Rob Ehrens
Stal Ehrens
After a long and exceptional showjumping career, Rob Ehrens (1957) has been a successful national coach of the Dutch showjumpers since 2004. Rob was not born in an equestrian family, but from an early age, the sport attracted him undeniably. His impressive career as a rider started with ponies, where he became NKB Champion (Dutch Catholic Association of National Riding Clubs and Pony Clubs). After that title he quickly progressed and joined the elite of the senior riders. With his legendary horse Koh-I-Noor (Off Key xx), he won a World Cup Qualifier at Indoor Brabant, he was runner-up in the Grand Prix of Hickstead, and he won in Calgary. In total, Rob took part in five European Championships, three World Cup finals, and he represented the Netherlands at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles (1984) and Seoul (1988).
Rob’s career as a national coach is equally impressive. His ability to create the ultimate team spirit, his keen eye and his vast personal equestrian experience helped the Dutch team to many medals. Among his achievements as a team captain are two gold medals at the European Championships in Mannheim (2007) and Aachen (2015), two times a team gold medal at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen (2006) and Caen (2014), team silver at the London Olympic Games (2012) and twice the gold medal in the FEI Nations Cups Finals.
Successes as a rider
- 1980 Hickstead: Grand Prix 2nd individual and 3rd team, with Koh-I-Noor
- 1980 Calgary: Grand Prix 1st, with Koh-I-Noor
- 1980 Alternate Olympic Games Rotterdam: 9th team, with Koh-I-Noor
- 1981 European Championships: team bronze and 19th individual, with Koh-I-Noor
- 1982 European Championships Dublin, with Oscar Drum
- 1983 European Championships Hickstead: 4th team and 16th individual
- 1983 Dutch Champion, with Olympic Surprise
- 1984 Olympic Games, Los Angeles, with Oscar Drum
- 1986 World Championships Aachen: 8th team, 20th individual, with Oscar Drum
- 1987 European Championships Sankt Gallen: 4th team and 14th individual, with Olympic Sunrise
- 1988 Hickstead: Grand Prix 1st, with Olympic Sunrise
- 1988 Jumping Amsterdam: Grand Prix 1st, with Olympic Sunrise
- 1988 Olympic Games Seoul: 8th team, 16th individual, with Olympic Sunrise
- 1989 World Cup Finals Gothenburg: 10th individual, with Olympic Oscar Drum
Rob Ehrens’s list of honour as a team captain of the Dutch showjumping team
- 2005 European Championships San Patrignano: team bronze
- 2007 European Championships Mannheim: European Champion
- 2009 European Championships Windsor: 4th team
- 2011 European Championships Madrid: 4th team
- 2013 European Championships Herning: 6th team
- 2015 European Championships Aachen: team gold and Jeroen Dubbeldam individual gold with SFN Zenith
- 2006 Word Equestrian Games Aachen: team gold
- 2012 Word Equestrian Games Kentucky: Marc Houtzager 6th individual, with HBC Tamino
- 2014 Word Equestrian Games Caen: team gold and Jeroen Dubbeldam individual gold with SFN Zenith
- 2008 Olympic Games Hong Kong: 4th team
- 2012 Olympic Games London: team silver
- 2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro: 7th team
- 2014 FEI Nations Cup Finals: gold
- 2015 FEI Nations Cup Finals: bronze
- 2016 FEI Nations Cup Finals: gold
- Team 6th EK Sweden 2017, individual silver Harrie Smolders
- Winning FEI Nations Cup Final Barcelona 2017
- Team 2nd FEI NC Rome 5* 2017
- Team 2nd FEI NC Hickstead 5* 2017
- Team 1st FEI NC Falsterbo 5* 2017
- Team 5th WK Tryon 2018
- Team 1st FEI NC Falsterbo 5* 2018
- Team 3th FEI NC Rotterdam 5* 2018
- Team 2nd FEI NC La Baule 5* 2018
- Team 3th NC Achen 2018
- Team 3th FEI NC Rome 5* 2019
- Team 2th FEI NC Geesteren 5* 2019
- Team 4th OS Tokio, individual bronze Maikel van der Vleuten 2021
- Winning FEI Nations Cup Finale Barcelona 2021
- Winning FEI Nations Cup Rotterdam 2021