About

This young horse came over to England with us in October 2009 as a gangly two year old. We were drawn to him because of his lovely temperament, beautiful head, and most importantly, his very elegant, easy paces.

As an extremely well-developed youngster, Wouter was backed at a young age and found the work very easy. He qualified for the finals of the British Dressage-Shearwater Young Dressage Horse finals by winning the Richmond Qualifier as a four year old in 2011 and a five year old in 2012. We believe he is the first and only Friesian to achieve this in the UK to date (2021).

We took him to the UK Friesian inspections in 2011 where he was awarded the prestigious STER title and UK Champion Stallion. Wouter always showed a very natural ability in dressage. He was sensible, willing and talented.

Wouter's papers were very interesting. His mother, HEDWICH L Stb Ster, is from Stam 1, the oldest registered bloodline for the Friesians. He had full papers (Ster, Ster Sport, Ster, Ster Pref) and had inherited his dressage ability from his sire Arjen 417 who competed with great success at Prix St George in the Netherlands. Arjen 417 was approved on his offspring in 2009 which have proved to be of a consistently high quality with particular note being made of how easy his offspring are to work with.

This was certainly the case with Wouter. He had immaculate manners both in and out of the stable. He was very straightforward to back and was always willing and quick to learn. Wouter was very laid back but by no means was he lazy. He hacked out alone, with geldings, stallions or mares without any trouble.

Sadly, Wouter passed away at the tender age of seven on the operating table at Leahurst Equine Hospital due to a ruptured stomach. However, his memory lives on in his full sister Doutzen who remains a permanent resident of the Farm.

Wouter was a real gentleman, very sweet and kind-natured. He was one of the sweetest and hardest-working horses we have ever known, and we miss him dearly.

Wouter has a very special place in our Memorial Orchard with a lovely apple tree planted over him in memory.