Yes, the opening of this video is in Dutch, but don’t worry, you won’t need a translator. But you might need a hanky.

The Dutch royal palace at Apeldoorn opened its opulent doors last night to welcome the members of the Dutch equestrian and driving teams who traveled to the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky and brought home an unprecedented clutch of four gold medals–a complete sweep of the dressage discipline, plus team gold in driving.

Central to the celebration was a music video tribute to dressage rider Edward Gal, who rode the black stallion Totilas to two individual gold medals and led the Dutch team to their medal. Soon after Gal returned to Europe, he learned that Totilas had been sold German horse promoter Paul Schockemohle, and the dream was over.

But for Holland, the medals are real; they didn’t go to Germany with the horse. The gold medals and the gold medal team who created and competed Totilas will stay in Holland. The gutsy little country with the great horses has two years to get ready for the 2012 Olympics at London.

The Netherlands is not a one-horse country; even without Totilas, the Dutch may well have won dressage gold at Lexington. With him, they wowed the world in a way we will never forget.

Rabobank, and its Rabosport promotion department, is a large and enthusiastic sponsor of the Dutch equestrian team and many other Dutch sports teams. Among many other gestures of support, Rabobank provided distinctive orange bicycles for all the Dutch team members in Kentucky so they could get around the Horse Park.

by Fran Jurga | The Jurga Report at Equisearch.comBe friends withFran Jurga on Facebook.com

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