|
1500- 1600 |
Arabian blood introduced
to the horse that descended from Equus robustus,
through Andalusian horses of Spain. |
|
1526 |
Hungarian King Louis II
used heavy Friesian horses in battle against the Turks. |
|
1568 |
Etches by Stradanus,
showing a Friesian stallion in the stables of Don Juan
of Austria. |
|
1624 |
Electoral Prince George
William of Prussia imported Friesian horses. |
|
1625 |
Friesian horses were being
exported to New Amsterdam (the future New York City). |
|
1664 |
The Dutch were forced to
leave New Amsterdam to the English. The purebred
Friesian horse was quickly lost. |
|
1700's |
Friesian sjees came into
use. Built in the Rococo style. |
|
1771 |
The stud at Kladrub
imported Friesian horses. |
|
1795 -1796 |
Ads in New York City
newspapers speak of trotters of 'Dutch' descent. |
|
1700-1800's |
Friesians horses were
popular as a trotting horse for short distances. |
|
1823 |
King William I started
horse races in Leeuwarden, to be held every successive
year. This became known as the "King's-Golden-Whip-Day"
due to the prize. |
|
1863 |
T Hasje born (Little
Hare). She was a brown racing mare, later registered
under #31. |
|
1879 |
The studbook for the
Friesian horse was started in Roordahuizen. It was
called "The Horse Studbook." At this time, the question
of crossbreeds was answered with two registration books
- Book A for Friesians (purebred horses from Friesland);
Book B for crossbreeds. Jhr. Mr. C. van Eysinga became
one of the sponsors of the association, and served as
Chairman of the Board of the FPS from 1879 until 1906.
Thirteen stallions were judged, 10 mares were entered in
Book A, and 1 mare was entered in Book B. |
|
1881 |
T. Cribb & Sons founded
their London based funeral business with a Friesian
stallions. During the Victorian days, more than 700
Friesian horses were employed in the funeral business in
the area of London alone. They were known as 'Belgium
Blacks' since they came to London through Antwerp in
Belgium. |
|
1882 |
Jeanne B registered in
Book-B. She was the ancestor of the oldest Friesian mare
pedigree- #1. |
|
1883 |
The stallion, Graaf Adolf
21, was approved. His owner was H. J. Seekles. |
|
1883 |
The mare Keesje was
registered in the studbook with #101. She was owned by
Jan Piers van der Sluis in Hemrik. Jan bred 4 studbook
stallions: Friso 48, Gambetta 52, Leo 86, and Frits 95.
Frits 95 went on to breed 100's of mares, mostly after
1906. |
|
1883 - 1896 |
The studbook opened to the
registration of horses from the provinces of Groningen &
Drenthe. Due to this, the studbook name was temporarily
changed to "Inland Horse" instead of Friesian Horse. |
|
1884 |
The Internal Agricultural
Exchange in Amsterdam showed some unintentional
shortcomings in the Friesian breeding. According to
their research, the Friesian horse was not the best
breed for producing work or army horses. Only 21
Friesians were acquired by the army that year. Most farm
or army horses were chosen from Oldenburg stock. |
|
1885 |
Jhr. Mr. C. van Eysinga
established his studfarm in Huisterheide. He and a
partner stood the Friesian stallion Graaf Adolf 21. The
studfarm became known es 'se Oorsprong,' (The Origin). |
|
1886 |
De Regent 32, 3 years old,
was approved in Groningen. The owner, Scholten, set a
record of 3 min. 6.4 sec per mile in trotting races. But
the trends in Groningen were for a heavier Oldenburg
breed and thus crossbreeding took place. |
|
1889 |
Radboud 67 became the last
of only 5 brown Friesian stallions approved for the
registry. The other four were David 11, Keizer 18,
