The Israeli Equestrian Federation (IEF) has announced that Jeroen Dubbeldam and Hans Horn have been appointed as team manager and Chef d’Equipe of the Israeli showjumping team.

The press release reads:

"The combination of these two world-class figures, along with the Israeli riders, is another significant step taken by the IEF as part of their effort to gain historical Olympic representation in Tokyo 2020.

“We are both honored to be called by the Israeli team and ambitious for good results,” says Hans Horn. "We don’t have a lot of time on our hands with the Olympic qualification in Moscow and FEI Europe Division 2 competition in Bulgaria coming next month. We didn’t get to know all the riders, but we do know most of them, and we will see some of them already during the Nations Cup in Rome this month. We hope to meet everybody soon in order to make a plan for the summer and the Europeans as well”.

After recognizing the need for top-class sports leadership, the chairman of the IEF, Mr. Kan Lalo, recruited Mr. Dubbeldam and Mr. Horn to further the Olympic agenda for Israeli equestrian. 
"I am happy that Hans and Jeroen, two world-renowned equestrian figures, share our vision and have agreed to join Israel's Olympic effort," said Ken Lalo. "Israel now has onboard arguably the most decorated equestrian athlete in the world as well as one of the best chef d'equipes, with proven experience and ability, to help lead the national team at the Olympic Games.  For the first time in history, we have a group of top-ranked athletes poised to succeed at a major senior championship.  Now is the right time to make our best effort to reach the Olympics, which is now a realistic goal for us."

Jeroen is the only rider in the world who holds the three most significant titles in the world of equestrian sports - Olympic Champion (Sydney 2000) World Champion (Caen, France 2014) and European Champion (Aachen, Germany 2016).

He has been Dutch Champion twice and has been a vital member of the Dutch National Team for many years. His other successes also include three team gold medals in the World Championships (2006, 2014, 2015) and two European Championships (2007, 2015).

Hans Horn is one of the most recognizable coaches and managers in the equestrian industry. He has successfully trained the Dutch, Swedish, and Italian teams over the years, leading them to numerous victories and several Olympic performances.

He was also the former trainer of many famous and successful Dutch riders, including Jeroen.

This year, it is an intense and exciting year for the Israeli team.

This group of athletes, which began their official performances only last summer at the WEG in Tryon, is expected to participate in several major competitions in the coming months.

In June, the team will take part in the Olympic qualifier for FEI Group C, in Moscow, Russia.
For the first time, the team also strives to take part in the Nations Cup Series in Group A of Europe Division 2, taking place in Bulgaria later in the summer.

In August, Israel also expects to take part in the team competitions at the European Championships in Rotterdam, the Netherlands."