Eugene Reesink
If you've had any involvement with International dressage in the last 3 decades, either as a competitor or dressage horse breeder, you've probably heard the name, "Eugene Reesink."
Eugene is widely regarded as one of the worlds top five most serious participants in the dressage industry having found such an impressive number of world-class and now famous breeding stallions and International dressage competition horses.
Inspired by their love of horses and riding, Eugene and his wife Annebeth began their journey as horse professionals in the 1980's in Eibergen, NL near the German border. Little did they know the wild journey their lives and this career would take them.
Hard work, humility, and resilience has followed Eugene through more extremes in success and in business hardship than most can imagine. His absolute love of horses, his uncanny ability to spot a great horse in a field of foals, and his genuinely kind demeanor and commitment to partnership with other professionals have characterized his amazing years in the industry.
It's not uncommon to hear Americans complain about Europeans, saying they don't sell their good horses to Americans. Eugene has a fascinating and powerful resume to disprove that idea. For example, Eugene has bought and later sold his fair share of the dressage world's successful sires in Europe and in the USA. It's rare to walk into and dressage barn and not see at least one horse with a "Reesink stallion" in its pedigree: Florencio, Contango, Ampere, Vaderland, Vitalis, Valverde, Ibiza, Charmeur, Don Juan de Hus, Kaiman, Cum Laude, Franziskus, Spielberg, Darwin, Florett As, and believe it or not - many more.
His eye for a top international dressage horse is trusted by the dressage community world-wide and many International competitors have frequented his sales stable. In the USA for example, in 2006 he found and sold Ravel to Steffen Peters, a horse that in his day has been called the "Top U.S. Dressage Horse, Ever."
And when you think of the USA's most noted horses, Verdades, under rider Laura Graves also comes to mind, having been the 1st and only American to date to have ever been ranked #1 in the world for a period of time. Is it a coincidence that Eugene with his then business partner, Steve Wolgemuth found this amazing foal for Laura?
Horse Magazines journalist, Christopher Hector, called Reesink “one of the most influential players in the world of dressage breeding” and gives him credit for recognizing the "V-line" early on, and promoting famed stallion Vitalis early on when Reesink owned him.
Today, Eugene operates from two locations, his original homestead in Eibergen, NL along the German border, and in Uden, where most of his stallions are stationed. Olympic Dutch rider Dinja Van Liere is in charge of this facility, a partnership with Reesink Horses that brings great benefit to both parties.
It would be difficult to find a top dressage professional in the world that hasn't heard of and probably done some type of business with Eugene Reesink. That and his lifetime work of building relationships with professionals and private breeders and trainers makes him an ideal partner when you are searching for a top horse to buy: from foal to Grand Prix.
Advice From Eugene
"Today, if you want to be successful in the dressage horse industry, you must focus on the highest quality of horses. That's true if you're a breeder, a trainer, an investor, or an agent. It costs just as much to feed a horse that will never have a high sale value or never win an award, produce a good foal, or be successful. There are so many ways that bad luck can strike in this industry. But good luck can come your way too, but only if you prepare for that by working with high-caliber horses. Today, there are more top riders than ever. This is creating a high demand for top horses. My advice for professionals is to focus on quality."