Pier Van Der Hoek, founding FHANA member, passes away at 78

From staff and online reports

RIVERDALE — Pier Van Der Hoek, one of the founders of the Friesian Horse Association of North America and an early recipient of the FHANA Hall of Fame award, passed away March 31 on his farm, surrounded by family. He was 78.

As a young boy growing up in Friesland in the Netherlands, Pier was invited by a family friend to attend a Friesian horse show in Rijs. The breed’s grace, beauty and speed that day impacted his life, later saying, “I had driven work horses on the farm, but the Friesians were something special!”

In California during the 1970s, fellow Friesland native Frank Leyendekker imported the first Friesian, and Pier was there to help with beginning training along with Clay Maier. He realized then that he wanted to own Friesian horses someday, and he went along with Frank and Clay to the first FHANA organizational meetings.

Finally, in 1984, Pier imported my first Friesian mare, Nynke, and bought a couple of carts for training and driving. From Nynke’s offspring, and later from his Ster foundation mare, Vivian, he gradually built up my Friesian herd.

“I had fun training and driving the horses,” he said in an interview after his 2009 induction into the FHANA Hall Of Fame. “I also find it very satisfying to study the scoring of my mares and match them with stallions that will possibly improve their weakest characteristics. Then, to see the results as the foal is born and develops is very rewarding to me. I always strive to improve the breed.”

Pier served on the FHANA board three years, during a time of great changes in FHANA. His main goal was to get the 70-Day Stallion Testing performed in North America so that stallion prospects would not have to be shipped to The Netherlands to have a chance of full approval — putting stallions here on an equal footing with those in the Netherlands, including the privilege to ship semen worldwide. This was finally accomplished with the FHANA and KFPS approval of DG Bar Ranch as a testing site in 2006. Unfortunately, that first year the entire group of stallions chosen fell out of the testing qualifications, so the first testing began under the supervision of Willy Arts of DG Bar in December 2007.

Over the years, Pier and his family enjoyed many “ring ridings”, ride-and-drives, and Keurings.
“Each Friesian horse has its own personality, and they become like friends to me,” Piere once said. “I love it when their heads come out of the stall windows and they greet me with a neigh or a snort when I walk into the barn. I love to feed them myself — they keep me active. They are a great source of pride in my Friesian roots and culture. This is why I always breed for the best!”

On the day of Peri’s passing, the first Friesian foal of the year was born on the farm 15 minutes after Pier’s passing, a colt named Garrett Pier.

Pier leaves behind his beloved wife of 50 years, Darlene, and he is also survived by his children Hans (Michelle), Henry (Ashley), Julia (Brad) VanderEnde, and Janelle (Aaron Hughes); his grandchildren Alyssa, Chloe, Pierce, Emily, Logan, Titus, Henry, Ethan, Annalise, Mikaela, and Garrett; and his five siblings, Minne, Roel, Hans, Otte, and Janny Bijlsma.

In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes memorial donations to Immanuel or Kerman Christian Schools in honor of Pier van der Hoek, as he was a supporter of Christian education.