Linico Horses has moved to a charming farm in Vlamertinge, where all the necessities for training jumping horses in a professional way are at hand. At Henri Combe’s eleven-hectare yard both indoor and outdoor training is possible. The horses live in luminous and airy stables that are larger than the standard requirements. The yard also boasts more than enough meadows to let the animals graze in the peaceful West-Flemish plains. Lieven also has a number of studios to offer accommodation to a handful of foreign trainees.
Vlamertinge is the largest municipality of the historic city of Ypres, known for the Battle of Ypres during World War I. Today, Ypres counts 35,000 inhabitants and is the fifth largest town of West-Flanders, but it came close to turning out all differently. Ypres was one of the major martyr cities of the First World War. Despite a number of large-scale battles, taking the lives of 500,000 soldiers, Ypres managed to stay out of the hands of the Germans. After World War I, the British suggested to leave the completely destroyed town as it was by way of commemoration of the war. In the end, everything was rebuilt as it was before the war. The reconstruction was mainly financed with German funds. In the district of Vlamertinge, there are a number of British military cemeteries from World War I.
As from last year, tourism in Ypres revives, thanks to the hundredth anniversary of World War I. Historical attractions are the market square, which gives the town its medieval appearance, the Cloth Hall – a monument protected by UNESCO, the belfry tower with the ‘In Flanders Fields’ museum, the Menin Gate with the daily Last Post for the fallen soldiers in Ypres. On top of that, the Lille Gate, the Ypres ramparts, the military cemeteries and numerous churches have important historical and tourist assets as well.
Ypres is located at a stone’s throw away from Calais, from where you travel by train to Great Britain. Bruges, one of world’s most romantic cities, is located in the same province. France is less than ten kilometres away from Ypres and also Brussels, the capital of Belgium, is one of the not-to-be-missed attractions when you pay a visit to Linico Horses.
