The Hoekstra family: a family enterprise with breeding and sport

Yoni & Jelmer

The horse narrative of the Hoekstra family received a new impetus when it appeared that both Yoni and Jelmer had inherited their father’s genes. ‘As happens most of the time we too started with ponies’, Yoni tells us. ‘In the beginning it was purely a hobby but we soon came to realise that we were ambitious too. We soon switched to the sport and travelled to competitions with two trailers. Being the eldest it was usually me who first rode the ponies and once they had reached a certain level Jelmer took over the reins. Something that hasn’t really changed over the years (laughs).’

Then the moment came when Yoni approached the age when she had to switch to horses and by then the Hoekstra family business had partly changed into a foal-raising yard. ‘Keeping the agricultural business afloat was rather a struggle in those days. Since we owned a lot of land (in total about 68 hectares) and were hooked on horses, we then made the decision to start our foal-raising activities. That in turn re-sparked the interest in breeding, although still very much on a hobby basis. At the time we had a Lando mare called Madonna who had a crack in her hoof, and from her we bred our first foal Enrique (Tangelo van de Zuuthoeve). That one jumped up to 1.20m level with Yoni and after we sold him he broke through with Mel Thijssen in the saddle. That was actually one of the first horses Mel competed with at high levels. But since the dam line was rather ordinary we decided not to continue breeding with Madonna. In that same period we also had an Andiamo Z mare Jelmer started in slightly higher classes, but we didn’t breed with her either. Not all mares that have performed well in the sport make good broodmares.’

Elentrix Hedoniste

And since the Hoekstra family was also continuously on the lookout for good young horses for the sport, their foundation mare Elentrix Hedoniste (Ogano Sitte) crossed their path in 2013, although that happened rather unexpectedly, Jelmer says... ‘One evening my father and I drove over to Belgium to take a look at Elentrix’s full sister, who was a year older. I tried her myself but she proved to be so hot and hectic that we were reluctant to buy her. Right then we had a mare from another owner in our yard and she was also pretty hectic, so we knew how tricky that was (laughs). It was quite by chance that we checked out Elentrix too. She was only 3½ years old at the time and just broken to saddle. She too had plenty of blood but in terms of jumping she seemed more agile in her body than her full sister and above all, not as hectic.’

And as was the custom, after arrival at the Hoekstra yard it was Yoni who first took care of Elentrix. She started her in the lower classes and schooled her up to 1.20m level before Jelmer took over the reins in 2016. ‘I started riding Elentrix around that time, but since I was still riding for Leon Thijssen too I didn’t always have the time for her. So for a while Yoni and I took turns riding her. When I finally took her over I did wonder if she wasn’t too difficult after all, because things didn’t always go so smoothly… Things went well for a while, then she was trouble, then she went back to normal and being good… She had great mentality in the arena and was really keen to be careful but all in all, getting a grip on her temper was a bit of a puzzle. But as it turned out, this was mostly a problem in the lower classes, once we competed in the higher regions she started to think for herself too and everything became a lot easier. In those days I also rode Leon’s horses Chaplin and Tyson and in terms of quality I reckon she was in the same category. She was the type of horse that grew and came into her own during a multiple-day event and was always at her best on the last day. It was therefore quite a pity that an injury put a premature end to her sport career.’

Vision on breeding

But like Johan Cruyff used to say ‘there’s a flip side to every downside’. You see, the end of Elentrix Hedoniste’s sport career heralded the start of a career in breeding which has already shown to be successful. ‘We made an attempt at flushing her in 2015 but unfortunately that failed. After her injury in 2016 we managed to flush two from her: Maddox (vh Haringvliet Z) and Mystery Lady (vh Haringvliet Z). By the way, last year I had qualified for the FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championship For Young Horses with Mystery, but shortly before the event she was sold to the United States. In 2017 we also started breeding with K-One Pgo (F One USA) and until today those are the two mare lines we mostly use for breeding. In first instance we breed with the mares themselves but meanwhile we have also started some of these mares’ daughters in our breeding. Occasionally we breed a foal from another dam line but that’s rather the exception’, Jelmer explains.

The Hoekstra breeding department is a family affair in which Jelmer, his parents as well as his sister have a say. ‘Ahead of the breeding season we compile a list of the mares we want to put in foal and for every mare we then make our individual lists with stallions we think would be a good match. Since it’s not our custom to sell foals we don’t choose stallions by considering the commercial aspect, but above all by trying to come up with a good combination. The stallion’s qualities really have to complement the mare’s good points. Over the past years we have increasingly shifted our focus to stallions that stem from a good dam line because that often re-appears in the offspring. So when we have all finished our list we toss them together and make our final choice. The fact that I have also ridden the dams makes it just that bit easier for me to select the points that need improving. (laughs).’

For the Hoekstra family the focal point of their breeding is the sport and hence they want to give their youngsters every possible opportunity and above all, ample time. ‘Of course our youngsters get to do some freejumping at the age of three to kick-start their learning process, but in our view it’s still a bit too early for making a selection about which ones are good enough or not. We see that freejumping is still rather variable at that age and I know from experience that horses change considerably between their fourth and fifth year. That's especially true of the horses from Elentrix’s line. All the more reason not to sell them too soon. Naturally, the overall process costs quite a bit of money, but our great advantage is that we do everything ourselves. The horses are born here and then raised before we start training them as 3- or 4-year-olds. Combining it all by raising young stock for others means we manage to keep expenses relatively low.’

The intention of the Hoekstra family is to school their home-bred horses without hurry. The FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championship For Young Horses therefore perfectly fits that vision. ‘One of the reasons for taking my young stock to Zangersheide in recent years, is because in my eyes it provides an ideal benchmark to find out where we stand with our horses. It’s a platform for fine sports and at the same time an opportunity to measure oneself against the best horses in the world. The second reason is of course the commercial aspect. We may not be keen to sell them as foals or 3-year-olds, but from time to time it is necessary anyway. Then the World Championships is the ideal platform to jump into the spotlight.’

Maddox vh Haringvliet Z

One thing’s for sure, taking part in the 2023 edition certainly has paid dividends for the Hoekstra family. In terms of sport the Bronze medal for Maddox vh Haringvliet Z (Monte Bellini) in the 6-year-olds and the places for half sisters Vinardi vh Haringvliet Z (Verdi TN) and Unity vh Haringvliet Z (Unaniem AD) in the final of the 5-year-olds was a dream scenario. But they also hit the bull’s eye in a commercial sense. ‘The good performances in Lanaken obviously triggered a lot of interest for Maddox and a few weeks after the final we sold a half-share of him to Ben Maher. He was the first to come forward after the second qualifier on the Friday and I then gave him my word that he would get the first option. I also cherished the idea that such a horse would go to someone like Ben Maher. He is undoubtedly one of the world’s best riders so I know he will give Maddox every chance he needs. Ben was genuinely interested in him with the eye on the sport and in January he’s going to start him at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington.’

Future

As far as the future is concerned, the good results in Lanaken have strengthened the Hoekstra family in their breeding philosophy. ‘We had already progressed to breeding eight to ten foals a year and would like to expand to ten to fifteen a year with the mares we have. Key issue however, is that it all has to remain manageable so that we can give the horses enough time and above all, enough attention’, Auke states. ‘For the future we definitely intend to keep some of the horses a little longer for the sport until they are maybe 8-year-olds’, Jelmer adds. ‘But when we get a chance to sell them at a good price then we also have to be realistic. And as it happens, I’m a better seller than my dad (laughs).’