About
Kickersteyn Boarding Stable
Our farm
Since 1920
Our boarding stable and traditional Dutch farmhouse are located in Starnmeer , North Holland (municipality of Alkmaar). This is centrally situated between Alkmaar, Purmerend, and Zaandam.
Pensionstal Kickersteyn was started by Gerard Jongens in 1997. Kees and Brigitte Jongens have since taken over the stable quite a few years ago.
You will find all types of horses and ponies with us! Dressage, recreational, western, and carriage driving. We try to ensure that all facilities are neatly cared for and maintained. Animals are also available. Welfare is naturally high on the list. The horses go outside as much as possible, there is social contact, and we feed our own produced organic hay.
We have been producing our own organic hay for over 20 years and contribute to extra care for nature. We have 40 hectares of grassland, part of which is under agricultural management known for providing extra care for meadow birds and nature; furthermore, no artificial fertilizer is applied.
Since 2011, we have been trying to generate entirely our own energy. By now, the entire barn roof is covered with solar cells, and hot water is provided by a solar water heater and a wood-fired central heating system.
History
A family business
In 1920, Gerard Jongens, father of two children, moved from the Beemster to the Starnmeer. He had the opportunity to buy the Kickersteyn farm from Pieter Groot there and decided to run his livestock farm there, together with his wife, Meinoutje Groot.
Almost 20 years later, in 1939, his son, Cornelis Pieter Jongens, took over from him, and another 27 years later, his son Gerard did the same.
After the war, livestock farming in the Netherlands changed significantly. Farms became larger and acquired more cows. The old-fashioned bell-shaped farmhouses became too small, and cubicle barns appeared to accommodate this growth.
Kickersteyn farm was also affected by this, and around 1973, it was expanded as well. A cubicle barn, which would later house the majority of the horses, was built.
In the years that followed, the emphasis in the Netherlands shifted increasingly towards growth and less and less towards nature and animals. Gerard Jongens, who by then had already been the owner of the farm for 23 years, decided in 1989 that intensive livestock farming was heading in the wrong direction and became one of the first Dutch farmers to become an organic farmer.
Artificial fertilizers and pesticides were set aside, and a new deep litter barn was built that made cubicles unnecessary and gave the cows much more natural freedom. After several years of adaptation, the result finally became visible: satisfied, healthy cows and a pasture that no longer consists solely of a single type of grass, but of a wide variety of nutritious plants. And which, moreover, is a paradise for all kinds of animals living in the polder.
However, all this could not, of course, prevent it from becoming increasingly difficult for farmers to keep their heads above water; high costs and low incomes caused a great deal of worry. The same was true here. Fortunately, unlike at many other farms, succession was not a major problem here, as Gerard could by then rely on his son Kees.
Livery stabling for horses was already quite on the rise at that time, and given its agricultural nature and the fact that Gerard and Kees had often dealt with horses, the rather difficult decision was made after consultation in 1997 to take a different path and say goodbye to the cows.
A row of horse stalls was installed in a section of the old cubicle barn, and the new branch of the business was operational with us from that moment on. Some time later, a second row of stalls was installed, and not long after that, the entire structure was doubled once again.
In 2004, Kees took over the farm, and all renovations proceeded at a rapid pace. For instance, in addition to the already existing riding arena (ebb and flow), round pen, and horse walker, paddocks were constructed so that the horses could stand outside comfortably during the autumn and winter. A lunging circle was added, as well as a second outdoor arena and eventually even an indoor arena combined with run-out stables.
With the construction of a paved path around the entire yard, we have now reached the point where we can say that there is finally light at the end of the tunnel, although we will of course always continue to develop!
