With no fewer than four breeding products in the finals of the KWPN Championship for Young Showjumpers in Exloo, the Ten Kate family recently drew attention to their breeding program, for which father Jan ten Kate laid the foundation with the Karandasj daughter Ofieterma.

Since then, daughter Janine van den Berg has trained several breeding products to the 1m30/1m35 level and qualified for the second time for the World Breeding Championships for Young Horses in Lanaken with the Dallas VDL son Lutalo TK. The breeding results achieved are remarkable, especially considering that the Ten Kate family only has one foal born per year. As an amateur rider, Janine van den Berg-ten Kate has achieved commendable results, and her daughter Daphne (17) is already following in her footsteps. ‘Grandpa and Grandma’ Jan and Hilly ten Kate are known as breeders of talented showjumping horses, all of which trace back to the foundation mare Ofieterma. They all enjoy their shared horse hobby together.

First jumps
Both Jan and Hilly ten Kate had ridden themselves, and their love for horses naturally passed on to their daughter Janine. “We used to ride as hobbyists ourselves and have a real passion for horses. So when Janine was old enough, a pony was ready for her,” says Jan. After ponies, Janine transitioned to horses and trained many horses up to the 1m30/1m35 level, mainly in the evenings. “In daily life, I work as an assistant in the oral surgery department in Zwolle, and horses have always remained a hobby for me. Thanks to all the help from my parents and my husband, I can ride some horses in the evenings. My mother often cooks for our family and is always there for us. When I have to go to work or a competition she always takes care of the children, so she is a great support to our family. When we go on vacation, my parents take care of the horses, so it’s very nice to be able to do it this way. We do everything together and enjoy it as a family.” 

Ofieterma becomes the foundation
At the age of four, the Karandasj daughter Ofieterma (out of Fieterma ster x Maykel, breeder Harm Wink from Dwingeloo) crossed paths with the Ten Kate family. “I was already an enthusiastic rider and an acquaintance of ours asked me to ride a four-year-old mare for a while to sell her; she had just been saddle broken. Coincidentally, I had a free stall at the time, so that’s how Ofieterma came to us. The plan to ride her for a short time so that she could be sold changed immediately when I started jumping her, she was so elastic. And later we discovered that she only got better as the jumps got higher. So we bought Ofieterma ourselves and I started training her up to the 1m35 level,” Janine recalls. “We won a lot at that level and she often went clear. Ofieterma was naturally very energetic. We used to say to each other, ‘If she were a human, she would definitely have ADHD.’ At competitions, she always started with a little bucking; it was a regular thing because she was very playful. People would ask me if I ever got tired of it, but it was just part of Ofieterma. Once she had expended all that excess energy, I could start riding her again. So I never tried to change that and it probably wouldn’t have worked because she clearly had a mind of her own.” 

Passion for breeding
Jan ten Kate already realized that the Terma lineage from the deceased Harm Wink was a proven maternal line. He had previously bred with a Ladalco mare, and when Ofieterma performed so well in sports their passion for breeding was renewed. Given her qualities and good pedigree, the move from sport to breeding was indeed wise. “Janine had ridden her up to the national 1m35 level and at some point she had to stop riding because she was pregnant with Daphne. Ofieterma had already delivered good results and we had a good relationship with Marcel de Boer, who was eager to compete with her internationally as well. He rode her for several months, and at the age of nine we had Ofieterma covered for the first time. She had already brought us many highlights in sports. I remember very well that Janine performed a show number with her at Wilting’s stallion show in Wachtum. It was a puissance test with quite a few participants and she did really well. Ofieterma truly never disappointed us, especially now that we have bred so many good horses from her,” Jan explained. Ofieterma brought ten foals to the Ten Kate family and passed away three months ago at the age of 27.

International offspring
The first offspring was Cabriole TK, a son of Indoctro. He was sold as a four-year-old and was trained by Peter and Marcelle Hokse. He made his debut with them at the international competition in Zuidwolde at the age of eight, where he finished third in the 1m30 class, among other achievements. Later, this son of Ofieterma was sold to Mexico. Under Maria Barbara Garcia Lacy, he developed into an international 1m50 horse, and in 2017, they finished eighth at this level at the CSI2* San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. After she remained empty for a year, Ofieterma was bred back to Indoctro, resulting in Eedje TK. This gelding was ridden by Janine up to the 1m30 level and was then sold to Italy. The following year her first daughter, the Harley VDL mare Fayolaterma TK, was born. “In terms of appearance, she looks the most like her mother. Ofieterma herself was a somewhat classic, strong-built mare and Fayolaterma is the same. My father sold this mare as a yearling along with the Chello III daughter Gullaterma TK, who was born the following year, in one package. Unfortunately, Gullaterma had a tragic accident as a young horse in the field and died. Fayolaterma jumped at international 1m30 level under a Danish rider,” Janine recalls. The Harley VDL son Ivanho TK, born in 2013, is still in the stable of the Van den Berg/Ten Kate family. “He’s a completely different type than his full sister Fayolaterma. Ivanho is over 1m75 tall and performed very well as a four-year-old in the young horse classes. Janine has jumped with him up to the 1m30 level and now they’ve applied the switch: Ivanho is now a fantastic learning horse for our granddaughter Daphne,” Jan proudly states.

