SMOLDERS Harrie

Date of Birth: 10 May 1980

Age: 41

Gender: Male

Place of birth: LAGE MIERDE

Birth Country:

Netherlands

Place of residence : LAGE MIERDE

Residence Country:

Netherlands

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Equestrian	Jumping Team NED Netherlands	4
	Jumping Individual

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Equestrian Park	Jumping Team Qualifier	Finished
	Equestrian Park	Jumping Team Final	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Olympic Games

Year	Location	Jumping Individual	Jumping Team
2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	27	7

World Equestrian Games

Year	Location	Jumping Individual	Jumping Team
2018	Tryon, NC, USA	23	5
2010	Lexington, KY, USA	39	15

European Championships

Year	Location	Jumping Individual	Jumping Team
2017	Gothenburg, SWE	2	6

World Cup Final

Rank	Event	Year	Location
17	Jumping Individual	2018	Paris, FRA

World Cup Western European League

Rank	Event	Year	Location
1	Jumping Individual	2017/2018	Mechelen, BEL
2	Jumping Individual	2019/2020	Amsterdam, NED
3	Jumping Individual	2018/2019	Mechelen, BEL
3	Jumping Individual	2017/2018	Leipzig, GER
9	Jumping Individual	2019/2020	Mechelen, BEL
9	Jumping Individual	2016/2017	Mechelen, BEL

World Cup North American League - USA West Coast

Rank	Event	Year	Location
3	Jumping Individual	2019/2020	Vancouver, BC, CAN
9	Jumping Individual	2016/2017	Del Mar, CA, USA

Legend
NS - Not Started, DSQ - Disqualified, RT - Retired, WD - Withdrawn, EL - Eliminated

Flying Dutchman (olympicchannel.com, 15 Dec 2018)

Occupation:

Athlete, Coach, Horse Trainer

NHB Deurne, Netherlands

Sons Pim and Siep

Languages spoken:

EuroHorse [BEL] / Evergate Stables [USA]

Rob Ehrens [national], NED

He began riding at age eight. (olympicchannel.com, 15 Dec 2018; harriesmolders.com, 29 Apr 2016)

His sister had taken up the sport. His father and his grandfather were also involved in riding and breeding. He was not initially keen on jumping, having won dressage and eventing competitions at the start of his career, but at age 16 he chose jumping over football. "I played for a local club in our town, my position was mostly as a striker or as an offensive midfield player, like a number 10. I loved both [horses and football] actually, a lot, they gave me a lot of pleasure. But my feeling was that I had more chance in horse riding." (olympicchannel.com, 15 Dec 2018; worldofshowjumping.com, 07 Jun 2011)

To compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (sportnieuws.nl, 13 Apr 2020)

Philosophy:

"As long as the horses are healthy and love their job we'll keep scoring. I won't force any horse just to get some extra points." (equnews.com, 04 Apr 2018)

He was named the 2017 Rider of the Year in the Netherlands. (noellefloyd.com, 16 Feb 2018)

General Interest

General
POSITIVE POSTPONEMENT
He says the postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo has restored his opportunity to compete following the retirement of his main horses, Emerald and Don Vhp Z, in 2019 and 2020 respectively. The delay has given him the opportunity to train two new horses in Dolinn and Bingo du Parc. "Those two horses should take part at the elite level next year [2021] and have a chance of a place for Tokyo. If the Games had been held this year, I would not have been able to make it to the Dutch team. Now that they are next year, I see opportunities. I really enjoy training horses and the whole journey that comes with it." (worldofshowjumping.com, 07 Jan 2021; horses.nl, 29 Nov 2020; FEI YouTube channel, 10 Nov 2020; worldofshowjumping.com, 12 Sep 2020; equnews.com, 13 Feb 2019)

STABLES
In 2002 he began riding for Axel Verlooy's EuroHorse stable in Grobbendonk, Belgium, where he coaches riders and trains, sources, and trades jumping horses. He commutes 60 kilometres each day from his home in Lage-Mierde, Netherlands. (eurohorse.be, 06 Mar 2021; harriesmolders.com, 13 Mar 2017)

COACHING
In June 2018 he signed a training partnership to coach Jennifer Gates, daughter of Microsoft founder Bill Gates and owner of Evergate Stables in the United States of America. "I'm looking forward to working with Jennifer to help channel her ambition, passion, and work ethic to reach the highest level in our sport. I'm excited to see the success she achieves as she focuses full-time on riding." (horsesdaily.com, 01 Mar 2021; horses.nl, 29 Nov 2020; sportnieuws.nl, 13 Apr 2020; worldofshowjumping.com, 21 Feb 2019; equnews.com, 28 Nov 2018)

Social Media

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/harrie.smolders
https://instagram.com/harriesmolders
Athlete Website: http://www.harriesmolders.com/
Team Website: http://www.eurohorse.be/

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

Timing and scoring provided by OMEGA. Results powered by Atos