September 2, 2026 
The Von Trapp family sang songs together. The Williams sisters took the tennis world by storm.
And this summer, multiple horses bred by the Moerings family in Holland’s southwest—including Lillie Keenan’s Fasther—jumped the FEI World Championships in Aachen.
“I actually bought [Fasther] from Bas Moerings,” Keenan says. “An interesting fact is the Moerings family, they bred three horses that are all jumping [the World Championships], which is pretty incredible. I think it’s a very important thing to point out for the importance of the breeders in our sport.
“There’s one other horse called Lesther that is actually out of the same dam as Fasther, so that’s pretty cool,” Keenan added.
Fasther and Lesther—a 10-year-old KWPN stallion ridden by four-time Olympian Ibrahim Hani Bisharat of Jordan—are half-brothers on their mother Blisther’s side. Fasther was sired by Vigo D’Arsouilles Stx, while Lesther’s father is Glenfiddich VDL. The latter stallion and Hani Bisharat finished 26th after a strong individual performance together in Aachen.
The Moerings family breeds about 8-10 foals a year, with mother Marie-Louise training dressage prospects, and father Geert and the couple’s two children, Bas and Eline, working with their young horses in show jumping. The family business has slowly grown over the years, from just four box stalls when Geert and Marie-Louise opened their stable in the early aughts, to around 60 horses by 2020.
Bas Moerings, 27, told World of Show Jumping that he initially wanted to be a soccer player and steered clear of horses as a child—until one day when he borrowed his sister’s pony without permission and became hooked. The family of four take care of the majority of the horses on their property themselves, with Bas riding as many as nine horses in training a day.
In August, Moerings made his World Championships debut in Aachen aboard the family’s homebred, Ipsthar, jumping multiple clear rounds for the Dutch team. The 13-year-old stallion is out of a half-sister of Fasther and Lesther’s dam, Blisther.
So far this season, the pair have been a regular fixture for the Dutch on Longines League of Nations teams and also won the 1.55m VDL Groep Prize at the Dutch Masters in March.
While a certain family resemblance among the three horses can be seen in their high head carriage, power over the jumps, and an apparent keenness to do their jobs well—according to Keenan the three are “all very different.” Fasther—known as “Fred” in the barn—is, for his part, is a bit of an Aachen aficionado.
“Fasther always shines here in Aachen. I’ve jumped him in the grass arena two times, both clear. He is a star, really, in any venue, but when he feels that atmosphere [in Aachen] he really grows.
“He has a monstrous stride, so getting to gallop on an open grass field really showcases his special talent.”
With all that talent, Keenan admits, come a few quirks—but the American rider says that it’s all part of Fred’s charm. “Fred has a huge character. He is very confident in himself and he knows that he knows best.
“It’s not that he just believes it, but he knows it.”
Keenan says its not out of the realm of possibilities, for instance, for Fred to throw in a few spooks on the way to the first jump—something that can be a little disconcerting for people who aren’t familiar with the gelding’s antics. “I think he does that just to test me and make sure that I’m really into it with him,” Keenan says.
“Our partnership has grown over these years, really understanding that I will never change him—and it’s better that I don’t try to.”