Hardworking
Daphne can only agree with that. “Ivanho is always in a good mood and I’m already jumping 1m35 with him. We’ve competed in several international competitions and from what I’ve heard from my mother, he has just as much energy as Ofieterma used to have,” she says. In exchange for Ivanho, Daphne handed over the reins of his half-brother Lutalo TK two years ago. Janine explains: “Lutalo was always the favourite of my daughter from a young age. She started riding him as a young horse when she just moved on from ponies. They participated in the Blom Cup for four-year-olds and the following year I took over riding him so that Daphne could continue with the more experienced Ivanho. It’s great that my parents have bred such nice horses because we have a lot of fun with these two sons of Ofieterma. Lutalo is very athletic, always cheerful and in high spirits every day. When we start the truck here, he’s eager to go to the competition. That’s typical of all the offspring of Ofieterma; she had that too. They like to go to competitions or training and are very hardworking. “When I started riding Lutalo the goal was to participate in the Blom Cup as a five-year-old and we finished 11th in the final. Ultimately, there were some dropouts so we were allowed to participate in the World Championships in Lanaken, which was a wonderful adventure. We were faultless on both days there, and in the final he didn’t make any jumping mistakes either, but we incurred one time penalty. That was naturally very disappointing. I was very disappointed myself, but the competition is strong and we had never jumped at that level before,” she recalls. “It was wonderful to go there together, so you can imagine how happy we were that we are going to Lanaken again this year. With the prospect of Lutalo TK’s second World Championship participation, Jan ten Kate is already glowing. “That’s amazing, isn’t it? Lanaken is like a mini-vacation for us and we’re really looking forward to it. It’s fantastic to experience such things with Janine on our own-bred product. We are true sports enthusiasts, not backyard breeders.”

Among professionals
The continued good performances of the duo have led to a lot of interest in the Dallas VDL son from Ofieterma. “I am fortunate that the horses belong to my parents, and for them the joy of sports comes first. Of course, we sometimes have to sell a horse to cover expenses, but we have agreed that he will not be available for sale until at least after the World Championships. At the age of seven there are really serious high courses, higher than I have ever jumped before, so I’m very curious about how it will go. Fortunately, I know I can rely on Lutalo and we are trying to prepare as well as possible.” A formidable challenge for an amateur rider in the predominantly professional field in the seven-year-old championship, where the fences are set at a minimum of 1m40 for the first few days and even 1m45 in the final. 

Perpetuating the bloodline
Currently, four sport horses are at home with the Van den Berg-Ten Kate family in Nieuwleusen. The lineage continues with Ofieterma’s daughter Kalliterma TK (Dallas VDL), a full sister to the one-year-younger Lutako TK, and she is one of the few breeding products that has not been ridden. “Because we deliberately keep the horse hobby small scale, we sometimes have to make choices. Kalliterma TK was covered at the age of three and, by the time she could be ridden, I already had the stables and my hands full here. That’s why my father had her covered again, and that’s why she ended up in the breeding program full-time.” 

Following your own instincts
Kalliterma TK’s oldest offspring, Oivaterma TK (Global Express), qualified for the four-year-old finals this year in Exloo with Janine finishing in the middle of the field, with a nice score of 7.8 for jumping and 8.0 for their movement between the obstacles. This year, Kalliterma TK had a filly by Grand Slam VDL, a daring choice because Dallas VDL and Grand Slam VDL are half-brothers on the dam’s side. Currently, the broodmare is carrying the Stakkato Gold son Landino VDL. “I always follow my instincts, and I’m not really afraid of inbreeding. I also believe that you don’t always have to listen to others. I was already very fond of Dallas VDL back then, which is why I used him several times for Ofieterma. The foal by Grand Slam VDL turned out well, so that confirms my feeling. I always make the stallion choices because, as they say, ‘who pays the stud fee, determines.’ I chose Dallas VDL three times for Ofieterma. “Besides Kalliterma TK and Lutalo TK, she also produced an offspring from this stallion in 2014, which I registered in another studbook because Dallas VDL was not yet recognized by the KWPN at that time. I had seen Dallas at the stallion show and had a very good feeling about him. Duran was a very nice foal, which is why I repeated the combination twice more afterwards. Then it was time for something new,” Jan says with a smile. After being trained by Janine in the first years, Duran TK Z was sold to Michel Brusse in the summer of 2021. The tall gelding, height over 1m80, made his international debut this year at the age of nine with his owner as the second offspring of Ofieterma competing at the 1m50 level. 

