11 March 2024

He who does not know the farmer . . FarmCamps Holzik Stables

This is Gert Jan. He has a riding school in Enschede. It is a 5 star FNRS stable, where a vacation full of vitamin H is central. Together with his team of employees and his children, who can also be found on the farm on weekends, he takes care of all the horses and ponies on the farm and does all kinds of activities with these sweet four-legged friends.

Where are you originally from? Were you born here (in the neighborhood)?
We come from the Holzikweg. That's where I was born, and is about 1.5 km from here. The reason we moved here was the urban expansion at the time, there was no more room for our farm there. My parents live here in the yard. We ourselves live in the Stroinkslanden neighborhood.

How many animals do you have on the farm?
We have about 80 horses and ponies on the farm. We also have 16 chickens, 2 donkeys and soon some rabbits!

Why did you become a farmer/farmer's wife?
Because my dad had a farm and I helped out there from childhood, I knew early on that I really liked working with animals and working outdoors!

What does an average workday look like?
I often start at 7:30 in the morning, which is not very early. Before, when we still had cows I always started milking at 6:30. Now we only have horses and I start later because the lessons don't start until the afternoon, and continue in the evening until 9:00 pm. Otherwise I do have a very long day....

What do you like best about your job and what do you like least?
The variety of work! Nowadays I am mostly in the office, but I am also regularly outside. I also enjoy it when so many happy people come to the farm to ride horses or stay in one of the tents.

What does a FarmCamps farmer actually do on top of all the other work you already do?
Maintaining the camping grounds, cleaning the tents, repairing the tires of the go-carts when they have a flat tire, and of course making the guests feel comfortable! Because there is nothing better than for you to really enjoy your vacation!

Why did you want to become a FarmCamper?
I personally really like the tents, and the atmosphere around the campsite as well. Of course we prefer working with the horses, the more people can enjoy them the better!

What is the best thing you have experienced with FarmCamps guests?
The full campsite, then everyone spontaneously orders breakfast and sandwiches. Because we only started last year, it's still a huge puzzle to get everything to the tents on time and warm.... But fortunately it worked out well!

Once I arrived at the tents in the morning to distribute the breakfasts and there were already three children waiting in front of the tent and spontaneously shouted in chorus: “hey farmer, what have you brought us today of goodies?” Really nice!

Gert Jan's favorites

Favorite vacation
Going somewhere and especially seeing a lot of the surroundings! I find nature most beautiful everywhere! And of course good food.

Favorite hobbies
I like so many things! I don't have time for horseback riding myself anymore.... I do love hunting in the winter with my hunting dog Floyd. Recently I bought an antique Land Rover, tinkering with old cars or tractors has also always been a hobby of mine.

Favorite food
I am a real Dutch boy. Boiled potatoes with gravy, a nice piece of beef and of course vegetables to go with it, that makes me happy!

Favorite animal
All animals are nice, but only one can be the nicest! And that is the horse!

Our FarmCamps farms can be found throughout the Netherlands. Curious? On our handy farms page you will find them all.

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Farm life is this much fun

At FarmCamps, it’s all about being outdoors, cuddling the animals and enjoying time together. There’s always something happening on our farms, from milking cows to horse riding and roasting marshmallows by the campfire. See how much fun farm life can be!

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