Decisive selection Dutch Junior dressage European Championships at CHIO Rotterdam

Junior Riders Ready for Final Selection at CHIO Rotterdam 2025

The Juniors will ride their final and decisive selection competition during CHIO 2025. After earlier observations in Tolbert and Exloo, the very best eight combinations will present themselves in Rotterdam. We look ahead with hopeful contenders Dominique van Dalfsen, Britt Kikkert – Van der Linde and Sofie van Rooij. Three ambitious young riders who love nothing more than working with horses and already know exactly what they want.

Meet the Riders

Britt is fifteen and lives in De Cocksdorp on the island of Texel. She’s in her third year of HAVO and besides horses, she enjoys doing fun things with her friends.
Sofie is seventeen and lives in St. Michelsgestel, where she’s in her second year of a vocational training to become a teaching assistant. Besides horses, she enjoys spending time with friends and family and loves shopping from time to time. She also works one day a week in hospitality.
Dominique is also seventeen and lives in Harmelen. She’s in her third year, level 4, at the Business & Administration College in Utrecht. In her limited free time, she enjoys shopping and hanging out with friends.

A Future in Horses

All three Junior riders see their future in horses. Dominique:“I’ve actually already started. I have a few training horses and do a bit of trading. Besides that, I want to become the best rider I can be, at five-star level.” Sport and business—Dominique is ambitious.

Sofie knows for sure she doesn’t want to take over her father’s hair salon:“I see my future the same way as Dominique. Training and competing horses is the most beautiful thing there is.”

Britt doesn’t plan to take over her grandfather Wim’s impressive stud farm either—she also wants to continue in sport:“I’m actually already active in the sport and I’d love to keep doing this at the highest level possible. I find riding more fun and challenging than breeding.”

Jerenzo Texel, Juan Tango B, Just Johnson

As mentioned, Dominique, Britt and Sofie are working through the selection process for the European Championships later this year. Of course, they’re not doing it alone. We asked them to introduce their four-legged teammates:

Britt:“I ride Jerenzo Texel, a dark bay KWPN stallion, 1.80m tall. He’s very sweet to me, sweeter than to my mother for example. He really takes me into account. On the ground he’s very much a stallion, but when I ride him, that all disappears. At home, he’s one of the sweetest horses we have. He loves it when I come sit with him while he’s lying in his stall.”

Sofie:“I ride Juan Tango B, we call him Juan, a 1.73m chestnut gelding owned by José van Boven. He’s not from our family, but she promised that he can always stay with us. He came to us because he was said to be difficult, but my father rode him first and he never did anything wrong. Now I ride him, and he definitely has a fiery character, but he’s super sweet and well-behaved. He really tries his best for me.”

Dominique:“I ride Just Johnson, we call him Johnny, a bay gelding, 1.84m tall. So yes, he’s very big, but he has a small heart. He’s very focused on me and clearly enjoys entering the arena together. I really feel his excitement. He loves beautiful venues and decorative arenas, so I think he’s going to love Rotterdam. He’s also very sweet—I can even canter him bareback.”

Familiar with CHIO

Britt and Sofie have already been to CHIO, and even competed there last year in the family pas de deux during the children’s morning.

Britt: “It was amazing. It was such fun, everyone was cheerful, and there was a big audience. I rode the pas de deux with my mom, Eva.” Sofie: “I rode it too, with my dad, Arthur. Just the walk to the arena through the forest was so cool, and I really enjoyed our performance.” Dominique: “I’ve never ridden at CHIO, but I visited as a spectator two years ago and I loved it. Even then, I felt the itch—I realized I’d really love to ride there one day.”

On the Road to Rotterdam

To qualify for the final observation round, the girls need to be among the top eight combinations from the selections in Tolbert and Exloo. Tolbert is already behind them and Exloo awaits during Ascension weekend. We ask for a brief recap of the first round.

Britt:“It went really well—better than expected. At first, I found the Junior tests difficult. Moving into this level is a big step. You almost have to get to know your horse all over again, but in Tolbert, things improved every day. We really became more of a team in these tests.”

Sofie: “The first day went really well. The second day was a bit less—we had some mistakes. Luckily, the final freestyle went great. We rode super nicely and my horse gave me a really good feeling.”

