DSHS_Magazine_2022

At home with
Almost ten years ago, Vincent Voorn and Jonna Sundblad settled in Weert, located in the western part of
the province of Limburg. Step by step they have managed to improve and upgrade their domain into a fully
equipped equestrian complex. It’s about time for an 'at home tour' with this successful duo that focuses
on training. Their GDS Training company accommodates several top level riders, who are intensively
supervised by Vincent and his partners.
Vincent Voorn has a worldwide reputation as a trainer and rider.
From an early age he has successfully focused on showjumping.
That has resulted in participation in several European
Championships, including in Mannheim where he contributed
to the senior team gold with Alpapillon Armani, as well as the
Olympic Games in Hong Kong in 2008. With these achievements
he follows the footsteps of his father, Olympic medalist Albert
Voorn, but it has been far from a road without ups and downs.
Friend request
But 'what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger' and all the experiences
over the past two decades have made Vincent into the person he is
today. As a rider he was part of the Dutch team many times and as
a trainer he contributes to the success of a series of riders. Over the
years, the now 38-years-old Vincent has focused more and more
on training. His own experience forms an important ingredient
in this, because he knows what it’s all about in the sport and
what participating in global and national championships entails.
Together with his wife Jonna Sundblad, he built up an impressive
company. “In 2010 I met Vincent at the international competition
in Lummen. I competed in a few international competitions per
year and he immediately caught
my attention when I saw him.
After I sent him a friend request
via Facebook on the spot, we got in
touch”, Jonna looks back. “We first
had a long-distance relationship
and then I came to the Netherlands
for the summer to work for Malin
Parmler.” She never returned to Sweden, Jonna decided to work
at Eric Berkhof’s Margaretha Hoeve, to accompany Vincent. “I
initially focused on riding the young horses there, but at a certain
point I became a full stable manager. That lasted for a year and a
half and that laid the foundation for all the work that I now do here
at our own stables,” tells Jonna.
'We have invested again
and again and most wishes
have now been fulfilled.'
Perfect location
After more than eight years of employment, Vincent started
his own business in January 2013 together with Jonna. “At Audi
I have had a fantastic career and actually achieved everything
I could have dreamed of. In 2013 I felt like it was time for the
next step. First we rented 25 stables at the former location of
Eric and Maikel van der Vleuten in Mierlo. I had three clients at
that time and we wanted to build
it up slowly. But after six months,
that location turned out to be too
small,” says Vincent Voorn. “This
location in Weert was offered for
quiet sale and Yves Houtackers
tipped me about it. At the
moment I went to see the place,
I immediately knew that this was going to be it. It was partly
outdated but the possibilities were endless. A big advantage was
the separate apartment building which can accommodate eight
riders and/or grooms, that had just been completed. It had all the
possibilities that we could wish for.” In the years after moving
to Weert, Vincent started to focus more and more on training
students and this stable was ideal to accommodate several riders
with a certain number of horses. “In the beginning Jonna and I
had thirty horses under our care here, with only one groom. Those
were very long days, but fortunately neither of us were ever afraid
to work hard.” The accommodation could be expanded step by
step and the stable now has forty boxes divided over several units,
two large outdoor arenas, a covered horse walker, two racetracks
and a number of fields and paddocks. GDS Training is the home
of riders like Emma Augier de Moussac and Ida Selin.
Own design
With a great eye for detail and horse welfare, Vincent and Jonna
have expanded their seven-hectare domain into a fully equipped
accommodation. “We have invested again and again and most
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DSHS | The 2022 edition
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