Hendrik Snoek

Hendrik Snoek ( born April 2, 1948 in Münster, Westphalia ) is a former German show jumper and managing the RATIO group of companies. He achieved fame also by his abduction in November 1976.

Life

Youth and beginning of the athletic career

Snoek grew up in an equestrian family enthusiastic. His father, Egbert Snoek was in addition to his professional activities as a founder and shareholder of RATIO Handel GmbH horse breeder and since 1980 President of the traditional Westphalian Riding Club in Münster. His sister Elke is married with FN - President Breido Graf zu Rantzau.

Hendrik Snoek he began at the age of six years in Wolbeck with the vaulting, horse riding, he came at the age of nine years. In 1968, he won on his horse " Dorina " competition in show jumping at the CHIO Aachen. In 1972 he won the Hickstead Derby on " Shirokko " before in Munich on " Rasputin " European Champion in the team competition in 1975. A year later he was the reserve rider at the Summer Olympic Games in Montreal.

Abduction

In the second half of 1976, the Federal Republic of Germany was marked by a series of kidnappings on 8 October, the tegut ... CEO Wolfgang Gutberlet was kidnapped, it was followed by the Karlberg heritage Gernot Egolf (October 19 ), the conclusion was the abduction of Richard Oetker (14 December ).

On November 3, 1976 Hendrik Snoek was kidnapped by two kidnappers from his home in Munster, the parents of Snoeks a ransom of 5,000,000 DM (about 2.5 million euros ) demanded for his release, the Snoeks best friend Breido Graf zu Rantzau should pass near Frankfurt. The kidnappers then hid him in a 52 m high cavity of a bridge pier of Ambach Bridge near Herborn. On November 5, an employee of the city of Herborn discovered on a routine trip random scraps of paper, threw the Snoek from an opening. The then alerted police found Snoek ago with a chain around his neck tied up and freed him.

A short time later, the district court sentenced a cathedral of the hijackers involved to 13 years imprisonment.

More career

Just a week after his abduction he was at a horse show in Vienna third parties. 1977 Snoek German champion in show jumping to " Gaylord ". In 1984 he won the Grand Prize at the Dublin Horse Show at " Palmanova ". In 1989, he ended his career as a show jumper.

While his father from 1978 to 2003 chairman of the board RATIO Handel GmbH & Co. KG was, was Hendrik Snoek CEO of the company.

In 1978 he was elected to active speaker in the Spring Committee of DOKR. From 1993 to 2005 he was chief of the Spring Committee. Also in 1993, he took over from his father, the Presidency of the Westphalian Riding Club and is thus the organizer of the tournament, the winner of Münster Castle. In 2005 he was awarded the German Cross in Gold tab. He was honored by the Sports Federation of Münster at Sports Ball 2007 with the Sports Academy.

Hendrik Snoek operates, like his father, on the outskirts of Münster riding Gut Berl. Here Jumping, Kurt Meier Grave, since February 2011 Katrin Eckermann as a professional rider operates next to the former national coach. Before you were here Markus Merschformann and Toni Haßmann active.