Minister Thorbecke 34 [one source includes Membrino] and
Bruno 38. |
|
1889 - 1909 |
Public interest in the
Friesian horse waned along with the sudden rise in
popularity of the 'Bovenlandse Paard' (the
Oldenburg-East Friesian horse). There were 19 available
Friesian stallions in Friesland in 1889, 6 in 1899, and
6 in 1909. |
|
1890 |
De Oorsprong reached a
total of 60 horses. |
|
1891 |
The last golden whip was
awarded by H.M. Queen Regent Emma. |
|
1892 |
Davidji 1080, a brown
studbook mare, was born. She was the daughter of DePaauw
1 and the originator of the mare stammer 50 & 53. |
|
1894 |
De Regent 32 was sold to
De Oorsprong. The period between 1894 and 1905 became
known as the "glory days" at De Oorsprong. |
|
1894 |
A number of Friesian
stallions were sold to England after only 1-2 years of
breeding in the Netherlands. |
|
1895 |
More than 8,000 horses
were imported into the Netherlands, mainly from North
America and Canada. Mechanization in the New World made
these horses surplus. The result in the Netherlands, and
elsewhere, was much crossbreeding. |
|
1896 |
Groningen & Drenthe broke
off from the studbook. Friesland's studbook became the
'Friesian Horse Studbook' with two registries, the
'Inlands Ras' and the 'Buitenlands of Gekruistras.' The
latter registry became the 'Bovenlands Ras' (breed of
the Northern Provinces). |
|
1899 |
Alva 113 was born at De
Oorsprong. He lived 16 years, dying in 1915. |
|
1900 |
Jan Piers van der Sluis's
brother, Engbert, built a villa called 'Het Koetskuis'
(the Coach House) in Hemrik and established a breeding
station with 25 horses, including Ulbe 100, Pier 106 and
Prins 109. |
|
1902 |
Only 15 Approved Friesian
stallions left standing in Friesland, 5 of them at De
Oorsprong. This was Regent 32's last year at de
Oorsprong. Also standing there were: Drenthe I 91,
Sultan 105, Pluto 108 and Alva 113. Crossbreeding
experiments produced disappointing results time and
again; the matches only resulted in average market
horses of the time. |
|
1902 |
The Stallion Association
in Kimswerd was founded in order to buy Prins 109. |
|
1905 |
Jippe Bouma in Terwispel
bought the 12 year old Frits 95 from Jan Piers van der
Sluis. He stood for station Bouma until his death in
1912. |
|
1907 |
The studbook lost the
distinction between the 'Inlands Ras' and 'Bovenlands
Ras.' The decision was made to register both the
Friesian horse and the Bovenlandse Paard in one
studbook. This has been attributed to the prevalent
fashion of crossbreeding. In order to counter this, Jan
Timmer of Kimswerd proclaimed a "wake-up call" to
preserve the Friesian horse. |
|
1911 |
Jan Wilke Hoogterp in
Deersum bought the 4 year old registered mare, Irma
2708, daughter of Aaron 114. She had a colt in 1918
(sire Paulus 121) named Vredestichter (Peacemaker). Irma
was also the mother of Arend 131 and the model mare
Clasina 1409. |
|
1913 |
Jan Jentjes de Vries from
Ypecolsga bought the 4 year old mare, Prinses. Her dam
was unregistered and her sire was Prins 109. She became
the patriarch of Line 19 in the Merriestammen,
the line known as the "de Vries Line." Her colt became
the studbook stallion Theunis 125. Her daughter,
Simontje (sire Danillo) became model-preferent. Simontje
1328 was the dam of approved stallion Obscurant 150. |
|
1913 |
This year saw an alarming
statistic - only 3 Approved Friesian stallions remained:
Prins 109, Alva 113 and Friso 117. No young stallions
had been registered since 1907. Jhr. Mr. C. Van Eysinga
became one of the initiators of the association Het
Friesche Paard, "The Friesian Horse" association.
