Grietje Lyklema: Riding at Indoor Friesland is good for the family tradition

The final Horses2fly selection is complete, and all Golden Tickets have been awarded. Last Saturday, a remarkable 184 combinations competed at the WB Stables in Warga, the magnificent facility owned by father and son team Beerse. Grietje Lyklema won the 1.10m class. She was ranked sixteenth before this selection and wanted to leave something to chance. Next month, after all, it's already happening: Indoor Friesland 2025 will be held on October 22nd, with the Horses2fly finals in the undoubtedly packed and atmospheric WTC Expo in Leeuwarden.

Grietje's partner in this competition was the five-year-old chestnut mare Palenafee. In the two-phase class, they finished in 32.43 seconds. Second was Femke Oostra, riding Mandela Van 't Sant. A time of 32.75 seconds was recorded at the red ribbon. The third-place finisher also finished under 33 seconds. Mirte Wilgenburg and Nadia Van De Danch clocked 32.84 seconds.

Way of life 

Grietje is 34, married, and has three daughters aged three, six, and eight. She's a general practitioner, and horses are her passion—even her way of life, in her own words. She lives in Koudum, a village in Southwest Friesland. Together with her parents and sister, she owns four sport horses on her parents' farm, and two ponies at home for her children.

Niece and eldest daughter 

Grietje: "For this fantastic victory, which I'm incredibly happy with, I had to travel outside our region and without my regular team. My parents organize a lot of competitions at Manege Gaasterland in Harich, and during the qualifying competition in Warga, they were at the World Championships for Young Show Jumping Horses in Lanaken. I had already competed in the Horses2fly qualifying competitions in Sonnega and Tolbert, where I achieved fourth and seventh place. However, I really wanted to compete at Indoor Friesland, so I decided to enter Warga as well. My niece Welmoed was also competing there, and we went with two horses and my eldest daughter. We were looking for extra placement points; I never expected a Golden Ticket."

Palenafee 

I had starting number 50, so just after halfway through the field. My father bought Palenafee as a foal. A woman in the neighborhood had won a straw of semen from the stallion Gerardus and used it on her mare. Palenafee was born from that. She's a fantastic horse, a perfect animal for an amateur rider who also wants to succeed. At home, she's very calm and sweet, but when she hears the bell in the ring, she goes wild. She becomes incredibly sharp. I ride her three or four times a week and take lessons with Age Flapper. My father helps me a lot with the horses; he's always there for me, and without him, none of what I do would be possible. I'd also like to mention my mother. She always watches the children while I'm riding. Palenafee is definitely capable of more than the level we're currently competing at and will eventually be sold. We've already sold many horses to Marc Houtzager and Julia Kayser, the latter of whom is now also riding one of our horses.

Equestrian sport, emotion, family feeling 

Indoor Friesland in three words? Equestrian sports, emotion, family feeling. I've never been to the old Indoor Friesland. My parents have; my father even rode there. The family is thrilled that the show is back and always has a meeting with my father and uncle's company, "Lyklema Mesterijen," during the jumping weekend. I'm also there for at least three days. I've never had the chance to ride at Indoor Friesland, and I think it's wonderful for myself, but certainly also for the family tradition. The show is different from other shows; it harks back to earlier times when a sense of community still played a major role. Indoor Friesland creates emotion and connection, and our family wants to identify with that. At other shows, it's more every man for himself.

Yes, I'm really looking forward to it. I'm definitely not going to stress, I'm just going to enjoy it immensely. So I'm not going to do anything special for the time being. I'm doing a lot of dressage at home and I'm going to have another lesson with Age, which was already planned. Finally, I'll do a training round in Tolbert on Thursday.

Text: Marjan de Wildt for Indoor Friesland

Photos: Grietje Lyklema