1 juli 2014

Sandringham: Jan Ranzijn Memorial Trophy

A special trophy, a Friesian head, donated by the British Team and Krzysztof Liszka an artist from Poland, was presented to the driver with the best dressage score in the FEI World Para-Equestrian World Championships in Sandringham.

Jan Ranzijn started competing in the World Championships for disabled drivers in 2006 in Hellendoorn where he was very successful and became Para-Equestrian Driving World Champion in the Grade I horse pairs. In Breda 2010 he became World Vice Champion with the team and in 2012 he crowned his driving career with a bronze medal individually and the gold medal with the Dutch team. He also participated successfully in regular competitions, as well as in the National Championship in para-driving in Germany. His last competition was the German Championship in Luhmühlen in September 2013.

Jan was a brilliant driver, a friendly, helpful person, a friend to all his fellow drivers. He loved his family, always accompanied by his daughter Sonja and his son Sjaak as grooms at all the events. He was planning his retirement and wanted to travel around the world with his wife Ans the next few years. But sadly life took a different turn. In November 2013 he suffered a terrible work accident. He died at the age of 68 in the middle of his preparations for the World Championship in Sandringham.

His daughter Sonja presented this perpetual trophy to Jacques Poppen, the driver with the best dressage score. Jacques Poppen drove the cones course with Jan´s hat on his carriage.