Featured Pro: Kevin Beerse and WB Stables

Feb. 16,2024

ProEquest

Kevin Beerse and his father Wilfred own and operate WB Stables Show Jumping and Sporthorses in the Netherlands. The spacious facility includes indoor and outdoor arenas, jumping areas, a dressage arena, a walker, paddocks, and grass turnout. It’s located a short distance from the Amsterdam airport, in Friesland.

“In 2007, my father built the new stable here, before that, for 25 years, we had a riding school in the city with only 12 show jumpers. We couldn’t expand in the city, so we moved and built the stables here instead,” Kevin says.

The stable has three components, show jumping, Friesians, and boarders. WB Stables offers training and tests for the Friesians, and a limited number of boarding spaces. A new set of Friesians arrives every seven weeks, and the WB Stables team rides and trains them for their breed testing, which also happens on-site. The Friesians have separate stables and training areas. WB Stables has 90 stalls and focuses on show jumpers with 40 to 45 horses in the discipline.

“I have a couple of amazing horses who are doing 5* classes at 1.60m, we are building slowly and steadily to better horses and now have great horses for the 1.60m classes. We had amazing shows last year and the year before. At some moment, I know the horses will leave the stable, but seeing them with other riders, and knowing I did a good job is a great feeling, and if they win with others too, it’s even better,” Kevin says.

WB Stables sells horses worldwide – in 36 countries on five continents to date, in addition to the training services offered at home. Kevin is a competitor, trainer, and coach. He and his father also offer weeklong Equestrian Training Camps at their stables.

Khinula

Equestrian Training Camp

The Equestrian Training Camp started five years ago and has served riders from the United States, South America, and Asia. Before the pandemic, Kevin went to India every month to train the show jumping team for the Asian Games. COVID also made it hard to get horses to their stable in the Netherlands, so they developed the Training Camp with higher-quality horses for equestrians to ride. They have international show jumping horses from 1.10m to 1.40m level available for Equestrian Training Camp, depending on the riders.

WB Stables makes it a bit like a holiday for the riders, including those using one of the stables’ horses. Kevin and Wilfred watch videos of the riders before they arrive to fit them with the horses.

The schedule for the Equestrian Training Camp depends on what the client/student wants. Each Training Camp session is limited to three riders, although they occasionally have a group of four. The program runs from Monday to Friday, with an option for a multi-week training camp. All have the same basic structure of two daily classes on different horses. If clients stay for two weeks, they attend a show at the end. Each week is tailored the for the participating riders’ level and goals.

“Shows in the Netherlands are one day and offer a test and allow riders to enjoy European riding and get a feeling of the European equestrian world,” Kevin says. “We have people that come and stay longer and bring their own horse too, but that’s always a longer period. Our team needs to get to know the horses in these cases too.”

The Equestrian Training Camp is the only one in Europe, and many clients head to Europe for a week or two and can enjoy riding at the Training Camp while also on vacation. Some families drop their young riders off and the parents have a holiday and come back at the end of the week and pick them up.

Thinking Globally

WB Stables has riders stationed globally. There are two in the United States with four or five horses each, riders in Central and South America, and agents in China and India. The business is growing in South Africa too.

“We think globally,” Kevin says. “We are in the Middle East too; we visit clients there and they come to the Netherlands to try horses. The most important thing is they keep coming back. We do that the best; clients enjoy the stay and the horses they buy from us; we have a good product and name.”

Caramello Z

Kevin looks for brave horses, who have a good heart, and a good mind. Most importantly, he wants horses that always finish. “No matter how many mistakes the rider makes, the horse always finishes the course. We have professional riders for 1.60m horses but amateurs also come to buy their horses and may miss a distance or be nervous and the horse needs to finish with the rider.”

Kevin and Gilona

Over the years, he’s had many memorable horses. Gilona AO, a bay KWPN mare and Kevin did 5* GP in Europe, and he says she is one of his best. She was sold and continues to excel in the discipline.

“Camelot was my first 1.60m horse, and is now retired, he’s 18 and in the field enjoying his retired life. I built him up from 1.10m to 1.60m. Those two were the most important for my career and future,” Kevin adds.

Fenia

“I have some amazing horses right now to ride that are seven to nine years old and ready for the future and big classes,” Kevin concludes. “I’m excited to see them grow and develop. It’s very busy business-wise, we’re booked with riders ages 12 through 65 who come to ride with us or for Equestrian Training Camp. We’re looking forward to expanding the Equestrian Training Camp and expect to be fully booked in 2025.”