Renowned Dutch dressage trainer Jo Rutten has passed away in his home town Hunsel on March 21, 2007. The 73-year old Rutten suffered from cancer. With his death, the equestrian world lost a most respected dressage rider, trainer and breeder.
Jo Rutten was member of the Dutch Dressage Team at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. Aboard Banjo he placed 9th individually and 7th with the team. At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles he rode Ampère and finished 28th individually and fourth with the team.
Together with Henk van Bergen, Rutten was Dutch team trainer in the late 1980s but resigned from his position in 1989 because he did not agree with the judging at the 1989 Dutch Dressage Championships.
Jo Rutten was a very successful breeder of dressage horses. He bred licensed stallions Montecristo and Obelisk (pictured) and bought licensed stallions El Corona, Havidoff, Clavecimbel and Havanna, which were all licensed with the KWPN society.
Jo Rutten was proclaimed "Horseman of the Year" in 1986 and he was "Rider of the Year" in 1976 and 1984. His son Bert Rutten
Jo Rutten's funeral takes place Saturday 24th March 2007 at 13.00h in the H.Jacobus de Meerdere Church in Hunsel, The Netherlands. The ceremony is followed by the cremation at crematorium Midden-Limburg in Baexem, The Netherlands.
Photo © Dirk Caremans
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