All colours
After three times using Dallas VDL, Jan ten Kate wanted something different and that’s how he came across the stallion Hampshire VDL (Arezzo VDL), who has been competing internationally under his birth name History-Rilexy. “I asked Wiebe-Yde for advice and he recommended this stallion. Coincidentally, he was with Marcel de Boer at the time and we have a good relationship with him. Marcel was also very enthusiastic about the stallion and was excited about his riding qualities, which we also find very important.” The result of this pairing was the six-year-old Muppet TK, who was sold as a foal. “In terms of colour inheritance, Ofieterma has turned out to be a surprise; we have seen all colours in the recent years. Only once I was a bit disappointed with the colour because Muppet TK is a chestnut roan and I really don’t like that,” Jan laughs, and didn’t hesitate to sell him. “Marcel de Boer naturally knew both the mother and father of Muppet, so that sale was quickly arranged. As a breeder, you are completely dependent on where your breeding product ends up, and I’m glad that he ended up in good hands. He is being trained well there and it was nice that he made it to the finals. However, due to a small miscommunication with his rider, he did not achieve a super result there. The potential is there, so we will continue to follow him.” 

Four finalists
In addition to Oivaterma (Global Express), Muppet TK (Hampshire VDL), and Lutalo TK (Dallas VDL), another breeding product from the Ten Kate family reached the final in Exloo last August. Ofieterma’s last offspring is the Grand Slam VDL daughter Novaterma TK, and she had just one jumping fault in the final under Janine. “The championship in Exloo is definitely one to remember. My father’s breeding has provided us with very nice horses. I alternate riding the young horses at home with Daphne, and it’s very nice to be able to share this hobby. I try to train the horses as well as possible, and I’m glad that everyone is committed to continuing this hobby, especially now that I can do it together with our daughter. We are lucky that Ofieterma has bred so well and in terms of character, her offspring seem like her. In handling, Ofieterma was incredibly well-behaved and we see that in her offspring as well. In the ring, they are 50 October 2023 always there and have a lot of fighting spirit; they clearly inherited that from their mother,” says Janine. “I exceeded my expectations by staying clear in the 1m40 at the championship in Exloo, which gives me confidence for Lanaken. In the past, I have had lessons from Jan Hokse and he still occasionally watches over me at competitions, as well as Marcel de Boer and Michael Greeve who also occasionally give me valuable tips. Because I have a day job, I don’t often have the opportunity to ride in international competitions. We have already achieved some nice results at the regional championships, Hippiades’ and the Roelofsen Winter Classics. Being able to go to Lanaken for the second time is really the topping on the cake for us.” 

Fun comes first
Jan and Hilly are also looking forward to the World Championships. “Of course, we hope they make it to the final there, but we’re not under any illusions because it’s a big challenge. As breeders, we naturally dream of a breeder’s premium at the World Championships and that also provides motivation. Regardless of the result, we will enjoy it because it’s fun to make it a nice trip together. We are very proud of the achievements of all our breeding products and it’s extra special when our daughter or granddaughter rides the horses. We also have another granddaughter who may take over Ivanho from Daphne in the future. So, horse sports remain a real family occasion. I think we can ultimately enjoy a nice round with one of them in the 1m10 more than a 1m60 result with another rider,” Jan concludes. “As loyal supporters, my wife and I, along with Janine and the grandchildren, always try to infuse a lot of confidence and we believe that this can lead to great things. My brother had no interest in school, but he became a multiple-time world champion in motorsport with his team. He’s a good example in that regard. ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way,’ I always say. We are competitive by nature, although the fun we have with the horses always comes first for us. I expect and hope that we will experience many beautiful moments with the horses in the coming years.” Jan ten Kate concludes.

Successful breeding products from Ofieterma:
Direct ancestry:

• Cabriole TK (by Indoctro) 1.50m with Maria Barbara Garcia Lacy\
• Duran TK Z (by Dallas VDL) 1.50m with Michiel Brusse
• Lutalo TK (by Dallas VDL) 1.40m and participation in the World Championships in Lanaken in 2021/2023
• Muppet TK (by Hampshire VDL) finalist in the KWPN Championship for six-year-olds in 2023
• Novaterma TK (by Grand Slam VDL) finalist in the KWPN Championship for five-year-olds in 2023

Granddaughter:

• Oivaterma TK (by Global Express) finalist in the KWPN Championship for four-year-olds in 20232

Text: JS for KWPN
Photos: Dirk Caremans and Jessica Pijlman