Text © World of Showjumping
The Netherland’s Willem Greve has taken over the reins on Impian D (VDL Bubalu x Lux Z, bred and owned by H.K. van Doorn). The 12-year-old stallion has been hugely successful with Greve’s compatriot Henk Frederiks: Last year, the two were part of the winning Dutch team at CSIO3* Budapest (HUN), CSIO3* Prague (CZE), CSIO4* Sopot (POL) and CSIO3* Kronenberg (NED) – jumping double clear on three of the four occasions.
Unfortunately, Frederiks suffered a fall during the first week of December last year – sustaining fractions to his spine and skull. “I was at a local show with one of my youngsters and had a bad fall,” he tells World of Showjumping. “I had a couple of terrible weeks to be honest. Now I'm in rehab, and I am doing fine. However, this is an injury that we need to take time for – it's not something I can rush. According to the doctors, I will need from three to six months to recover. I am doing my best and working hard to get my muscles ready, but everything needs to be 100% healed before I can get back in the saddle.”
For Frederiks, Impian has been the only horse for the higher levels. “All my other horses are youngsters,” he explains. “They can have some time off, but Impian is in the bloom of his career. He was feeling great just before my accident, and I was really looking forward to the 2025-season. I don’t want my injury to hold him back. Therefore, we had a conversation with his owners and breeders – the Doorn-family. Together, we decided to ask if Willem – who is a very good colleague, and in my opinion one of the best riders in the world – if he would be interested in taking over the ride while I recover.”
Greve tried Impian, had a great feeling and the two made their first appearance together at the KWPN stallion approvals in ‘s-Hertogenbosch (NED) last weekend. “It was impressive to watch,” Frederiks says. “I'm convinced that Impian is going to do well with Willem. We are looking forward to see if Impian is going to spend the rest of his career with Willem. For me, he has been the only horse that I could compete at the higher-level shows, and it's very hard to do that with just one horse. The horse always comes first, and Impian’s career is more important than my own. Therefore, if Willem likes him enough, I'm more than happy to see Impian continue his career with him. I'm proud of the horse, and I'm proud of Willem – he is a wonderful colleague and friend. He has such a nice string of horses at the moment, and that is going to benefit Impian as well. Impian is the best horse I have ever ridden, a true athlete, and he really deserves to be at the biggest stages.”