In April of 2016, at age four, Maaike found herself at Greenbank Farm, along with her friend Noortje, needing somewhere to stay Their owners had lost their grazing and needed time to get their personal affairs sorted. Upon arrival, we noticed that Maaike was very lean for a Friesian, as the breed is known for their powerful, muscular and strong frame.

Over time, Maaike’s owners stopped paying for Maaike and Noortje's care and eventually ceased all contact with us. We served an abandonment notice for both mares, and subsequently, ownership was transferred to Tracey. Maaike and Noortje were turned out in the herd to mature and gain some muscle and weight.

Maaike started her training in 2017 as a five year old and was backed later that year. She showed herself to be very sensitive and anxious in her early training days, so we took training at a pace with which she was comfortable and happy. As she grew in confidence, she proved she had an eagerness to learn. Maaike is an incredibly sweet, bold, brave, and inquisitive mare. She is a compact, nicely-put-together Friesian who carries herself well with beautiful uphill movement and a natural ability to work in collection.

We were very keen to take her to the KFPS Inspections in 2018 so she could be entered in the studbook. As she matured, she was showing great presence and her movement was developing well. Maaike performed really well, impressing the judges from the Netherlands, and was awarded 2nd Premie Ster. We planned to take her to the 2020 inspections to see if she might upgrade to 1st Premie Ster, but sadly these were cancelled due to the global Covid pandemic.

Maaike's training continues, and she improves all the time. Because she is quite anxious when she finds something difficult, she can be a little challenging at times--but as she matures and becomes familiar with the work, she is developing into an exciting horse to work with. Maaike is very strong-minded, and her way of evading things she found challenging was to run backwards, or rear and spin which she is exceptionally good at! However, with patience, understanding, and maturity, these evasions became far less frequent.

Maaike has been to several dressage competitions where she performed extremely well, coming in among the top three on each occasion. She takes part in some of the Experience Days, and in 2022, started her carriage driving training. Maai is proving to be a great addition to our Experiences as she willingly shows her beautiful uphill movement and strong powerful hind leg when moving free in our arena. She helps our visitors clearly see the difference in movement types in the Friesian breed.

Like all our horses, Maaike is guaranteed a home here at Greenbank Farm for life. She is now a regular resident in our 'Stable Stays'. Though she can be a little anxious when meeting new people, she soon relaxes once she gets to know you and is an incredibly kind and sweet companion to share the stable with for the night.

We are excited for Maaike's future which you can follow on our Youtube channel and social media pages.