The Dutch bank Rabobank has announced its withdrawal as title sponsor of the Dutch Equestrian Federation (KNHS) as of 1 January 2017. The contracts ends on that date and the bank has decided not to renew it.
"Rabobank has been our title sponsor since 2002," said John Bierling, the managing director of the Dutch Equestrian Federation. "Thanks to its partnership, horse sport (in Holland) has been able to develop the past years and kept Dutch riders at the top of the international world elite. 2014 and 2015 were our most successful seasons ever. The Rabo Talentplan enables a good flow into the senior divisions. More than half the riders on the medal winning teams in the Olympic disciplines at the WEG and European Championships came from the Rabo Talentplan."
Rabobank will continue to support Dutch horse sport during the 2016 Olympic year. It will help the Dutch federation look for solutions to continue a KNHS Talentplan after 2016.
The news of Rabobank's withdrawal as title sponsor of the KNHS does not come as a surprise. One day ago, Rabobank also announced its plans to cut 9,000 jobs, laying off nearly a fifth of its workforce of 47,000 people. It will also shed assets to boost its profit. Rabobank is the largest mortgage lender in the Netherlands. In August Rabobank reported first-half earnings of 1.5 billion euros, up 41 percent year-on-year and helped by a fall in bad loans and a rebounding Dutch economy.
Photo © Dirk Caremans
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