Concerned breeders and admirers gathered to decide on
what action to take to preserve the breeding. The
association worked with the studbook and encouraged
breeding by buying promising young stallions and
awarding the best with premies.. The association soon
bought the stallion Paulus. Paulus 121 went on to become
the patriarch of all current Friesian stallions. He was
the father of Vredestichter 127 and Arend 131. |
|
1915 |
At the request of Het
Friesche Paard, the studbook reopened two registration
books - Book A for the Friesian horse and Book B for the
Bovenlandse Paarden. |
| |
Not one Friesian stallion
had been approved since the year 1907, when the books
combined. The Friesian horse had obtained separate books
in the studbook and a period of prosperity for the
horses lasted approximately 50 years. |
|
1915 |
This year marked the first
time in 10 years that a Friesian stallion was again
approved for the studbook. Kornelis Wobbe van der Sluis
in Lippenhuizen bought the 3 year old Oom (sire Alva
113). Oom became known as the stallion with "two
numbers." Oom became the first stallion in 10 years to
be approved and registered in the studbook. His number
was 373, but the Northern horses began to be registered
separately again, so Oom took on a new number - #119. |
|
1916 |
The Friesian Horse
Association bought the 3 year old Paulus 121 (sire Friso
117). He played an important role in transforming the
carriage horse to a lighter farm horse. Approximately 34
registered mares remained in the studbook. |
|
1918 |
The studbook ended
registration of brown Friesian mares. |
|
1918 |
The number of registered
Friesian mares increases to 166. |
|
1918 - 1920 |
De Oorsprong and the
Eysinga family cooperated with the director of the Univ.
Of Agriculture in Wageningen, Prof. L. Broekema, on
crossbreeding experiments. The research conclusion was
that only crosses with breeds very close to the Friesian
horse were advisable. |
|
1920 |
Prins 109 sold to Jippe
Bouma. At this time Prins was one of the "big four,"
including Frits 95, Alva 113 and Friso 117. |
|
1927 |
Station Bouma stood the 3
year old Danillo 137 (sire Vredestichter 127). Breeding
fees were about 5-6 guilders per mare. Jippe Bouma
almost went bankrupt in the depression years, but
managed to move his station to Oudeschoot. |
|
1927 |
Jhr. Mr. C. Van Eysinga
passed away at De Oorsprong. |
|
1928 |
The studbook had regained
in strength. Eight registered stallions bred 358 mares. |
|
1928 |
The stallion Held 140
Pref. was out of an inbreeding between Arend 131 to his
full sister, Clasina. |
|
1928 |
The last brown Friesian
mare was registered in the By-Book, Nelly 90H. |
|
1929 |
The first pamphlet was
published on the Friesian horse by Het Friesche Paard. |
|
1930 |
De Oorsprong went out of
business. The oldest mare stem, Jeanne 6B, started here. |
|
1934 |
Obscurant was born to the
mare Simontje (sire Danillo) at Station de Vries. He
became the studbook stallion #150. |
|
1935 |
The approved stallion
Cremer was rejected for the studbook. Some maintained it
was due to his large numbers of midget foals, or that
his offspring had a high percentage of roan. Cremer
continued to breed to unregistered mares and his
offspring were known for having white hairs all over
their bodies. |
|
1935 |
Klass F. Jansma owned the
stallion Mengelberg 145. He also, later, owned Geert 184
who was sold to South Africa when he was 11 years old. |
|
1938 |
A split within the
studbook occurred. The Friesian horse got a board of
their own within the studbook. This was another step
toward the Friesian horse obtaining its very own
studbook specifically for Friesians (in 1943). |
|
1938 |
Station Bouma adds the
stallion Okke 151, but he later was rejected by the
