Leon Thijssen (born 15 January 1968, in

Baarlo Baarlo (; li, Baolder ) is a village in the southeastern Netherlands. It is located in the municipality of Peel en Maas, Limburg, about 6 km southwest of Venlo. Name and symbols The oldest mention of the name Baarlo is from 1219. The old ...

) is a Dutch

show jumper Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ...

.Athlete biography: Leon Thijssen
beijing2008.cn, ret: Aug 12, 2008 Thijssen won his first international tournament in 2000, when he won the Grand Prix meeting in

Vilamoura Vilamoura is a coastal resort in the Loulé municipality in Algarve, Portugal. It is one of the three corners of Algarve's Golden Triangle. Vilamoura comprises one of the largest single tourist complexes in Europe and with about 2,000 hectares ...

with his horse Hickory.Leon Thijssen
bokt.nl (horses encyclopedia), ret: Aug 12, 2008 A year later in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

he won the Super League meeting with Hot Shot. It took him until 2004 to reach another international podium, but he managed to achieve a second place in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

and a third place in

Zuidlaren Zuidlaren (Noordenvelds: ''Zuudlaoren'') is a village in the province of Drenthe in the Northern Netherlands. Zuidlaren has just over 10,000 inhabitants and is situated on natural heightened land which is called the Hondsrug. The village is part ...

, both on Nairobi. He was successful in two Super League meetings in 2005 with a second place in

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

and a first position in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. With his horse Olaf he won the 2006 Grand Prix in Madrid and later that year he became second at the Grand Prix meeting in

De Steeg De Steeg is a Dutch village within the municipality of Rheden. Due to its central location within the municipality, it houses the town hall. Middachten Castle is located near the village. Several De Steeg buildings once belonged to the Middachten ...

. In 2007 his best results were on Nairobi again, when he won the Grand Prix meetings in

Valkenswaard Valkenswaard () is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands, in the Metropoolregio Eindhoven of the province of North Brabant. The municipality had a population of in and spans an area of of which is water. The name Valkenswaard ...

and

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

. They also finished on the second spot at the

Spruce Meadows Spruce Meadows is a multi-purpose sports facility near Calgary, Alberta built by the Southern family which opened in 1975. The facility contains an equestrian show jumping complex that comprises . The current president and CEO of Spruce Me ...

Super League meeting. With Olaf he reached the third spot in the Super League meeting in

Lummen Lummen (; li, Leume or ''Lumme'' ) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg near Hasselt. On January 1, 2006, Lummen had a total population of 13,691. The total area is 53.38 km² which gives a population density of 256 i ...

. Then in 2008 he won his second career title in De Steeg, again with Olaf. Thijssen was selected by coach

Rob Ehrens Rob Ehrens (born 30 October 1957) is a Dutch equestrianism, equestrian. He competed in Equestrian at the 1988 Summer Olympics, two events at the 1988 Summer Olympics. References External links

* 1957 births Living people Dutch male e ...

as a reserve to represent the Netherlands at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. Former Olympic champion

Jeroen Dubbeldam Jeroen Dubbeldam (15 April 1973 in Zwolle) is a Dutch show jumping champion. Dubbeldam competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics held in Sydney, where he won a gold medal in Individual Jumping on the horse De Sjiem.

and

Albert Zoer Albert Zoer (born 31 July 1975, in Echten, Drenthe) is a Dutch champion in show jumping. He owns his own business, called Zoer B.V., for breeding and training stallions, a venture with which his father, Arent Zoer, helps him. Background With tw ...

had to withdraw due to injuries and were replaced by

Marc Houtzager Marc Houtzager (born 9 January 1971 in Rouveen) is a Dutch equestrian whose specialty is show jumping.Angelique Hoorn Angelique Hoorn (born 25 April 1975 in Wanneperveen) is a Dutch show jumper.

. The rest of the team exists of

Gerco Schröder Gerco Bernardus Schröder (born 28 July 1978, in Tubbergen) is a Dutch show jumping equestrian. He currently ranks third on the FEI Rolex Ranking List. Gerco Schröder represented the Netherlands at the 2004 Summer Olympics where he took pa ...

and

Vincent Voorn Vincent Voorn (born 16 February 1984 in Someren) is a Dutch show jumper.

References

Dutch show jumping riders 1968 births Living people Olympic equestrians for the Netherlands Dutch male equestrians Equestrians at the 2008 Summer Olympics People from Peel en Maas Sportspeople from Limburg (Netherlands) {{Netherlands-equestrian-bio-stub