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Wim Ernes is deceased at the age of 58. With the death of Wim, the equestrian world loses a great man and a true horseman.

Wim Ernes was a horseman at heart. To the larger public he was most renowned for his role as Dutch National Team Coach, international FEI judge, and chair of the KWPN Stallion Selection Committee Dressage. Until last, Ernes was involved with the sport as much as he could as much as his illness would allow him. Earlier this week he received, as an icon in the Dutch equestrian industry, the gold KNHS pin as a reward for his huge achievements in the entire Dutch equestrian sport. KWPN thanked Ernes last February at the KWPN stallion Show in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and rewarded him with the golden KWPN pin, expressing their gratitude for his passionate commitment to the studbook.

The spirited efforts from Ernes to improve the quality of riding and the level of judging of many, is unmatched. In the nineties he already had a successful period as National Dressage Team Coach, a role the he accepted for a second time in 2013 and fulfilled with great passion. The last few years he was mainly seen in his role as National Team Coach, both with the KNHS, the Dutch Equestrian Federation, as with NOC*NSF, the Dutch Olympic Committee, where he finished his Mastercoach course this year. Technical director for NOC*NSF Maurits Hendriks: “With the death of Wim Ernes, the Dutch elite sport loses a very special coach with a personal style of working. He was open and believed in the power of sharing.” Wim Ernes played a significant role in the development of the education and retraining of both KNHS- and FEI judges. In addition, Ernes was for many years a member of various inspection committees of the KWPN, in which he played a major role in the development of Dutch breeding of top horses.

In November 2015, after eight years he took leave of the Stallion Selection Committee dressage, of which he was chairman in the last three years. During this time, 5 dressage stallions were recognized and 93 dressage stallions were approved. Among them the stallions Apache and Arlando, that both are included in the Olympic squad. “Wim possessed the ability to connect people to work together and create an atmosphere where everyone felt at home", says Technical Director of the KNHS Maarten van der Heijden. In his role as a judge, the Olympic Games of London 2012 was his highest achievement. As a coach the Olympic team silver in Atlanta 1996 and the European gold at Aachen 2015 were historic successes. Our warm thoughts, condolences and support go out to the Ernes family.    

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The KWPN (Studbook of the Royal Dutch Sport Horse) is a Netherlands-based organization specializing in the breeding of jumpers, dressage horses, harness horses, and Gelder horses.

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