Frisian evening Indoor Friesland is not inferior to KFPS stallion inspection

The Frisian evening of Indoor Friesland is not inferior to the KFPS stallion inspection, according to Janneke Hoekstra of Stal fan de Fiifhoeke from the Frisian Sibrandabuorren near Sneek. Janneke and her family made national news last month when they went for a sleigh ride with two of their horses on the Nienoord estate in the Groningen Leek. Everything completely in Frisian costume, a fairy tale. It could not be more Frisian and beautiful. The director of Nienoord also realized this and invited Hart van Nederland.

Janneke is 46 years old, married to Augustinus and together they have three sons, Jelte, Ytzen and Kjeld aged seventeen, sixteen and ten. Augustinus is a full-time baker, which means he always works at night. The rest of the day he is busy with the training part of Stal fan de Fiifhoeke. He also manages the webshop Goedkopepaardendekens.nl where blankets are sold.

“We'll do this last ride together again”
Augustinus is also very active with weddings, tributes, shows and funerals. “Stijlvolle uitvaarten” has nine different hearses and does about 35 funerals per year. Janneke: “This is very beautiful and rewarding work, even more beautiful than weddings. You can really mean something to people at a funeral. For example, Augustinus also took my father to the crematorium in the black hearse. When he was still alive, my father said to my husband in Frisian: “We will do this last ride together again.”

Frisian maternity ward
Janneke is in charge of another part of the company: the Frisian maternity ward. Janneke: “My father passed away in 2021 and that really affected me. I started smiling again when foals were born. I am originally a nurse. Augustinus came up with the idea of ​​relieving owners of the care when their mare has to give birth. About a month before the birth, a mare comes to us and a few days after the birth, mother and foal go home again. I can accommodate a maximum of nine mares at a time and last year more than 30 foals were born here. Since my husband is a baker, he can keep an eye on the cameras at work at night. I sleep on the other side of one of the walls of the stable and can be in the stable in a few steps when a foal announces itself. We are all responsible for our own branch within the company, but we help each other where we can. When a foal is born, the boys run downstairs just as fast as I do. Our sons are also infected with the horse virus and the oldest is already learning to be a farrier. The entire family is fanatically active in harness horse sport, both nationally and regionally. Our eldest son is also allowed to bring out horses from Stal Okkema in Britswert in harness sport. He even rode in the Four-in-hand Championship last season, where he came in second very impressively. When my husband was temporarily unable to harness due to an injury last summer, our second son Ytzen quickly took over the reins in both single and pair harness and rode very impressively in the top.”

Also in Thialf
“We like everything about horses and going out with the sleigh is not something we can do very often. When we heard that there was enough snow just an hour away from us, we arranged to go for a sleigh ride with friends. Her father is a volunteer at the Nienoord carriage museum and he arranged for us to come to the Nienoord estate. What we did not know was that the director had informed the press. Our horses are used to it, in January they had the winners of the European Championship in Thialf in the sleigh and had ridden the lap of honour.” Pride and pleasure clearly resonate in Janneke's voice.

Frisian evening
We bring the conversation to Indoor Friesland and before we have finished our first question, our Frisian conversation partner already interrupts us enthusiastically. Janneke: “Indoor Friesland is sooooo beautiful. I was really happy when it turned out that you wanted to receive us. Maybe I am biased, but I think the Frisian evening is the best part of Indoor Friesland. You always do your best, but in that atmosphere, for that super enthusiastic audience, you want to ride extra well. Everyone always shouts about the Frisian stallion inspection, but you certainly equal this event. The audience lives nowhere more than with you.”

Leo Kraaijenbrink
“We have all managed to qualify for this evening in three years. Riding or even becoming champion in the WTC Expo is the crowning glory of your work. The outside world does not realize how much is involved. When I heard that Indoor Friesland was back on the calendar, I was already very happy and at that time I did not even know that there would be a Frisian evening. My father took me along as a girl of ten or eleven years old, I was still in primary school. I have many beautiful memories, but something I often think back to was Leo Kraaijenbrink driving his four-in-hand through a container, I thought that was fantastic.”

Frisian Harness Horse Association
“We were invited as the Frisian Harness Horse Association and we were very happy with that. I can’t remember the first year very well, but the second year all the more. Our oldest son was allowed to participate in the double-span championship. He had left nothing to chance and had taken lessons from Age Okkema of Stal de Merksen and trained with Anne Okkema of Okkema Britswert stable. All the pieces of the puzzle fell into place that evening. Wherever he went, you could hear the audience applauding. It is extra nice when the audience is so willing to grant you that. He won silver, but with a golden edge, it was magnificent. He also participated last year, this time in the single-span and again that ecstatic audience. Here he came first with GPD Ward. Last year my husband and all three sons also participated in Britt Dekker’s show. Augustinus and the youngest son Kjeld entered the ring on a sleigh, Augustinus with a Friesian horse and our son with a Shetland pony. Kjeld has already young learn to drive at a driving club for children with a Shetland pony. Our two oldest boys rode in the final parade with a team of Frisians in front of the farm cart. We are up for anything, yes, but we know what we can do and trust our horses.”

Waiting for program
“Needless to say, we hope to be part of it again this year. We hope to get even more podiums. It would be really great if the Frisian evening were expanded. It doesn’t even have to be championships, it’s already great to be able to ride for your great audience. For example, the Frisian stallion championship for the sjees is now on the program. It would be great if a few classes with the sjees could be added. This typical Frisian picture belongs at such a beautiful Frisian event as Indoor Friesland. We and many others are eagerly awaiting the program …….”

Once again, praise and beautiful words to Indoor Friesland that we appreciate very much. This is what it is all about. Thanks for this conversation Janneke, you enjoy Indoor Friesland, but we also enjoyed you and your family. We look forward to Indoor Friesland 2025.

Photos: Digishots, Karin Sevink, Sharmayne Venema, Johanna Faber, own archive
Text: Marjan de Wildt for Indoor Friesland