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Stallion Show Tour 2009
Information provided b Nina Miller
Please contact her at: ninamiller@earthlink.net
(909) 229-9000
For the past four years, I have had the pleasure of gathering a few user friendly folks and taking an informal tour group to the Stallion Show in Leewarden in the Netherlands. Our goals are not necessarily horse shopping but some folks to end up finding their dream Friesian. The tour is geared towards lots of horse activities, some general, non equine sightseeing and shopping and education about the Friesian. The focal point, obviously, is the two/three day event at the stallion show which this year includes a competitive horse show, picking the young stallions and the national championship of the already approved stallions – those super heroes that many of us have heard so much about but not seen!
Dates: leaving US or Canada on January 2, 2009 to arrive in Amsterdam airport on January 3, 2009 and returning to Amsterdam Airport on January 12 to fly home. We are asking folks not to make early morning return flights on the 12th as it is a two hour drive back to the airport and we don’t want to drag the whole group back so early.
I am not a travel agent, but I can assist neophytes in making their international plane reservations to make sure it coordinates with the rest of the group.
The group will be at least eight people and maybe as many as twelve. We have openings for three or four more folks. Our members come from all over the United States. Currently we have participants from Texas, Iowa (or Indiana, I can’t remember which lol), Pennsylvania, Georgia and California. We are looking for folks who want to hang out with the group and share our activities, not necessarily use the group as a home base for individual activity. We are especially valuable if you have not travelled in Europe and want to be with a group where all those pesky decisions are taken care of.
Our Dutch host is Jan Engelsma and his brother Klaas. Jan is a former FPS board member and former Friesian judge, specializing in Linear Scoring. He is familiar to anyone who may have seen him judge the keurings in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. He has also done Friesian educational clinics in Maryland, Wisconsin, Texas and Northern and Southern California.
I assist with all the preparation and planning necessary to get you on the plane to Holland and share the first two days with you in the Amsterdam area. Then Jan and Klaas pick us up the morning of January 5 and we are off to Friesland. We travel by small rented van and car and were surprised when Jan was pulling his two-horse trailer (they call it a horse box) to fit in our entire luggage!
After our first year with the tour, we found it really valuable to get everyone in to the Amsterdam area and get on the right time zone before getting the group on to Friesland. That’s why we fly you in a little early. Also, if you are coming to the Netherlands, you should see a little of Amsterdam, there’s so much to see. I have found a hotel near the Amsterdam Airport which has a free shuttle, small gym, free internet and a pool. It’s easy to get to after your long flight. So when you fly in on the 3rd, you can check in, rest up and then we usually meet for dinner Saturday evening. On Sunday morning, we then can take the shuttle back to the airport and the train from there is only a few minutes to Amsterdam city where most of us do the canal boat tour – hop on and hop off – to visit the sites that may interest us. Among them are Ann Frank’s house, the museums, and the Diamond Factory!! We enjoy the evening and the next morning at the hotel and around noon we begin the second part of our adventure – off to Friesland.
In Friesland we visit several stallion stations, such as the one that has Folkert, Doaitsen, Felle, Maurus and many others. We have the opportunity to explore a local village. We find the super deals at a tack shop. We have, in the past, spent the morning at an indoor arena and seem some Friesians presented and had the opportunity to actually drive several.
Our Hotel in Friesland is a small bed and breakfast in Koudum. Here is their website: http://www.perruque.nl/cms-e/index.php. It is actually a remodeled local jail! Last year I stayed in the interview room! Being a former deputy sheriff, I felt right at home. The rooms are small but very charming, clean and warm with great water pressure (showers only) and there is breakfast every morning and free internet! Our host will also cook some evening meals for a small charge which will lower our overall food costs from restaurant eating all the time!
At this point there is not a set schedule. We will be sending email updates constantly as the time approaches. We will definitely attend all activities at Leewarden set up for the stallion show. Those dates are the 8th 9th and 10th of January. Also, there will be headsets available with English translations for at least the final day of the show. Last year they were complimentary but you needed to leave a Euro deposit. So our Friesland explorations will be from the 5th to the 7th and then on Sunday, the 11th, our hosts Jan and Klaas invite us to their open house at Jan’s barn and we meet is family, eat wonderful food and see his personal horses as well as several exceptional mares, foals and geldings that would be available for sale. But please know that our goal is not to sell you a horse. We just want you to see bunches of them!
Finally, Jan has been gracious enough to sit down with the group prior to the stallion show and give us a preview and small informal clinic about bloodlines, the direction of the FPS and what to expect at the show. It’s a great time to ask questions, show us pictures of your horses ask him any breeding questions and look at papers and bloodlines. We even have a portable DVD player to look at your videos! It was so much fun last year we cancelled our afternoon plans and extended the group meeting.
On Monday morning, January 12, we go back to the Amsterdam Airport and most folks fly out that afternoon. Several of our members are spending an extra night in Amsterdam and flying out the next day.
COSTS OF THE TRIP
The costs vary every year but I believe it can easily be done for $2500 to $3000, including airfare.
The Airfare is a bit higher this year but no one has had to pay more than $1000 and some folks are using air miles, etc.
The hotel in Amsterdam Airport area is currently $115 USD a night on Hotels.com.
The pension in Koudum is around 50-60 Euro a night for two to a room but I need to check. It is very reasonable.
We usually pay Jan between 300 to 500 Euros a person to cover transportation – van rental, gas, any food he covers for us, the stallion show tickets and programs which he purchases in advance.
Then there is shopping – wonderful vendors at the stallion show from art to tack to jewelry to literature, etc. – and it’s more if you buy a horse lol!
TRAVEL TIPS
I also have prepared a document I call Nina’s Travel Tips Parts I, II and III. I’ll revise it this year but it really is an over detailed advice manual that covers the mystery of international travel. You really will be going with a supportive group and we want to anticipate your questions and answer them before you even ask!
I also ask for personal introductions from each of the participants and send out a package email that introduces you to each other so that you are not strangers, even on that first night at the hotel
Hope this gives you an overview of what we do. You can also read Linda Hawkins’ article in the Friesian Magazine earlier this year on her “First Trip to Holland and the Stallion Show” – it was extensive and included lots of pictures. That was our tour from 2008.
If you are interested, please contact me asap as there is much planning to do.
Nina