studbook in 1940. They lost the stallion Yntel30 in
1940. Consequently they purchased Plutus 156, but his
prominence in breeding was past, apparently due to the
popularity of Obscurant 150. |
|
1939 - 1949 |
Membership triples in the
FPS. The use of the horse on the farm helped the
studbook registrations. |
|
1939 |
The Circus Strassburger
was founded. Friesian horses were used for various
performances. |
|
1941 |
The stallion Mengelberg
145 came close to death at the judging; he was fed 12
eggs, twice daily, prior to the judging. The trend of
the time was to show the horses very heavy. |
|
1941 |
The Association of
Stallion-Keepers in Friesland was founded. The Stallion
Keepers applied annually to the studbook and no
Stallion-Keeper could stand a stallion within a 15km
area of another. |
|
1942 |
Lammert E. Huijing began
40 years of service to the studbook, first as a clerk,
and then in 1958, as the secretary/treasurer. |
|
1943 |
Breeders of non-Friesian
horses left the studbook to join the NWP (Warmblood
Studbook of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe). |
|
1944 |
Jippe Bouma of Station
Bouma passed away. His son, Anne Bouma, had already
taken over. The stallion Danilo 137 (age 20) drove Jippe
to his last resting place. |
|
1944 |
Obscurant 150 died of a
blood disease. The Station de Vries acquired the colt
Aize (Aize 170), whose sire was Obscurant. |
|
1945 |
The 3 year old Age 168 was
approved and stood for Jan Pasma in Akkrum. Age 168 gave
200 daughters and almost went preferent, except for a
pre-potency to a weak hind leg. It wasn't long before
members talked of the 'Age-Line.' Both the 'Age-Line'
end the 'Tetman-Line' originated with Jan Pasma. |
|
1949 |
Queen Juliana became
Patroness of the FPS. Following WWII, German horses no
longer crossed the border to become field horses. This
caused the breeding of the Friesian horse to lean toward
heavier individuals for use in the grass fields. These
horses were often smaller in height. Approved stallions
undertook an obligatory performance test, mainly for the
benefit of mare owners. |
|
1950's |
Examinations of a
stallion's offspring and performance was conducted on a
regular basis. The Friesian horse began to loss ground
in its primary role - that of a farm horse.
Mechanization increased. The numbers of Friesian horses
dropped along with the numbers of members. |
|
1951 |
The association, The
Friesian Horse, lasted to this point. It has been
credited with saving the Friesian horse from extinction. |
|
1951 |
Station Bouma tried to
regain ground with the Obscurant son, Bouke 174, Noldus
198 and Ritske 202. |
|
1952 |
Breeding Associations were
founded in Friesland and they held their own regional
judgings. The Committee of Recommendation included the
FPS secretary, Huijing, Arnoldus de Groot, Jeen Jansma,
Jan Jansma and Geert Geerligs. These breeding clubs
included: 'It Fryske Hynder,' 'It Fryske Greidhynder,' 'Het
Friese Paard' and 'Ta it Bihald.' |
|
1954 |
The Studbook celebrated
its 75th anniversary in Joure and it received the
'Royal' title in the presence of H.R.H. Princess Beatrix. |
|
1955 |
The club 'Het Friese
Tuigpaard' (the Friesian Driving Horse) was founded.
Riding and driving competitions were more popular and
the regional clubs gradually took over their running
from the FPS. One popular such event was the
Tilting-at-the-Rings events. |
|
1956 |
The Model Pref. Mare,
Truus 4316, was born. She was the mother of Dagho 247
and Naen 264. |
|
1957 |
Nuttert 200 was approved.
He was from the de Vries Line, line 19. |
|
1957 |
"The Phryso" reported that
Rouke de Hoop in Huisterheide, and Klass F. Jansma in
Heeg were appointed trader/exporters for the FPS in
connection with exports to Germany and South Africa.
