Dreaming of CHIO: Robin Heiden

Getting to Know Robin

Robin is 21 years old and still lives at home with her 25-year-old brother and 24-year-old sister. She first heard about the 2FitHorses CHIO Zuid Holland Cup while riding horses for renowned stallion owner Joop van Uytert, and soon caught the CHIO Rotterdam fever. Her South Holland connection runs even deeper, as her father and his family hail from Ridderkerk.

When she’s not training horses, Robin studies Law at Radboud University in Nijmegen. Outside of horses, she enjoys chatting with friends, catching up over the phone, and spending time with her boyfriend.

Balancing Studies and Horses

Robin: "In the future, I want to combine my studies with horses. I decided to study because I didn’t want to waste my VWO diploma and I also wanted a plan B in case a full-time career with horses didn’t work out. I even took a gap year to see if I truly loved working only with horses—and I did!"

Currently, Robin rides four horses, Gasmonkey (her own horse), Hollywood (owned by the Broere family), One Million (a stallion owned by Joop van Uytert) and Karanto Pomona (a training horse) She also still owns Lakewood, her former Young Riders horse, but her mother now competes with him in the Prix St. Georges to gain experience at that level.

"Studying comes easily to me, but after two years, I decided to spread my third year over two years—half the courses in one year, the rest in the next. Where do I see myself in ten years? (laughing) Hopefully, I’ll be both a top lawyer like Isabell Werth and Sven Rothenberger and competing at major events like CHIO. But if that doesn’t work out, I’d love to train young horses—I enjoy that just as much!"

A First Date at CHIO

"I first attended CHIO as a little girl, probably around seven or eight, with my parents. They have great memories of the event—CHIO was actually their first date! They’ve now been married for nearly 30 years, so I’d say it worked out well!"

Robin has since competed twice at CHIO at the 2FitHorses CHIO Zuid-Holland Cup – (winning first and third with PSV Westland) and the Young Riders Observation (Winner in 2023)

"The CHIO Zuid-Holland Cup and Young Riders observation are totally different experiences. In the observation class, you focus on doing your absolute best for yourself, while in the team competition, you give it your all for your teammates."

Chasing U25 Goals

"This year, CHIO will again host youth observation classes, and I’ll do everything I can to qualify. The U25 category is very competitive. In April, there’s an observation in Tolbert, and another in May in Exloo. The top eight riders from both events will qualify for Rotterdam. I’ll be competing with Hollywood. We’ve made a lot of progress lately, but now we have to prove it in the arena. Gasmonkey isn’t quite ready for U25 yet, but I hope to start him later this summer."

Hollywood

Hollywood was previously ridden by Patrick van der Meer, CHIO’s Sport Director for Dressage and Dutch chef d'equipe. Does that bring extra pressure? "Not really, especially since the owner doesn’t put any pressure on me. Hollywood is a learning horse for me, and that’s how I treat him. I always put a little pressure on myself, but not because of his history. He’s an amazing horse with a lot of personality. He always has energy—whether it’s training or playing in the paddock. That means you have to be consistent with him, but I see that as a good thing. I mean, when you’re riding down the final centerline in a dressage test, you want your horse to still have something left to give!"

KNHS Talent Team

Back to the reason for our chat: Robin’s spot on the KNHS Talent Team. "I was part of the team last year as well. You receive a budget to invest in personal development, and at the beginning of 2025, they’ll announce the new team. This year, I plan to spend half my budget on training with Bastiaan de Recht and Anky van Grunsven. I haven’t decided how to spend the rest yet. Last year, I didn’t compete much in the winter, so I felt like I had to prove myself extra in the summer. I don’t feel that pressure anymore—this program is about talent, not just results."

Always Put the Horses First

Smart, talented, and grounded—respect, Robin. We asked her to close the interview with her own message, and her words were just as thoughtful: "I want to remind everyone to always put their horses first. Of course, our sport is amazing, but the well-being of our horses should always come before results. We need to ride well, but our horses should also have a good life and enjoy what they do. That can’t just mean endless training—horses need relaxation and the chance to be horses." Wise words at the end of an open, heartfelt conversation.

Congratulations once again, Robin! Best of luck with your studies and your horses—we look forward to seeing you at CHIO Rotterdam 2025!