Business Award for Holger Hetzel: “My entire team really deserves this award.”

A very special tribute was paid to Holger Hetzel (Goch) in Kleve on 9 November. The Wirtschaftsforum Niederrhein association presented its Business Award to the show jumping rider, trainer, competition organiser and manager whose international Sport Horse Sales event has been attracting equestrian sport enthusiasts and customers from all over the world to Goch for some two decades. Hetzel was one of three recipients of this year’s Business Award, which was initiated in 2005.

Speaker Rudolf Pellengahr praised Hetzel as a self-made entrepreneur who through his commitment, creativity and horsemanship has developed a business concept from scratch that brings equestrians from around the globe to Goch. He also paid tribute to Hetzel’s ability to adapt to changing frameworks in order to deliver positive outcomes for his business, his clientele, his partners and his employees. In 2020, for example – the first year of the pandemic – Holger Hetzel was the first competition organiser to get a major competition that met pandemic protection requirements approved and implemented in Germany. In the following year, when the economic forecast was still very gloomy as a result of COVID, Holger Hetzel made bold investments in the future and upgraded his entire equestrian centre for international competitions such as the Young Masters event for young show jumping horses from all over Europe, which was held for the first time in 2022.      

Holger Hetzel accepted the award on behalf of himself and his team: “I’m obviously incredibly proud to receive the award, but it’s really my entire team who deserve it. Sure, I’ve had ideas, visions and goals over the past 20 years, but it’s only been possible to achieve them because I have the right players on my team. Perhaps finding the right team and encouraging them to commit to my goals is one of my strengths. We’re all part of a big family that shares the same vision.”    

The next milestone for Holger Hetzel is the 18th International Sport Horse Sales, an auction event with a collection of very special, talented young horses, on 29 November 2023.