Nineteen children and young people who are struggling with themselves find peace in Antoine Verhoeven’s pony farm in Tilburg. But the pony farm has to go. Verhoeven is now in a temporary location and has nowhere else to go. It will stop in March. To the great sadness of all, especially pony girls: “If this stopped, they would take my life. Because I can’t live without this place.”
At the side of the stable is a group of five girls around four ponies. Among them is 12-year-old Caylee van Gestel. She is highly sensitive and has a hard time dealing with her emotions. But when pony Star is with her, everything changes: “He has been my riding horse for four years now. If there is something wrong with me, I can always go to him and he makes me happy,” she explains.
Her mother Chantal looks proudly at her daughter: “She has grown enormously. A few years ago she could never have been so open about what this pony farm means to her.”
“She has no sense of time. But that’s not a big deal here.”
Meanwhile, Anouk van Uden (20) tightens Rosie. “This is my own pony. She’s my life. I get out more because of her.” Lovingly she strokes Rosie’s snout and she beams with joy. Anouk also comes from far away, her mother Miriam knows: “She has problems with reading and writing and she has no sense of time. But that’s not a big deal here. Here she is taken for full.”
When the ponies are harnessed, Caylee and Anouk drive to the riding school. Antoine Verhoeven is the owner of the pony farm. He looks at it with emotion. “Those animals are like a friend and a therapist to them. They need to brush, cuddle, go for a ride. And if you do it right, unconditional friendship is born.”
When he thinks that everything he has built up in thirteen years might disappear, Antoine sighs deeply: “This is my baby. I worked so hard on this with my family. But the pony farm isn’t mine, it’s theirs. I made it for them.”
Still, there is hope. Residential facility Amerhoeve wants to take over the care. Director Joost Melis: “We think this is a very nice project. Especially for the youth who have found a second home here. We want to help ensure that it can continue without a hitch, so that the young people notice as little as possible of a transition. We can ensure that the pony farm meets the standards of the health care inspection and with that we can guarantee the care here.”
“These kids want to feel safe somewhere.”
The care is therefore arranged, the problem is the location. The pony farm has to go at the Vosheining. Antoine is feverishly looking for a place where he can go at least temporarily: “I am in full discussion with riding schools in the area, with four or five stables. They give the pony farm a new start.” He has also approached politics: “The LST, the largest opposition party in Tilburg, will discuss our story in the city council.”
Antoine has set his sights on the Sparrenhof estate. He hopes that the pony farm can have a new future there: “The brothers used to come there to acclimatize when they returned from their mission. These children also want to be themselves somewhere, where they feel safe.”
