2 January 2024

Former FEI-official Gé König has passed away

Former Dutch FEI-official Gé König has passed away on January 1st, 2024, aged 84.
Gé's health had been deteriorating for some time and he passed away peacefully at his home in Velp, the Netherlands.

Gé grew into a respected national judge and later FEI judge of the highest level. The position of FEI Technical Delegate also suited him like a glove as organising to perfection was in his blood. Gé was an FEI judge and TD at numerous national and international driving competitions and FEI Driving European-and World Championships. He was also a member of the FEI Driving Committee and he was, within the Royal Dutch Equestrian Federation, responsible for, among other things, the translation of the FEI rules and the FEI dressage tests. In the 1990s, Gé made a strong case for international pony driving sport and made a hefty contribution to FEI para driving.

His qualities as a horse lover, architect, rules expert and organiser came in very handy in his position as a member of the organising committee and Show Director of the 1982 and 1988 Driving World Four-in-Hand Championships in Apeldoorn. At the 1976 World Championships in Apeldoorn, he was a referee and these World Championships were used as a ‘warm-up’ for the Apeldoorn 1982 World Championships. Gé took it upon himself to design everything for this, from the judges boxes to the scoreboard. At the 1994 FEI World Equestrian Games in The Hague, he was discipline manager for the four-in-hand driving.

At the end of 2013, due to reaching the maximum age limit set by the FEI, Gé’s very active 40-year career in the sport of driving came to an end. Gé was an exceptionally capable man with a big heart for the driving sport.

We wish his daughter Dominique, family and loved ones much strength.

Gé König in 2020 with a part of his collection of horse books
Photo: Hoefnet

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