20 January 2021
Joop Gommers says farewell to his Bandit
On Tuesday 18 January the single driver Joop Gommer had to say good-bye to his faithful horse Bandit. The 14 year old gelding (v. Vitens) had an incurable cartilage injury and there were not longer options to keep the horse comfortable.Bandit came to Joop and his wife Angela as a four-year old and had specifically looking for a horse with Gelderlander blood. With the help of a friend Bandit was started in the carriage and Joop began taking him out to dressage and cones competitions where he had previously competed with his friesian horses. The gelding progressed consistently through the levels and in 2015 made his international debut. That same year Joop and Bandit had their first international victory in Altenfelden, Austria.
The years that followed featured a number of international starts and success. The high point of their career was competing in the 2018 World Championships in Kronenberg where they earned a very respectable 19th place.
“Bandit had a fantastic temperament,” tells Joop Gommers. “He was a worker and forward and was really a beautiful mover. There was still so much in him. Bandit injured himself during a training session last year and after consulting many different specialists we just ran out of options. We couldn’t let him suffer and therefor had to make the impossible decision to euthanize him.”
Photo right above: Joop (l) with Bandit during the veterinary inspection in Pau Photo: ©Esther Klok.
2018 World Championships Kronenberg
Photo: Krisztina Horváth
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