Bert Plijnaar (1949), like his brothers, has a long history with Hotel Mitland and helped shape that history, but besides the family business, there is another passion in Bert's life: his horses.
Elsewhere in this Mitland Magazine the history of 100 years of Mitland is described in detail, but Bert of course also has his personal memories of this, especially since his wife Femke has always played an important role in it. "We used to have a tennis park here with 15 courts, which was mainly run by my mother," the elder Plijnaar recounts. "I had done the Secondary Trade School and in the meantime met Femke. Doing something in the hospitality industry together seemed like fun. So we asked my parents if we could take over the canteen of the tennis park. That worked out and the two of us got to work.
Bert and Femke started their bar at the tennis park and it quickly became a success. "It was always busy, summer and winter and whether there was tennis or not. We did have to buffalo, did everything ourselves, without staff, because we had to build something, survive those first years." In 1973, bowling was added. "Initiated by my mother on the basis that we would go along with it," Bert remembers well. "That required a huge investment. We borrowed a million guilders at 16 percent interest and we had to repay 5 percent annually. We were taking a big risk, but fortunately it always worked out well, even when the restaurant was added in 1978." That provided the opportunity to combine an evening of bowling with fondue, gourmet or stone grill. "It was working day and night and we lived above the restaurant at the time. But in retrospect you can say it worked out well.
An anxious ride
But then the horses. For many years Bert has had stables at his home in Groenekan with the necessary sports facilities to train jumping horses. For much of his life he has been active in equestrian sports and still Bert is involved with horses. How did he get into that world? "When I met Femke, I had never seen a horse up close, so to speak," he says. "But she rode horses, and after only a week she asked if I wanted to ride with her sometime. Of course, I didn't let myself and sat on a
horse. That turned into an anxious ride, but thanks to a few drinks at a stop in a pub I survived." Bert not only became forever attached to Femke, but also to equestrian sports. "Thanks to my extra work as a tennis instructor I was able to fund my new hobby and at one point I had three horses here at Mitland. Fortunately, my brothers didn't mind."
Eventing and military
That hobby got rather out of hand and to make a long story short; for about 35 years Bert was active nationally and internationally in eventing and military, a sport that places heavy physical demands on horse and rider. "I did that, often also with my daughter who was still Dutch champion, until Femke passed away in 2020," he looks back. "We had just been married for 50 years and when she was no longer there, I decided together with my daughter to continue in show jumping." So the love of horses did not disappear. Bert still jumps regularly himself and together with his daughter he buys young, talented horses, trains them in Groenekan and sells them again. "We buy them when they are about three years old and train them in four or five years," Bert says. "We have built up a good name over the years. The international horse world knows us and our horses stand out. We never have to advertise; buyers from the United States, Canada, Dubai, the Philippines and more countries know how to find us well.
A beautiful hobby
Despite the passion for horses, Bert never seriously considered seeking his main profession in that. "It is a beautiful hobby in which we have developed well, but at the time we made an agreement with my brothers that we would concentrate on the family business and do our best to keep developing and improving it," said
Bert. "So Mitland came first. Besides, what I do in Groenekan I don't consider a business either, but mainly a sport stable for training young talented horses. "But that sport stable does demand a lot of his attention. "Every day I get up at six o'clock and start the day by walking my dogs. And then I get to work." But Bert is also still emphatically involved with Hotel Mitland. "They can still count on my advice on technical matters, the expansions and marketing and sales, as we all have our areas of concern as brothers," he says. "I still officially work five hours a week for Mitland and if they need me further, they know where to find me. With my horses, yes."