I was born in 1992 and raised on the Paardenmaat. Under the loving guidance of my parents I grew up with and between horses. The core philosophy of de Paardenmaat was a big part of my upbringing. I learned early in life that when something with the horse didn’t succeed, it was never the horses fault.

I am thankful that my parents gave me the opportunity to build meaningful relationships with the ponies of de Paardenmaat. With them I spent countless hours.

Since I was ten I participated regularly in Centered Riding lessons and clinics. Also there I learned the three rules: “work on you, work on you and work on you”. Even though the lessons were very valuable, I struggled with the development of my horses. I did progress, but I did not really understand what I was doing, so my attention shifted to endless hacks outside with my pony Banoe.

My father had already tried to persuade me to join a Bent Branderup clinic as a theory participant, but sitting still and listening all day wasn’t my strong suit back then. When I was sixteen I joined a basic course academic art of riding, that is more than sixteen years ago and I cannot imagine my life without the academic art of riding anymore.

Step by step I started to understand why we train horses in dressage and every question I could come up with had a logical, satisfying answer. The more I learned, the more interesting it got! I learned to feel and experiment and the centaur feeling came ever closer. That development never stopped. Every day I learn new things that bring me closer to the art: two souls that want to do what to bodies can.

In 2014 I joined the Knighthood of Academic Art of Riding and since 2018 I am allowed to call myself licensed Bent Branderup trainer® . I take lessons regularly with Bent Branderup and other academic trainers, like Hanna Engstrom, Katrine Buur en Christofer Dahlgren.