Dutch actor Rutger Hauer (75) died on Friday the 19th of July. Escorted by Friesian horses the funeral of Hauer, who lived in Beetsterzwaag, took place on Wednesday July the 24th.
On screen with Friesian horses
Hauer has been a KFPS member for years and he has procured a lot of PR for the Friesian horse. He could frequently be seen in the saddle of a Friesian horse in the popular Dutch TV series Floris (1969) but also in the American film Ladyhawke he featured prominently on the back of a Friesian by the name of Goliath, in 1975. This international movie generated lots of PR for the Friesian breed. Hauer was an accomplished rider and during his stay in the USA also had a Friesian horse of his own. Last year Rutger Hauer graced the theatre spectacle The Storm Rider with a visit.
Jelte and Rein hitched up to a farmer´s cart
For his funeral a team of Friesian horses pulled a farmer´s cart which carried both the Dutch and American flags. The procession followed the route Hauer used to take with his golf caddy and his dogs. The horses were adorned with floral wreaths, says Augustinus Hoekstra who, with the horses Jelte (Sake 449) and Rein (Felle 422), had planned and organised the funeral in all secrecy.
