BIOGRAPHY

Valentina is a 21-year-old German dressage rider and bachelor student at the University of Amsterdam. She is currently training with Rosi Kemper and Vincent van Gasselt, who successfully represented the Netherlands in his youth and was a member of the Dutch team at the Nations Cup in Aachen.

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 at school, she started training her pony Champ of Class with Coby van Baalen in 2014, commuting to the Netherlands every weekend. In 2015 Gonnelien Rothenberger took over the training. Conveniently, the Rothenberger stable was just a three-minute bike ride from her home in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe. With her first horse, Valentina decided to move to the stable of Stefanie Lugge-Kerner, who had been a rider at Kasselman for sixteen years. In the seven years that Valentina trained with Stefanie, they took part in four European Championships and won eleven medals in the junior and young rider division. They recently parted ways as Valentina decided to move to the Netherlands to pursue her education. She now trains with Vincent van Gasselt and Rosi Kemper.

At the beginning of 2018, Valentina took over the reins of Flamboyant OLD from Isabell Werth. The two were a match from the start, winning three silver medals at the European Championships in Fontainebleau just six months after her first time sitting in his saddle. Together they have represented Germany at the European Championships four times, winning three gold medals.

In the future, Valentina hopes to work her way up to U25 and Grand Prix level with her only 8-year-old mare and other horses from the family breeding, while balancing dressage with her studies.

Valentina studies Media & Information at the University of Amsterdam, a programme that has been ranked number one for media studies for three consecutive years.

Key Results:

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%