Dominique: “The first day I rode a bit hesitantly and made some mistakes. After that it got much better and we showed a strong upward line. In the final freestyle, we even finished second. Tolbert was a great practice round to peak in Exloo and Rotterdam.”

Trainers and Role Models

Who do the girls train with, and do they have any role models?

Dominique: “I’ve been training with Mark van de Donk for over a year. He teaches me to really ride with my head. What am I doing, what am I communicating to my horse, why is he reacting that way? It makes me more aware and more skilled. It’s fun and educational. My role models are Mark himself and Dinja van Liere. What I find so special about her is that she rides at the very top level and still trains and competes young horses.”

Sofie: “I mostly train with my father, and through the talent program I got lessons from Anky. At shows, I get help from national coach Monique Peutz and sometimes I go to Tonnie Huberts. I enjoy all the lessons—they all come down to the same thing. But my dad remains my favorite coach because he always manages to make me ride well. My role model is Catherine Dufour, because she rides so kindly. It looks so easy and relaxed, like she’s doing nothing—that’s exactly how dressage should look.”

Britt: “My mom helps me the most. Through the talent program, I got lessons from Adelinde Cornelissen, which worked so well that we continued with her. She teaches me to ride more consciously. Not just ride through the test, but ride and complete each part carefully. Besides my mom and Adelinde, Nienke de Wolf helps me with posture and seat. I’m also a fan of Catherine Dufour. Of course, riders like Lottie Fry and Jessica von Bredow-Werndl are amazing too. Their horses move beautifully, but Catherine’s way of riding just feels better.”

Stick to the Routine

Even though they all dream of making the European Championships, they’re not doing anything extra special in preparation.

Britt, matter-of-factly: “I’ll just keep doing what I always do—that works best.” Sofie: “I’ll also just keep training as usual. There’s still a squad training and we’ll go for a relaxing forest ride too.” Dominique: “I’m also not doing anything crazy. More training often means worse results at competitions. I try to keep my horse fresh and happy and do something other than dressage training once in a while.”

Back to Rotterdam

The CHIO venue is familiar ground—but have they ever explored the city itself? Britt: “Two weeks ago, I went to a concert at Ahoy, and two years ago I saw Cavalluna, a horse show, there.” Sofie doesn’t recall ever being outside the Kralingse Bos. Dominique: “I sometimes go shopping in Rotterdam with my mom—we usually go to Alexandrium.”

Proud Moments

They may be young, but these riders are already very experienced. What achievements are they most proud of? Dominique: “Last year I became Dutch Junior Champion and won bronze with the team at the European Championships.” Sofie: “In November, I won the Junior freestyle at De Peelbergen. Recently in Lier, we won team bronze and I was the best Dutch rider every day.” Britt: “Last year I became Children’s Champion of the Netherlands and we won team gold at the European Championships. Individually I also won a silver medal.”

Rituals and Superstitions

Time for something a little lighter. Even top talents have their quirks.

Britt goes first: “I’m incredibly messy at home and at the stable. The only thing I keep tidy is the horse truck—but I keep that really clean. Also, I always eat an orange Danoontje yogurt before my test at international competitions. No other color, it has to be orange.”

Sofie: “I always want a sip of apple juice before I start tacking up.”

Dominique: “I have a specific order of white breeches I wear for international shows.”

A Final Word

We could chat with this fun trio for hours, but all good things must come to an end. We ask the girls to close the interview themselves.

All three want to thank CHIO for this interview and national coach Monique Peutz for the recommendation.

Britt wants to thank her grandfather Wim van de Linde for breeding such a great horse like Jerenzo Texel: “This is all so special—who would have thought?”

Sofie wants to thank her horse’s owner for the opportunities she’s been given and hopes to see all the readers along the ring in Rotterdam.

Dominique: “I think our sport is really special because of the love and connection we have with our horses. Without that bond, we could never achieve the things we do.”

Signed: Dominique, Britt & Sofie. Young, horse-crazy and ambitious. Respect, girls—for all you’ve already achieved and all that’s surely still to come. And also for this great interview—completely on your own, without any help from parents. Very impressive. Good luck in Exloo and hopefully see you next month in the Kralingse Bos!