United States Eventing Association

Werner Geven and his wife, Marjolein are accomplished dressage and eventing trainers in Area III. Originally from the Netherlands, they moved to the United States when Werner accepted the trainer position at Poplar Place Farm in 2000. Most of us are acutely aware of his depth of knowledge, intuitive way with horses and talent for teaching riders at all levels. His students work hard for the coveted “Suuuuppaaaas” he bellows when things go well. What few people are aware of, however, is how he came to be successful in the U.S. and the roads he took getting there.

Werner’s first horse was “free”, rescued by Werner from the butcher shop. He was pleased to have Rufus, even if the horse was crazy! Werner rode Rufus dressage only for three years before he began jumping him. When they did begin jumping, they were competing at the Advanced level within six months. Werner always knew he wanted to event because there had been a CCI near where he was born. But before he would have the chance, Werner was called to serve in the Dutch Army. He was able to continue competing Rufus during the year and four months he served his country.

After the Army, Werner went to England to earn his riding instructor’s certificate from the British Horse Society. Earning the internationally recognized qualifications did not, however, come easily. Werner and Rufus had to navigate the difficult European agricultural laws involving equine transportation in order to enter the country. There were even several nights Werner spent in the stall with Rufus! After the BHS program wrapped up, Werner went back to Holland to get certified under the NHS (Netherlands Horse Society). This was a working student type program that lasted for four years. It consisted of a staggered schedule of three months of work followed by six weeks of school.

When a dream job in Holland fell apart, Werner established connections in Israel through a well-known horseman in Holland named Brugman. There were few equine instructors in Israel and Werner found himself at a barn with 100 horses. Marjolein accompanied Werner to Israel. She primarily showed the dressage horses and did some jumping while Werner worked closely with the jumpers and eventers. This is a similar system that still works for them today. But Israel wasn’t all oats and molasses. The climate was incredibly hot and Werner was feeling overworked. Proclaiming that Israel was too much of a success, he moved back to England and began exploring other options. Soon, he began to make contacts in the United States.

The opportunity to come to the United States became available to Werner, his now wife Marjolein, and their two sons. As Werner was making up to five flights a year to the U.S. to teach, it only made sense for Werner to become the trainer at Poplar Place Farm and make the move to the States. The Gevens settled happily in Georgia with Robin and Casper, who are into baseball. Last October, the Gevens welcomed baby Tessa, whom they hope will love horses.

Once settled at Poplar, Werner’s business began to grow. Having never competed above a two-star in Holland, Werner spent his first years in the States competing both Poplar and client horses at Intermediate and Advanced. He came close to qualifying for a three-star, but injuries and bad luck kept him from doing so. As Werner would say, “That’s horses.”

Carolyn and Tom Cadier, longtime Poplar Place competitors, came forward with an available ride. It was the beginning of a natural partnership between Werner and the Irish Sport Horse, Esker Riada. Werner admits control problems in the beginning, but his cross-country kept on getting better. Werner and Esker competed at Rolex in 2006. A steady dressage test, a clean and careful cross-country, combined with one of the very few double-clear jumping rounds in the competition put Werner and Esker in 16^th place in the end. After Rolex, Werner was invited to Aachen to compete on the Dutch team at the World Equestrian Games.

I was lucky enough to be Werner’s working student when Esker was in the barn. He was a magnificent horse, and they made a fine partnership. Later, Werner teamed up with an Australian Thoroughbred named Klimax. They did very well together, winning at the Advanced and Intermediate levels. They also finished 7^th at the CIC2** at Red Hills, and 18^th at Fair Hill’s CCI3*** in 2007. Unfortunately, although Werner and Klimax started at Rolex 2007, they withdrew after dressage.

Werner currently competes an Irish Sport Horse gelding called Sambucca. It is a special partnership because Werner holds the reins as full owner of the horse. So far, they have completed the CCI2** at the Florida Three-Day Event this April, and the pair recently placed second at Prelim at Poplar Place. Werner is excited to explore Sambucca’s potential and looks forward to a successful competitive partnership with “Sam”. It would be nice to one day make the Olympics, and he continues to search for that special horse. Until then, Werner is happy teaching and riding at home in Columbus, GA. He strives to share his knowledge with his students in a way they understand, and his primary goal is they go out on course being as safe as possible. The most important thing, he said, is to have an eye for the jump.

Of course I had to ask his opinion on the recent safety issues in our sport. He said simply, “[You] cannot take all the danger away. You will take our sport away.”

Werner always seems to be going somewhere, zipping about Poplar Place shouting and waving at people. Even so, he is always willing to stop and help someone or talk to his eager students. He has a family he is dedicated to, and it secretly drives everybody crazy when they speak in their native language. I mean, many people in the U.S. speak Spanish, but who speaks Dutch?? While I can’t tell you EVERYTHING, at least now you know Werner a little better than you did and the paths in life that shaped his character. The more we appreciate each other for who we are and where we come from, the closer our community will become.

Happy riding!