Marriët Smit-Hoekstra; what a year!
Now the SLTN Grand Prix of Indoor Friesland
A rider who has been in form for quite some time now simply won the Jumping Tolbert competition on August 22nd. And a good thing too, because Marriët Smit-Hoekstra is a must-see at Indoor Friesland 2025. Marriët won both the 1.30m and 1.35m classes in the Horses2fly competition at the HJC Riding School, qualifying for the H2f finals, which will be held on Wednesday, October 21st at the WTC Expo in Leeuwarden.
The 1.30m class in Tolbert was a two-phase special with 79 starts. Marriët not only won but also secured second place. She won with the seven-year-old mare Noah KM (by Tangelo vd Zuuthoeve) in a time of 29.54 seconds and finished second with Lemonade TN. Lemonade, a nine-year-old mare by Vagebond de la Pomme, finished in 30.03 seconds. The 1.35m class was a classic without a jump-off, with 37 combinations competing. Here too, Marriët proved herself to be a force to be reckoned with, riding to first and third place. She achieved victory aboard Wadro's Maggie May, an eight-year-old mare by Zirocco Blue. The time was 60.91 seconds. Third place went to the seven-year-old mare Nijerite (by Comthago VDL). Together with Marriët, she crossed the finish line in 62.10 seconds. A nice detail in this section: the entire top three consisted of offspring of VDL stallions, a proud sponsor of Indoor Friesland.
Days from 4am to late at night
The Monday morning after Jumping Tolbert, we spoke with Marriët: "After the competition, I was completely exhausted, and I can't ride today; I have to go to physiotherapy first. I rode an average of ten horses a day, and we didn't have enough staff on those days, so we had to do all the work and all the horses at home. Those were days from 4.00 a.m. until very late at night. I'm not one to just throw the horses in the paddock and be done with it; you don't win any prizes with that. But the horses made up for everything. They and I were on fire. I have some really great horses at the moment who are eager to play along. From day one of riding them, I've been practicing through play, and the courses designed by Jos Brinkman, the course designer at Jumping Tolbert, always suit me. Why? Because he always has a line where you can take a risk and make a difference."
About Jumping Tolbert: Respect! The organizers always do their utmost, and everything runs perfectly despite the packed entry lists. Regarding that last point, it's unusual how many combinations compete. The Horses2fly qualifications fit perfectly into this and are a nice addition to the already impressive program. For me, these classes are the perfect opportunity to let my young horses gain experience, both in the Tolbert environment and at Indoor Friesland. Moreover, the Horses2fly competition is THE opportunity for hobby combinations to compete at an international show with the atmosphere of a five-star event.
Noah KM and Wadro's Maggie May
Noah KM is a small horse in the 1.30m class, but incredibly fast with a tremendous drive to get ahead. The day before, I had also started her and made a stupid mistake, missing an inside turn, which put me in sixth place. When I rode Noah the next day, I was already in the lead with Lemonade, but I already thought I could go faster, and I did. Incidentally, I rode Noa together with the chairman of Indoor Friesland, Waling Haytema, and his wife Aukje Kroondijk. That evening, they were having an anniversary party, and I had already thought that morning that a win would be a wonderful gift, and so it happened. I won the 1.35m with Wadro's Maggie May, a homebred horse owned by the Henstra family, also one of the sponsors of Jumping Tolbert. Maggie is also unusually fast; she almost out-jumped me. She's super sweet and incredibly cooperative. If I go around the outside where others go inside, I'm often even faster.
Girls' book
She works hard for it, but Marriët's life is like a fairytale. She's successful, has her own business, the man of her dreams, and two adorable children. We asked her for her reaction. Marriët: "Absolutely right. It's all so wonderful, sometimes I can hardly believe what's happening to me. I experience so many unique moments and really try to appreciate them and enjoy them. For example, this year I won the Grand Prix of Groningen, Tubbergen, and Houten. When the flag is raised for me and the Wilhelmus (Dutch national anthem) plays, I sometimes can hardly believe it's for me. A great trio, by the way, but how wonderful would it be if it became a quartet and Leeuwarden were also added... However, more often than not, it doesn't work out, but I've taught myself to persevere and believe in myself. I never think I can't do something. I also continue to learn and gain knowledge. I've been taking lessons from Albert Voorn for at least ten years; we work well together."
