German Under 25 Rider Sophie Reef Declares for The Netherlands

Dressage

The Netherlands

German Under 25 rider Sophie Reef has declared for the The Netherlands and as of now will be riding for the Dutch flag.

The 21-year old Reef switched nationality with the FEI on 15 July 2021.

"I have two nationalities, but I have lived my whole life in The Netherlands," Reef told Eurodressage. "Lately I have been thinking about changing the countries a lot. Especially when my horse Genua TC suddenly past away. I had a hard time and needed a new start. I’ve made my final decision to start for the Netherlands in the future also because I’ll start my study in Nijmegen (this month)."

Youth Rider

Reef made her international show debut as a junior rider in 2017 aboard Rue Noblesse (by Rosentau x Cordoba). In 2018 she moved to young riders' level with him and also made her Under 25 debut on Silencium (by Shakespeare in Love x Wolkenstein II).

As of the spring of 2019 Reef began competing two new Dutch acquisitions, Under 25 mount Charming Lady (by Painted Black x Krack C) and young riders horse Genua TC (by Charmeur x Jazz). She campaigned those two internationally until July 2020.

Reef on Charming Lady at the KNHS Talent Day
with Hans Peter Minderhoud

Genua TC passed away in December 2020 after sustaining a severe injury while being lunged.

Future in Holland

To fill the void Genua TC left, Reef purchased the 7-year old Straight Horse Don Zuan i(by Zack x Don Schufro) last February.

While her academic life has moved to Radboud University in Nijmeghen, The Netherlands, Sophie continues to keep her horses at stable Vechtehof in Haftekamp, Germany, with coach Sabine Egbers.

"We already had several times training with Monique Peutz (Dutch youth team trainer)," Reef added. "We got a lot of interesting tips and I’m very curious what the future will bring us!"