Text © World of Showjumping

This summer, Bas Moerings won the 2020 Dutch Championship for young riders with the only 8-year-old mare Hardesther (Kannan x Cardento) – his family’s own breeding. The year prior, in 2019, Bas’ parents Geert and Marie-Louise were named KWPN Breeders of the Year. In addition to Hardesther, the now 10-year-old geldings Fosther (Vigo d’Arsouilles x Cardento) and Fasther (Vigo d’Arsouilles x Farmer) are just two examples of the quality horses the Moerings-family has bred during the years. Fasther is currently highly successful with USA’s Lillie Keenan, while Fosther is campaigned by Ireland’s Cian O’Connor –  under his new name Cadiz.

World of Showjumping met 21-year-old Bas at his family’s yard in Roosendaal, the Netherlands.

“The days at the Dutch Championships were special,” Bas tells about the weekend at Equestrian Centre de Peelbergen, where he won the young rider title. “It was so hot, about 40 degrees and I had two horses there – Fosther and Hardesther. On the final day, due to Hardesther’s inexperience, I would have been happy if she finished the course with a few fences down. She is a small mare – only 1.59m – but she has the heart of a lion. She jumped clear and we won, and I think it all came down to her character.”

“At the moment I mostly have 4- and 5-year-old horses and one 7-year-old stallion – Ipsthar (Denzel vt Meulenhof x Farmer), which I think is a very exciting horse,” Bas tells about his current string. “Over the last years, I have been in a position where I have had some interesting horses and thanks to my age I have been able to get into some nice shows,” he continues. “But now, as I am stepping up to senior level, it will get harder. Moving from junior level to young riders is a big transition, but as long as you have the right horses it is doable. To go from young riders to international three- and four-star level is tougher. Seeing some riders getting to compete at shows because they have a wider amount of resources, while you yourself is trying to reach a certain level through performance can be hard to witness. However, that is the reality of the sport and also a part of the business – keeping that in mind makes it easier to deal with. My horses are young and while some of them have real potential, I am realistic and know it will be difficult to do any bigger shows.”

“Most of my future plans are based on Ipsthar, that is also a licensed stallion,” Bas continues. “When you have a lot of young horses, you kind of grow with them – you just move on without even noticing. You want to make the horse better, and you improve yourself in the process.”  

“I had the privilege to ride at a young age because of my parents. But, when I was younger, I actually disliked it,” Bas laughs when he explains how he first got into riding. “I wanted to play football. However, my parents would always be riding. When my sister got a pony, I also wanted to try. I took her pony and started riding – she did not like that. I moved on to horses quite quickly because we had them in the stable.”

“At the moment I ride fulltime, and have nine horses. Normally we start around 7.30 in the morning. First we put as many horses as possible out to the fields and give hay, then I ride three to four horses before lunch and do the rest after,” Bas tells about their daily routines – that the family of four take care of on their own without any employees. “My dad built the stable bearing in mind that he wanted to be able to run it on his own when he is 60 – he did not want to end up selling the place because it would get too hard to handle,” Bas explains.

“25 years ago, my parents started here with four boxes,” Bas tells about the beginning of the family business. “They always told their parents that they would never have more than four horses,” he continues with a smile. “Today, we have 60 – so one thing led to another after they started what was meant to be a small breeding operation. My parents never did this because it was a job for them, they did it because they had fun with it and I think that is why it all escalated.”

“We breed about 8-10 foals each year, so we have to sell about the same amount to keep things going,” Bas continues to explain about the focus of their family business. “If we have a lot of faith in a horse and it is still affordable, we try to keep them until they are eight or nine. But sometimes, it is better to sell them younger.”

One of the horses bred and produced by the Moerings-family is Fasther (Vigo d’Arsouilles x Farmer) that with Lillie Keenan in the saddle has recorded many top placings at CSI4* level. “We bred him, my dad saddle broke and rode him until he was seven, then I took over,” Bas tells. “Fasther always felt special: Jumping was easy for him, he had no problems. When he turned eight, many people started to ask for him. We would have liked to keep him longer but then Lillie came to try him and fell in love immediately.”

When it comes to future goals, Bas wants to keep the family tradition alive. “First of all, I would like to continue what my father started with the sport horses,” he tells. “I think we have an interesting family of horses and I want to build on that. I do have my personal goals as well – I want to pursue my career at a higher level. However, I have always been told that there is a limit to what I can do and I believe there is some truth to that considering the business we are running. At the top, you need a lot of horses and a lot of people around you as well as sponsors. However, as a family business we rely on horses being sold. We have been lucky enough to breed good horses and hope to be able to keep doing so. Trying to combine this with competing at top level will be hard, but I would want to give it a try.”

“There are so many”, Bas answers when asked about his dreams for the future. “I have a lot of respect for people like Willem Greve and Leon Thjissen, who have built their own business, deliver quality and are not dependent on others. Or Maikel van der Vleuten and his father: They have proven that for them, fame is not just ten seconds in the spotlight. They are where they belong, and I think those are the people you should really look up to. If I could achieve even a part of what they have achieved, I would be more than satisfied. I believe that the biggest challenge in staying on the top of the sport is to find the horses: You are going to need quite an arsenal. Second of all, the management of those horses is crucial. I think it is important to see different places and different ways to manage horses. You can’t expect to have all the experience when you are 20-something, there will always be more to learn.”

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