Friesian horses were exported to South Africa to improve
the 'Flemish horse' (het Vlaamse Paard). |
|
1958 |
Lammert E. Huijing was
appointed secretary/treasurer of the FPS. |
|
1960 |
Noldus 198 exported to
South Africa. Ritske 202 became a dominant FPS stallion. |
|
1960 |
The Friesian sjezen
obtained their own registry with the founding of the 'Frysk
Seaze Stamboek.' |
|
1960 |
Books on the Friesian
horse begin to be published, for example, Het
Friesche Paard. |
|
1962 |
Lutsen 192 exported to
South Africa. |
|
1963 |
The quadrille was driven
for the first time. This was a performance of eight
Friesian 'sjezen' driven to complex choreography. |
|
1964 |
Tetman 205 and Nuttert 200
rejected for the Studbook. They were lunged on three
legs for their test. |
|
1964 |
R. Geurts published The
Friesian Horse - The Most Important Mare-Stammen
[title in English]. |
|
1967 |
A board member stripped
his Friesian mare of her breed characteristics (mane and
feathering). The jury of the day made the mare a "ster."
Fans of the Friesian horse felt this was a crime and
before the end of the year, the board promised never to
do so again, as it might open the door to crossbreeding. |
|
1967 |
Money problems plagued the
Studbook. A study group, 'Werkgroep Instandhouding
Friese Paard,' was founded to look at the preservation
of the Friesian horse. C. Van Eysinga served as
chairman. Press coverage was there for the "crusade to
save the Friesian horse." The 3 year old stallion Mark
led the week-long parade of horses from Workum through
the province of Friesland. Cees Faber, of De Oorsprong,
served as the leader of this effort. He was also an
inspector for the FPS. He promoted the need to breed for
versatility while keeping the breed characteristics. |
|
1968 |
Decreased public interest
in Studbook judgings led to the decision to conduct foal
judging on Breeding Days. The Breeding Day took on a
festive tone. Registration of foals, judging for the
studbook, and judging of 1-2 year olds took place at
these Breeding Days. |
|
1969 |
Mrs. E. Kortenhagen-van
Til of Breukelen, known as Tante Bets (Auntie Bets),
drove her first Friesian four-in-hand. Others soon
followed. The Anniversary Keuring held special classes
for fans and owners of Friesian horses to highlight
their use for other than farm work. |
|
1969 |
R. Geurts published his
thesis: "Genetic Analysis and Structure of the Breeding
of the Friesian Horse," while at the University of
Utrecht Medical School. [Title in English]. |
|
1970 |
Anne Bouma owned 8 of the
20 FPS Approved Stallions. His stallions, Wessel and
Tsjalling, were used by the Veterinary Faculty in
Utrecht to work on AI. Wessel 237 Preferent was the
first Friesian stallion to breed AI. |
|
1972 |
The owner of Ygram (Ygram
240) received a request from the FPS to show his
stallion at the keuring because there were not enough
stallions attending. During this time, stallion keeping
was a loosing proposition, so many potentially great
breeding horses were lost to the studbook. |
|
1974 |
The breeding club, 'Het
Friesche Paard-Midden Nederland,' was founded. |
|
1974 |
Thomas Hannon, Canton,
Ohio, purchased Friesian horses to be transported via
ship across the Atlantic. More Friesian horses were
imported in 1975 and 1977. |
|
1977 |
Although purchased months
prior to shipment, Frank Leyendekker had the airline,
KLM, design and build crates for the horses to travel
in. Laes (278) arrived in this first shipment. |
|
1977 |
Bouwe 242 was sold to Tom
Hannon and was imported to the U.S. |
|
1977 |
The regional group 'Het
Friesche Paard-Nord Holland' was formed. |
|
1978 |
The regional group 'De
Groningen Drenthe Combinatie' was formed. |
|
1978 |
Herman Kiesrra took four
Friesian mares and the Friesian stallion Bjinse 241 to
Inverness Scotland. |
|
1978 |
The studbook closed to
horses of partly unknown descent. From this year on,
starting with the stallion Dagho 247, all Friesian
stallions underwent testing on the quality of their
offspring from their first 4 breeding seasons. This
re-instituted an earlier practice that hadn't been
maintained consistently for over 10 years. |
|
1979 |
The German association, "Friesenverband,"
was started. |
|
1979 |
The Studbook celebrated
its 100th year anniversary in Leeuwarden on 'Kokedei'
(Cow-Day). |
|
1979 |
Approved stallion, Hindrik
222, who was withdrawn from breeding in 1971, was
exported to the United States. |
|
1980 |
The regional group 'Het
Friesche Paard -Zuid Nederland' was formed. |
|
1980 |
The 15 km restriction in
the working areas of stallion keepers comes to an end. |
|
1980 |
The young stallions Oepke
266, Oege 267, and Peke 268 were the first to graduate
from the newly instituted 50 day stallion test held in
Ermelo. This first year was a trial, and it was
determined that this test was positive for the breeding.
