Holland-Friesians

Nicole with Jolmer

In the early Nineties the editor of the magazine Phryso asked us to write articles on the breeding of the Friesian horse and to write stories about the keuring results. The knowledge which we had acquired over the past years was very useful at this point. 

Meanwhile, we had completed our studies at the Art Academy and could now devote all our time to our passion. Time and time again it is a great thrill to wake up at dawn to travel to a place in the Netherlands, just to watch the crème de la crème of the Friesian breeding studbook trot by.

Portraits
Even though a carreer in art education lay in wait for me, I decided, driven by the passion for the horse to drop everything in ’92 and to work full time on painting (Friesian) horses.

eternalized for their future descendants.  My freelance work is also collected world-wide. My work characterises itself by a high degree of perfection and details. Every vertex, lash and muscle group must be reflected as naturally as possible. But, MOST important of all, is the eye, the mirror of the soul. I receive the biggest compliments from the owners, who are sometimes so touched that they have to wipe a tear away at seeing the final result.
 
During the past years I have also made more expressive sketches on a large format.

See picture right>>

Export Holland Friesians

Looking for inspiration for our paintings and journalism work, and seeking the best samples of the Friesian horse, we visit many prominent breeders and horse owners, who have, over the years, become good friends. Inevitable as sharing the love for the most wonderful and beautiful horse breed on earth creates a strong bond, and one never runs out of material to talk about. It won’t be the last time that we visit a breeder for a ‘short visit’ and end up leaving at midnight (or later!)

A new challenge within our activities came when we exported one of our own breeding products Marre fan Qualburgh (Sape) namely seeking quality Friesian horses. Our 20 years of experience in the Friesian horse-breeding, our knowledge of the bloodlines combined with our contacts gives an extra advantage.

Actually, we only have one criterion when mediating Friesian horses: If we like the horse, if we would as it were, like to have him in our stable, if he affects us, then we can also sell him. That is why we select the horses by their type, presence, movement, character and their talent for the sports. We have found new homes for lots of ster-mares, colts, fillies and exclusive dressage horses. It goes without saying that the horses are delivered with a recent examination report and also that we will arrange for the export papers and medical examinations to be done.

It never fails to be a challenge to find the horse of your dreams, or to sell your top quality horse.

Ever since we settled in the Southern village Alphen we, next to the trade and mediating, breed at a modest scale(purposely). We bought the filly Magdaa H. (Tsjerk x Hildaa ster/preferent v. Reitse pref.) from stam 128, from the Hoekstra family in Tsjerkgaast in 1996.

At this moment she has 6 ster-daughters. Grandmother Martina (Ritske pref.) and great-grandmother Claartje (Bouke) are both model/preferent. Even the preferent approved stallion Leffert came from the same stamline, where fertility, size and a great exterior are key characteristics within the stock.
The filly Magdaa grew to be a tall (1.63 m), sassy lady with lots of character and a superb exterior and great presence. Unfortunately, just that bit extra in movement was at her expense as she just missed the ster predicate at 3 yrs of age. But the 3rd premie studbook mare proved to be a great breeder as she gave us 3 fillies in a row: Finne fan Qualburgh (Piter), Gitte fan Qualburgh (Leffert) and Marre fan Qualburgh by Sape. (Photo below)From this threesome Finne was sold to Sweden where she has great success in the dressage sport and will be introduced at the keuring for the first time next year.

Marre fan Qualburgh (Sape x Tsjerk)

May 3rd 2009, our Gitte gave birth to a very refined Beart filly!

Her name is Elagonda fan Qualburgh and we are very delighted with another filly!

Elagonda at 3 days old

Elagonda 5 weeks old

Gitte by Leffert (photo above) is a conscious product of line-breeding. Both Leffert and Magdaa go back to the model/preferente Claartje.
Line –breeding has its risks, they often say that it can go either way, but when Gitte trotted those first few paces by her mother’s side, we knew that it was the right choice.
At the veulenkeuring she received a first premie and in 2005 she became ster with a second premie.  In our eyes she is very close to the perfect type: Lux, with lots of front, vertically arched neck, lovely flowing topline, back isn’t too long, a long front leg and a good walk and a very nice trot.

June 19^{th 2006}, Gitte gave birth to a jetblack, lux and promising filly out of the Jasper son Dries. (photo top left) Her name is ‘Vorstin (which means Queen) fan Qualburgh’. Vostin went to the keuring September and was rated a first premie! We are very proud to have a second generation 'fan Qualburgh' filly of this quality in our barn. She's a great addition to our breeding program. Vorstin is developed into a very 'Friesian' lady with lots mane, forelock and feathers. More about Vorstin below.

Elagonda 3 months old

Our daughter Fay and Oetse (behind) and Vorstin (front) May 2009