Valentina is a 22-year-old German dressage rider and bachelor student at the University of Amsterdam.

She is currently in the final year of her Media and Information degree, a programme that has been ranked number one for media studies for three consecutive years. Alongside her major, she is pursuing a minor in

Data Science and Artificial Intelligence – a field increasingly shaping today’s world, from personalised medical treatments and smart cities to self-driving cars and advanced sports analytics.

Valentina has been sitting on a horse since before she could walk. Her parents have been breeding horses for over thirty years, and her brother has competed successfully up to junior level. Her older brother has always been her role model, and her parents have supported her throughout her journey.

While still at school, she began training her pony Champ of Class with Coby van Baalen in 2014, commuting to the Netherlands every weekend. In 2015, Gonnelien Rothenberger took over her training, conveniently just a three-minute bike ride from her home in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe. With her first horse, Valentina moved to the stable of Stefanie Lugge-Kerner, a former rider at Kasselmann for sixteen years. Over seven years of training together, they took part in four European Championships and won

eleven medals in the junior and young rider division. In 2021, Valentina moved to the Netherlands to

pursue her education, and now trains with Vincent van Gasselt – who represented the Netherlands at the

Nations Cup in Aachen – and Rosi Kemper.

At the beginning of 2018, Valentina took over the reins of Flamboyant OLD from Isabell Werth. The two

clicked immediately, winning three silver medals at the European Championships in Fontainebleau just

six months after their first ride together. Since then, they have represented Germany at the European

Championships five times, earning four gold medals.

Beyond competing, Valentina was elected Aktivenvertreter Dressur Jugend (Youth Dressage Athletes’

Representative) for the U14, U16, U18, and U21 divisions within the national federation. In this role, she

represents the interests of young dressage athletes, acts as a bridge between riders, coaches, and officials,

and contributes to shaping the future of youth dressage in Germany.

Looking ahead, Valentina hopes to work her way up to U25 and Grand Prix level with her horses – some

bred by her own family – while balancing the demands of dressage and her academic career.

Goals for 2026:

- submitting my Bachelors thesis and graduating in Amsterdam

- starting my Masters (somewhere internationally - possibly London, Paris, Stockholm or Milan)

- moving up to U25 level in dressage

- taking over the rains of some of the younger horses bred by the family

Kep Italia // Roeckl Equestrian // Olimond BB // DeNiro Boots //

Flamboyant OLD - gelding, 17 y/o, Prix St. George/ Intermediate 1*

Sellerina - mare, 9 y/o, Prix St. Georg/ Intermediate 1*

Sezuana - mare, 8 y/o, Prix St. Georg

2025

CDI1* Hagen - placed in Prix St. Georg and Intermediate 1*

Winning various national competitions in the Netherlands with the young horses

Main focus of the year: moving up to the Grand Prix sport and focusing on academically challenging

University Courses

2024

CDIOY Hagen am T.W Nations Cup Winner & Individual 1st 76%

CDIOY Hagen am T.W Individual Test - 74,8%

CDIOY Hagen am T.W. Freestyle - 76,7%

European Championships St. Magarethen Young Riders – Team Gold, Individual Silver, Freestyle fourth

place

Nürnberger Burgpokal Final Frankfurt - Vorreiter

Awarded the German “Goldenes Reitabzeichen”

2023

CDIY Aachen – 1st Freestyle 75,3%

CDIY Hagen am T.W. 1st Prix St. Georg, Freestyle 76,9%

European Championships Pilisjászfalu Young Riders – Team Silver, Individual Silver, Individual Test

75,5%, Freestyle 78,8%

2020

CDIJ Le Mans Hat-trick

European Championships Pilisjászfalu Juniors – Team Gold, Individual Bronze, Freestyle Gold, Freestyle

79,2%

CDIJ Hagen am T.W. Hat-trick – 74,9% Team Test, 76,8% Individual Test, 79,5% Freestyle

2019

“Preis der Besten” Winner

CDIOJ Hagen am T.W Nations Cup Winner & Individual 1st

European Championships San Giovanni Juniors – Team Gold, Individual & Freestyle Bronze, 76,9%

Team Test

2018

CDIJ Mariakalnok Hat-trick

CDIOJ Hagen am T.W. Nations Cup Winner & Freestyle 1st

European Championships Fontainebleau Juniors – Triple Silver Medallist Juniors, 79.5% Freestyle

German Champion Juniors

2016

CDIP Drachten – Freestyle 72,5%

CDIP Saumur – Individual Test 73,5%

CDICH – 1 st Team Test 72,4%

CDIOCH Hagen am T.W. Nations Cup Winner & Preliminary Test 1 st 73,8%