14 Aug Keuring tour starts in two weeks!
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August 14, 2026
Keuring tour starts in two weeks!
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Keuring tour starts in two weeks!
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Meet the judges of the 2026 Keuring tour
We have six top officials coming over to North America again to judge your horses.
For the West Coast circuit, we will have Floor Dröge and Stan Creemers. For the East Coast circuit, Bart Henstra and Luuk Smetsers will be inspecting your horses. The Harness horses will be inspected by Viggon Van Beest and Thomas van der Weiden.
You’ll find the live keuring entry status sheet HERE.
Bart Henstra
Bart started working as a KWPN judge in 2003 and became inspector of Friesland in 2007 – one of the youngest inspectors in history at the time. From 2007 to 2021, he was a freelance inspector for the KWPN. Bart was member of the jumping re-inspection committee for several terms. Since 2023, Bart is part of the KWPN jumping stallion inspection committee. Bart has been the main judge for the KWPN-NA for almost 20 years now – he started judging for us in 2007. He received the 2021 KWPN-NA Member of the Year award as a thank you for all his years of effort.
Bart combines his work for the KWPN with managing his company Wadro – a manufacturing company specialized in concrete reinforcement steel. With his partner Pytrick Adema, Bart runs a sports stable and breeding farm in Drogeham. One of their stallions, Tiësto, was bought by VDL stud and selected for the performance test.
Picture: Bart and Arie Hamoen with Sonnenberg’s Levanta (Charmeur x UB40) at the Sonnenberg Keuring in 2023
Floor Dröge
Floor has been a senior Dressage inspector for the KWPN since March 2017. Floor’s main tasks as senior Inspector for the KWPN include assessing horses and advising breeders. She interviews interesting guests for the KWPN Podcast, judges the Pavo Cup and is supporting inspector for the Dressage Stallion Selection committee. Floor also represents the KWPN as a judge in the North American Stallion Sport test.
Before working at the KWPN, Floor worked as a teacher and instructor at the former prestigious Equestrian college Deurne, after she finished the Professional Equestrian studies there herself. Floor was a KWPN Stallion Performance test rider for several years before she started working as inspector. She also rode horses in the EPTM test when that was still being held in Deurne.
Floor runs a small dressage breeding program at home. One of her best mares is Hera (by Bretton Woods), which she bred out of the top mare Astrid Sollenburg by OO Seven x Métall. Floor rode Astrid from the EPTM all the way to Grand Prix. Floor has regularly sat in the judge’s booth at competitions as well, as she is certified to judge up to the Big Tour. Getting professional feedback from Floor at our Keuring tour is truly an honor and very valuable, as she is not only a great judge but also a very good teacher!
Picture: KWPN judge Floor Dröge with Lauren Chumley and Masterful Dream ster IBOP (dr) (Everdale x Jazz pref) bred by MJ Proulx and owned by Lauren, picture taken after completing their IBOP at the 2023 Iron Spring Farm keuring. © Purple Horse Designs Photo
Viggon van Beest
Viggon is KWPN inspector for the Harness horse breeding direction. He became a KWPN inspector on freelance basis in 2016. Besides his work for the KWPN, Viggon runs his own construction business ‘Bouw Coördinatie Bedrijf’ in Velddriel, the Netherlands. Viggon was born and raised in the construction world- he took over this International company from his father.
Viggon’s passion for Harness horses started in his childhood. His family owned riding horses but bought their first Harness horse after Viggon became captivated by them as a young boy. “Since the Harness horse breeding direction is relatively small, I quickly came into contact with breeders and trainers of Harness horses, which allowed me to gain a lot of experience. Eventually I was able to invest in young talent, often together with others. These investments have resulted in four approved Harness horse stallions, of which the Keur stallion Eebert was the most well-known.” Viggon owned several top sport and breeding mares too. The best-known mare being the multiple times National Champion Ilanda (v. Eebert x Manno), an Elite IBOP Sport mare. “Harness horses are a passion, it’s emotion, and that is also what makes the Harness horse so unique in the world.”
