training with Stefano van
Zuylen. The black gelding is now a Grand Prix horse. Recently, his
Archive Hendriksen family
Mimosavrouwe
Thaliavrouwe (s.Ferro), the dam of the KWPN stallion Amazing Star.
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