What's Happening: July 2025

Jeanine Nieuwenhuis, the 2019 European Under 25 Champion and a Zeeland (NED) based professional dressage rider, is pregnant with her first child. She and husband Jeff Dhollander, who married in December 2022, are thrilled. "2026 has something else for us in store," Nieuwenhuis took to Instagram. "A little heart is beating inside of me, and it already has all of mine," she shared with a blue heart, suggesting it might be a boy. 'Grateful for this miracle and excited for all that is coming."

French Grand Prix rider Camille Judet Cheret and her husband, Olympian, Corentin Pottier, welcomed their first child, a baby girl, on 9 July 2025. She was born 10 minutes past midgnight and weighed 3.4 kg at birth, measuring 52 cm. The couple named her Olivia. "Every step of the way has been pure magic," the new parents stated. 

Former international youth rider, Swiss Caroline-Marie Scheufele, is pregnant with her first child. It will be a girl as pink confetti was blown into the sky at a gender reveal party. The 29-year old Scheufele got engaged to her partner, Miguel Bosch, in August 2021 and they married in July 2022.  Scheufele was a very successful Swiss youth team rider whose international career ended in 2015. She is still involved with horses and owns the rising Grand Prix mare Dante's Pearl, ridden by Charlott-Maria Schurmann (GER). The mare placed 6th in the 2024 Nurnberger Burgpokal Finals.

American professional dressage rider Noel Williams and her long-time partner Michael Williams got married at Chesterwood estate in Massachusetts on the weekend of 4 - 5 July 2025. The couple got engaged in August 2023 and married two years later. Noah Rattner was the officiant and many dressage personalities were in attendance, including Bill Warren, Mary Bahniuk Lauritsen, and Pam Davies amongst others. Noel is the daughter of USDF president and US team captain George Williams and Roberta Creek Williams, who is USDF Youth Committee Chair. Williams was the  was the 2005 U.S. Junior Riders Champion on Anne Sparkes' Pik L and won team silver at the 2007 North American Young Riders Championships on Woody Allen. In 2015 she competed in one CDI at Grand Prix level on Sir Velo. From 2020 till 2024 she rode horses for Nancy Holowesko at Crosiadore Farm.

The 5-year old licensed Galaxico (by Grand Galaxy Win x Samarant x Weltmeyer) has returned to Denmark after a year of breeding at  Lorna Wilson's Elite Stallions in the U.K. Galaxico has been gelded. 

Judy Reynolds has moved her retired, career-making Grand Prix horse Vancouver K to Ireland. The 23-year old KWPN gelding (by Jazz x Ferro) represented Ireland at all major championships between 2015 and 2019, including the Rio Olympics. He was retired from sport in 2021. Reynolds is based in Germany, but decided to move the horse to Ireland. "JP is now living his best life in Ireland," Judy wrote. "Although Jp has been retired for quite a few years now, he has finally made the move to ‘proper retirement’ and will spend his days enjoying the green green grass of home. After 18 years of being together almost daily we miss him dearly, but we always try to make decisions that are best for our furry friends."

Former international Danish youth team rider Sille Engermann got engaged to her partner Michael Bredahl on 5 July 2025. The 26-year old Engermann is a civil engineer and works for Novo Nordisk (which manufactures Ozempic). She represented Denmark at the 2012 European Pony Championships in Janine WE (by Dressman x Nordstar), at the 2014 European Junior Riders Championships in Fernet (by Furst Heinrich x Fagott), and Darius (by Donnerloh x Pik Solo) she rode at the 2015 European Junior Championships and the 2016 and 2018 European Under 25 Championships. The Euros in Exloo in 2018 were her last international competition. She finished 9th in the Kur. Sille is a civil engineer by profession and still rides. With Touchdown (by Touch Me x Bernstein) she last competed nationally at Grand Prix level in October 2024.

Former international French youth team rider Clarissa Stickland was awarded her PhD degree at Birmingham University on 15 July 2025. She wrote a thesis on concussive brain injury titled "Raman Spectroscopic Applications Towards The Management of Traumatic Injuries to the Central Nervous System" and is now planning to do a Post Doc at Warwick University. Stickland competed in international pony and junior rider sport for France from 2012 till 2017. She showed ponies Diana, Just You 'N Me, and Capuccino Tyme, and horses Lacoletta and Don Bencedor vna het Lisperhof as a junior. With Diana (by FS Don't Worry x Dream Velvet) she rode on the French team at the 2013 and 2014 European Pony Championships. She put high performance sport on the back burner when she went to university and is now a Dr.  Clarissa's father is  Dr David Stickland, who works at CERN and is a professor at Princeton. Mom Lyn Koppanyi stated, "I can definitely say that the hard work and dedication involved in good school work at the same time as international dressage competitions gives a head start on managing everyday life."