Don't think, just do
My life is a dream, yes, but I work hard for it. Don't think too much, just do it. Riding isn't a punishment, and I still think it's the most fun thing there is. I'm a morning person and start very early, at 5.00:XNUMX a.m. in the summer. By the time we have breakfast with the kids and take them to school, the horses are already fed and bedding laid. I also have a fantastic stable rider, Anne van de Torre, and groom Evelien Sijtsma, who take a lot of the work off my hands. I ride about eight horses a day and make sure I get enough sleep. I need eight hours a night, and we go to bed early for that.
Paddock, meadow, forest, lunge, horse walker
Speaking of hard work, I love my horses and believe they deserve as much exercise as possible. I'll do anything for it. They're in the paddock, in the pasture, I lunge a lot, they go on trail rides, on the horse walker—the more exercise the better. It's good for them physically, but also mentally. We ride across the land and the paddock; the stallions are alone, but the rest are in groups. I think this is partly beneficial because they become friends, can scratch each other, and share their stories. Every week, we take all the horses to the woods in three groups. This is also good mentally, but it's also good training. The horses develop better balance, we switch gears a lot, and their legs get stronger. This last point is because we ride on different surfaces. A horse doesn't improve by only riding on top-quality surfaces. On trail rides, we ride on the road, gravel, sand, and forest floor. I touch wood, but my horses rarely suffer injuries, and I attribute that partly to these trail rides. As I said. I also lunge a lot, especially for training. You can only work effectively when horses have lost their freshness. A bit of fun on the lunge is wonderful for them. My horses also go on the horse walker; they shouldn't spend too much time in the stable, and variety is good. Incidentally, I'm not a fan of leg protection in all of this, not even in the pasture. Legs get warm quickly, and that's irritating; my horses need as much freedom as possible.
Debut of eldest daughter Dalerveen
"About my life as a girl's book, I still have dreams, I think that's common knowledge by now. Winning Indoor Friesland, I want that sooooo badly. A colleague/friend recently asked me to go with her to the Sunshine Tour. I didn't hesitate for a moment. No way, I'll miss Indoor Friesland, that's just not possible. As a child, I was already in the stands and I never expected that I would ride there myself later. This year, dreams have already come true. Our eldest daughter made her debut in the arena. We went to a competition in Dalerveen with two trucks and our daughter managed to get her pony in too. After the horses, there's always pony jumping. She had never competed before, but suddenly wanted to get in the arena herself. She already knew the course; she had seen it countless times from her mom and dad. We got the go-ahead and off she went. When she put her pony in front of the judges and greeted them, I could have cried. In the shortest bend, she went to obstacle one. Obstacle two was An oxer, which she'd never jumped before. Her pony, Misty, is a Shetland pony, and they managed to complete the entire course flawlessly together, completely unaided. It was so touching, and I was so proud; she's already a fighter. On the truck ride home, Herman and I were truly happy, even a little emotional. What a wonderful afternoon!
Indoor Friesland creates a bond
Back to Indoor Friesland. For me, your show surpasses everything. When you enter the arena, you feel something you don't feel anywhere else. You're carried by the crowd. There are definitely a lot of people there who connect with me, even people who aren't horse people. The arena is magnificent, unique, and it's always been that way in Leeuwarden. There are true enthusiasts in the stands, the layout and design of the entire event are beautiful, there's already a large audience for the warm-up, and everything is very accessible. The program and the classes are unique, the show creates a bond—where else can you find that? Nowhere! Equestrian sports in Friesland—it doesn't get any better than this!
I'm talking a lot again; that's my enthusiasm. I hope I don't come across as boastful, I really don't want to; I don't like boasting. Finally, I'd like to say that I hope you'll talk to me again after the last event of Indoor Friesland, the Grand Prix, and say: "You did it, didn't you, Marriët?!"
We're here to help, Marriët! Thanks for this spontaneous, enthusiastic, and candid interview, even in your jam-packed schedule. We hope to see you at the WTC Expo in Leeuwarden in October!
Photos: private archive of Marriët Smit-Hoekstra and Digishots
Text: Marjan de Wildt for Indoor Friesland
