2013 ANZWC Royal Stables Tour The Hague

I have always loved horses, even though I don’t get a chance to be around them much these days. I had a couple of ponies when I was a teenager though and even rode a horse on my wedding day!

In 2006, I had a fantastic time visiting the Dutch Royal Stables in The Hague with the ANZWC (Australian and NZ Women’s Club. So when I had the opportunity to visit again recently I made sure I was on the list.

It didn’t disapoint, I had a fantastic time smooching with the royal horses…can you tell he hadn’t just been out in the wind and has a better hairdresser than mine?

I was still happily in heaven even when one tried to eat me (well, my jacket).

One of the highlights was seeing THE Golden Carriage that the Queen uses in September each year (Gouden Koets) as well as used for special occasions. (’cause I guess you don’t just pull this out for a trip to the shops right?!)

Found this rather interesting – this is the indoor riding arena, with several colours painted on the far wall – waiting for the queen to decide which is her favourite for the repaint! Will have to see which she chose if I go back again sometime – any guesses people? I’m going with the royal olive colour I think…

And a HUGE thanks to the Australian & NZ Women’s Club The Hague for the opportunity….as you’ll see from the smile on my face, I loved it. Also thanks to our guide, whose name has slipped my mind but was a lovely guy who gave us lots of interesting information – most of which I didn’t really listen to as I was so “smoorverliefd” (smitten with) the gorgeous 4 legged creatures.

The Royal Stables are actually not open to the public, so the ANZWC must have a special arrangement, I’ll have to find out as I’ve had a few friends also interested in visiting sometime. Meanwhile here are the many, many photos I took, enjoy. You can click on the thumbnail for a larger version of the photo.

Dutch Australian is a community of those with connections to both Australian and The Netherlands. This blog follows the adventures of our Dutch Australian family as well as highlighting information and articles of interest to dual nationals. You might like to read more about me, get to know other Dutch Australian people and explore other articles on the blog. Come and chat to others over in the Dutch Australian Facebook community, we’d love to meet you! If you’ve enjoyed this post, I’d really appreciate you taking the time to comment below or share. You can also contact me directly and sign up for our e-newsletter to keep up to date.