Over the weekend, members of the Groningen-based Frisian student association Bernlef decked out Ome Loeks and his horse with the blue stripes and red lily pads of the Frisian flag.
Translation by Traci White
The Groninger Internet Courant reports that the Frisian makeover is in honour of the association’s open house days from 13 through 15 November. In the early hours of Sunday morning, the students placed a fleece blanket with a Frisian flag patter on the horse’s back and wrapped the horse’s neck and legs with Frisian-themed fabric. Ome Loeks himself was adorned with a Bernlef shirt. At the horse’s feet, a cardboard sign reads “It bêste peerd… is in Frysk hynder!” (The best horse is a Frisian horse).
This is the second time in recent months that the iconic Groningen statue has played a central role in a Frisian-connected prank. In September, Frisian collective Wadden uit de Schaduw took advantage of the statue being removed for scheduled maintenance to place a replica of the white horse and his owner on the sea wall in Lauwersoog. The playful campaign was meant to raise awareness of the region.
The horse’s makeover was not connected to the FC Groningen home game against SC Heereveen on Sunday, but there was a similarly striking art project on display during the football game: in the upper seats, fans moved a banner of an Arriva train along the railings toward a replica of the Groningen Central Station.
Photo source: @f.f.j.bernlef/instagram