Thomas van der Weiden
Stan Creemers
We are very excited to welcome KWPN Inspector Stan Creemers on the Keuring Tour again this year! For those of you who haven’t met him yet, a brief introduction:
Stan worked at Zangersheide for three years before joining the KWPN fulltime in July 2021 as a specialized KWPN Inspector for Show Jumping. Over the last six years, he has been on the frontline of the main studbook’s jumper pipeline—judging major mare inspections (Central Keurings) and National Championships, and executing home inspections (thuiskeuringen) across the Netherlands.
Bedsides a KWPN inspector, Stan is also a deeply passionate, hands-on breeder himself. Based out of Ospel, Netherlands, Stan, his brother Daan and their father Henk manage a small elite breeding program focused on top-tier International show jumping bloodlines. Utilizing powerhouse performance genes like Kannan, Cicero Z, and Chacco-Blue, Stan navigates the exact same genetic decisions, pedigree matching, and stallion selection challenges that our own KWPN-NA members face every single season. Together with his girlfriend Milou, Stan also invests in young dressage horses which they start, train and resell. Finally, Stan also selects the foals for the Paul Hendrix foal Auction in Limburg.
Whether you breed for absolute athletic power over fences, modern rideability, or correct sport confirmation, Stan’s dual perspective as an active breeder and a central KWPN jumper inspector will provide invaluable, world-class feedback on your horses. Stan will be teaming up with Senior Inspector Floor Dröge this year to judge the Canada and West Coast circuit line-up!
Picture:
Stan between Keuring host / breeder Ellicia Edgar and senior judge Bart Henstra at the Valleyfield Farm keuring in Alberta, with High scoring Jumper mare PENELOPE VF keur (Messenger VF x Balou du Rouet) IBOP 82.
© Rylee Smolarchuk Photo
Luuk Smetsers
We are excited to introduce KWPN Inspector Luuk Smetsers as new judge on the upcoming KWPN-NA Keuring Tour!
Luuk joined the KWPN in 2020. Over the last six years, his role has grown to official KWPN Inspector for the Dressage and the Gelders breeding direction. He is Regional Inspector for Utrecht and North Brabant, the main inspector for all KWPN Auctions and he judges the EPTM performance exams and the Pavo Cup. Luuk handles the full spectrum of modern equine evaluation on a daily basis.
Beyond his sharp eye as an official, Luuk is a passionate, hands-on breeder himself. Coming from a background rooted deeply in Dutch horse culture, Luuk actively manages his own dressage breeding program in the Netherlands. He owns promising young horses too, that he gets started and sold for a future sport career. Whether you breed for elite dressage, powerful show jumping, or the versatile utility of the Gelders horse, Luuk’s dual perspective as both an active breeder and a central KWPN inspector will provide invaluable feedback on your horses.
Luuk will be teaming up with veteran inspector Bart Henstra for the Canadian and East Coast Keurings. Give a warm North American welcome to Luuk in the comments below, and get your horses ready for a phenomenal tour season!
Picture: Luuk alongside Arie Hamoen, judging a Gelders horse at the KWPN headquarters.
Picture by Theo JanssenWe are excited to announce that Liz Van Woerden will be capturing a lot of live action on several stops of the KWPN-NA Keuring Tour again this year! 
Liz’s live attendance and on-the-scene updates provide an invaluable link that brings the entire tour to life, ensuring our community can see, follow, and experience every moment of the event no matter where they are. Liz will also be gathering fresh content for our socials and our signature “Reports from the Road”! Plus, she is planning to do exclusive interviews with breeders, hosts, riders, and judges to bring you firsthand insights straight from the ringside. 
Liz will be at the following tour stops:
Aug 28 & 29 – Harness Keuring (Narvon, PA)
Aug 31 – Endless Journey Farm (Kawartha Lakes, ON)Sept 1 – Les Écuries Diabolo (St. Agapit, QC)Sept 2 – Northfield Farm (Otego, NY)Sept 3 – Apple Lane Farm (Lancaster, MA)Sept 4 – Iron Spring Farm (Coatesville, PA)Sept 5 – Six Pound Farm (Suffolk, VA)Sept 7 – Hebert Sporthorses (Folsom, LA)Sept 8 – Poinciana Farm (Loxahatchee Groves, FL)
Want to check out her past videos and educational recaps? Head over to the official KWPN-NA YouTube Channel Keuring Playlist to dive into her full library of content!The Dutch handlers
The Dutch handlers that come help us at several locations this year are Marcel van Bruggen, Damien Daamen and Janko van de Lageweg.
