Queen of 2026 Ringsteken competition ascends throne via wardrobe malfunction

Karin van Wely, a dairy farmer from just north of Woodstock, drives her Friesian-drawn Sjezen during the Friesian Horse Show musical presentation. (Jeff Tribe Photo)

Jeff Tribe, Echo Correspondent

It was an awkward time for Dieuwke Stewart’s oorijzer to act up. It shouldn’t have directly affected her Ringsteken capabilities, but its proper alignment, in conjunction with accompanying flodder mut, were integral parts of her 1800’s Friesian wardrobe.

And so, with the other competitors literally chomping at the bit, a quick substitution was made.

“We had to start the program,” said Karin van Wely. “So, it was like, ‘Karin, go up, you have to go up.’”

van Wely’s subsequent shared Friesian Horse Show (FHS) Ringsteken victory Saturday, July 18 at the Schuurmans dairy farm south-east of Woodstock did originate with a wardrobe malfunction. But it was well and truly earned through previous experience with driver and event host, Jisk Schuurmans.

Friesian horses are named after their northern Netherlands province of origin, black in colour with a long, flowing mane and tail and ‘feathering’ on their legs. Reputedly originally valued as a war horse for their ability to carry a knight in armour, that strength combined with a genial temperament also made them ideal agricultural work animals.

“They’re such a good-natured horse,” says van Wely, who admires Friesians for both their power and looks. “Beautiful.”

With the advent of mechanized agricultural equipment, the breed came close to dying out. However, it has experienced a revival as a pleasure horse, ridden and driven, often with farmers connected to Friesland.

van Wely, who was born in the western section of the Netherlands, grew up in the central ‘polder’ region where she met and married dairy-farming husband Marius. Always a fan of horses, Karin previously owned a Dutch Warmblood before purchasing her first Friesian and falling in love with the breed.

“And now we have four.”

In a classic remake of a husband buying his wife a power tool or set of snow tires, she gifted a Friesian to Marius, encouraging equine harmony between the couple.

“We were driving right beside each other,” she said.

van Wely, who emigrated to Canada in 1992, is part of a FHS organizing committee made up of Friesian enthusiasts, who in this area tend to be dairy farmers of Dutch origin. The third biennial show featured Friesian-related events including a coordinated Sjezen ride to music, team racing, 4 in-hand driving performances, an exhibition from the Ohio-based Friesian Heritage Drill Team, and the Ringsteken competition.

The sport originated as a military exercise, evolving into a social event over the years. In very basic terms, two-member teams, a male horse and a two-wheeled Sjezen carriage driver and female companion armed with a small wooden ‘pistol’ resembling a corn cob pipe with an extended bowl in shape, proceed at a steady trot down a course with four rings mounted on the hands of large wooden figures. Points are typically awarded for each ring the woman spears cleanly with her ‘pistol’, one point per ring in the first round, two per in the second, three in the third and four in the fourth, with a potential perfect score of 40.

“Just do it,” van Wely explained of her tactical approach. “Drive your horse pretty straight and just do it.”

Many competitors wear era-appropriate garb, the men resplendent in dark breeches, white shirts, a vest and top hat. The women typically wear long dresses trimmed with lace, and on their heads, oorijzers, a Dutch term translated literally and admittedly less romantically as ‘ear metal’, ornamental headgear made historically from thin gold or silver leaf. Oorijzers are covered with lace fludder muts - white caps, an ensemble which Stewart’s experience indicates is prone to disarray.

She had planned to compete with her father, Jisk. But with Stewart momentarily out of commission pending wardrobe repairs from Dieuwke’s mother Klaske, Karin stepped up. She wasn’t going in cold, having competed with Jisk years previously, in place of Klaske, who may love horses, Ringsteken not so much.

“It’s not her thing,” Karin explained.

The FHS featured an abbreviated five-team, three-pass competition, illustrating the trickiness of keeping original or replica 18th-century carriages whose suspension is two leather straps, steady throughout. van Wely showed no signs of rust, shrugging off years of inactivity to earn 12 points and capture the title along with Jisk Schuurmans. Klass Steenbeek and Douwina Rietsma and Bouke Freenstra and his lady friend tied for second with 11 points; Andre and Lisanne Vanderkooi were in third with eight, and Nico Vanden Akker and his granddaughter got on the board with two.

“It’s not about the winning, it’s just the fun,” said van Wely, pleased with the reception for an event which drew an estimated 400-500.

“We had so many positive reactions from all the people; they all loved it,” she concluded. “You don’t have to be a horse lover to enjoy the day.”