Prior to 1980, the approved stallions had to participate
in tests that mainly consisted of pulling a sledge, a
plow or a farm wagon with increased weights. |
|
1981 |
The FPS presented Queen
Beatrix with two Friesian geldings and the Royal Stables
purchased more. Since this year the Friesian horses were
used in the parade on every 'Prinsjesdag,' the opening
of the Dutch Parliament. |
|
1981 |
Cees Faber resigns as an
inspector and passes away one year later. |
|
1982 |
The FPS gave Lammert E.
Huijing a farewell party on his retirement. |
|
1982 |
Frank Leyendekker,
Visalia, California, traveled to Friesland to discuss
with the FPS secretary, L. E. Huijing, the possibility
of having the FPS judge Friesian horses in North
America. |
|
1983 |
The pivotal movie,
Ladyhawke was filmed (copywrite: 1985 Warner Bro. &
Twentieth Century Fox, USA). It starred Rutger Hauer of
the Netherlands, Michelle Pfeiffer, and of course, the
Friesian stallion, Othello. Othello was a circus
performer for Manuela Beeloo, his owner. His sire was
Ritske 202 and his dam was Paulowna, ster (s. Gerke).
Othello retired in 1994 with a final performance at the
FPS stallion keuring. |
|
1983 |
The first meeting to
organize the Friesian Horse Association in the U.S. was
held in Visalia, California. Attendees: F. Leyendekker,
F. DeBoer, D. Dunnink, J. Botma, J. Mellott, R. Humason. |
|
1983 |
Sander 269 imported to the
U.S. He passed the 50 day Performance Test in Ermelo in
the fall of 1981. |
|
1983 |
The stallion Laes had his
keuring for registration as an approved stallion and his
offspring inspection at the same time. He was approved
for both and given the number 278. From this point on
all stallion candidates in North America also had to
undergo the same procedures as in The Netherlands. |
|
1985 |
T. Cribb & Sons reopened
their horse drawn funeral business with a restored
London hearse, original Cribb & Sons velvets, and a pair
of Friesian horses from the Netherlands. Mr. Stanley
Cribb (grandson of the business's founder) runs the
business today (1999) with his two sons. |
|
1986 |
The Performance
Examination for stallions was transferred to the spring
– thus the stallions couldn't breed until after passing
the test. |
|
1986 |
The stallion Barteld,
owned by F. De Boer, CA, was approved for the breeding
provided he passed a test equivalent to that at Ermelo.
An exam was held in the U.S. and Barteld 292 was
approved. |
|
1988 |
Mr. Piet de Boer set a
world record with a team of 21 Friesian horses hitched
to an English Road Coach in Peterborough, England. |
|
1988 |
The Approved Stallion
Frans 289 was sold and imported to the U.S. He passed
his offspring inspection in 1991. |
|
1989 |
The 110th Anniversary of
the Royal Association 'Het Friesch Paarden Stamboek.'
The studbook became the second largest studbook in the
Netherlands and published promotional, multi-language,
brochures. |
|
1989 |
The voluntary
tongue-tattooing became mandatory. |
|
1989 |
HRH Prince Philip invites
Mr. Piet de Boer to break his 21 horse record. On July
18, de Boer drove 22 Friesian horses into the
Peterborough stadium pulling his London-built Mail
Coach. |
|
1989 |
The first edition of the
mare pedigrees was published, entitled Merriestammen
van het Friese Paard, by Dr. R. Geurts. |
