Racing through a village on a horse, is that still relevant today?

The cafeteria of horse trainer Rob de Vlieger from Zwaanshoek is full of prizes. After more than thirty years of training trotting horses and competing, De Vlieger has collected dozens of cups and medals. However, according to De Vlieger, that is not the only thing that matters. He points to the posters with the anatomical representations of horse bodies. “Ultimately it’s about that, if horses are not healthy, they cannot perform.”

De Vlieger ‘listens’ to his horses, he says. “You can tell when a horse is anxious or in pain and you have to take that into account.” During the competitions, his horses wear a hat over their ears to muffle the sound of the partying people. And to keep the bit in the right place, De Vlieger does not tie a rope around the horse’s tongue, but tights. “That’s much more elastic.”

Those earmuffs are badly needed, says De Vlieger. The North Holland short track trotting races, where two horses race against each other in the center of the village, are often large village festivals that are also referred to as ‘the day of days’ in many places. The party is celebrated exuberantly every year in Purmerend, Heemskerk and Medemblik, among others.

To enforce

But if it is up to Dier & Recht, the last race has been run. The horses would experience unnecessary pain and stress when pulling the carts, says Sarah Pesie of Dier & Recht. “Scientific research shows that the animals not only experience a lot of stress, they also sustain physical injuries from the bit.”

Furthermore, according to Pesie, research shows that the bit impairs the blood supply to the tongue, that the horse can get wounds in the mouth and that the horse can have problems with swallowing and breathing.

Pesie therefore wants the government to enforce. Last year the organization held a petition to take action against the long track trotters, this year it is also the turn of the short track trotters. The animal scientist acknowledges that horse trainers and organizers have made improvements, but it’s not enough. Pesie therefore advocates a ban.

Deep-rooted tradition

But that idea of ​​Dier & Recht for a ban completely goes down the wrong way with Gerard Post Uiterweer, the chairman of the Kortebaanbond. “A ban would be dramatic. This is a deep-rooted tradition. It would be a shame if it were suppressed by activist associations like this.”

Every year, 26 short track trotting events take place in the Netherlands, most of which are in North Holland. The oldest trotting race is in Medemblik, which has been around for about 175 years. But the party is also popular in Purmerend, Enkhuizen and Heemskerk. In the morning the entire street is cordoned off, the sand is dumped on the track and the fences are placed. After noon, the spectators slowly trickle in, and then the tap opens, says Uiterweer.

For De Vlieger, trotting is in his blood, he says on his yard in Zwaanshoek. His grandfather, like him, trained horses for trotting on this piece of land. “But my grandfather drowned during a training with one of his horses. He ended up with horse and all in the Ringvaart. Years later, in 1990, after my father had grown potatoes, beets and grain here for years, I picked up trotting again .”

For De Vlieger it is clear. “If a horse feels fear or pain, you notice it immediately and you have to intervene.” But does a horse ever feel happy when it has won the race? “I don’t know, you’ll have to ask him.”