Tribute to Janette Hageman

15/11/2023 – By now the sad news of the unexpected death of Janette Hageman on November 6th has hit many people deeply in the heart, me included. Many of us remember Janette as being a warm, sweet, caring and strong woman, but Janette was much more than all of that. I have waited consciously before publishing this news to give the family the opportunity to announce and cope with the loss in her way, but right now I feel it is time.
Janette was the mastermind behind De Quarter magazine, the first Dutch magazine purely focused on the western sport. Her heart was with this branch of equine sports, of this branch of equine sports she had the knowledge and it was her dream to promote this branch of equine sports widely. A number of people supported Janette’s ambition strongly and in 1994 the first edition of De Quarter magazine was published. Few people have knowledge of the efforts it costed to produce the magazine, the many, many hours of work and the enormous amount of energy that that had to be put into it. Janette did it all, in addition to her regular job. For many years Janette was the driving force behind De Quarter magazine until the moment it was no longer financially feasible. From that moment onwards I, together with José, took over the production. During the years Janette and me were partners, Janette transferred a lot of knowledge to me about the various disciplines of the western sport, conformation of horses, various gaits, health and nursing, gear, training, aids, techniques and much more. Apart from the financial injection José and me provided, De Quarter magazine would not have had a future without this knowledge. A few years ago the production of De Quarter magazine came to an end and we decided to only publish news items on the website.
For me personally though the name De Quarter will always be inseparable linked to not only the name but above all the person Janette Hageman.
Thank you Janette for everything you have meant to me personally and to the western sport in general.

Bea Versélewel de Witt Hamer