Julie-Sofie Schmitz-Heinen is the 2025 European Junior Riders Champion

German Julie-Sofie Schmitz-Heinen is the 2025 European Junior Riders Champion as she raked in double individual gold at the 2025 European Junior Riders Championships in Le Mans, France, on 2 - 3 August 2025. 

The junior individual competition continued at the 2025 European Championships for ponies, children, and junior riders on Friday and Saturday 1 - 2 August 2025 with the individual test, contested by 60 combinations. The highest 18 of the individual test (maximum 3 per nation) moved on to the Kur to Music finals on Sunday 3 August. 

Individual Test: Schmitz Takes Two

Julie Schmitz-Heinen rode the individual test on Saturday after her team mate Maria Teresa Pohl had set the standard at 72.588%, the high score on Friday.  Julie and her 8-year old Rhinelander gelding Attractive (by AC-DC x Ehrentusch) were able to top that mark with a fraction more: 72.941%. No other pair was able to beat her to the punch, granting her a second gold medal of the week after team gold on Thursday.

The individual test was judged by Alban Tissot, Sven Rothenberger, Alice Schwab, Knut Danzberg, and Susanne Baarup. Four judges stayed quite close between 71.02 and 73.5%, but the Danish judge saw a 75.000% in the ride. Schmitz-Heinen rode a very a balanced and energetic trot tour, but when given the reins the hands went really wide (in the trot and extended walk).The shoulder in left had too much angle but the half passes were very smooth and had good bending. There was a bobble in the left walk pirouette, and also the right one lacked some activity. The canter work was solid.

The 18-year old  Schmitz-Heinen is a German youth team routinier. She is born into a family of riders with her parents Wolfgang and Elke running the business, Hof am Eifgen in Wermelskirchen near Cologne, Germany, and children Julie and Jonas following their parents' passion. Elder brother Jonas is into show jumping, elder brother Ruben prefer soccer, and Julie sticks to dressage.

Julie came into the spotlight in Germany in 2019 when she won the German Developing Pony Rider Championship on Carlos WE. On Carleo Go she won team gold at the 2021 and 2022 European Championships as well as individual bronze in 2022. In 2023 she rode Chilly Morning to team gold and individual silver at the Europeans in Le Mans, but had to withdraw him from the rest of the competition. In 2024 there were no international shows but in 2025 she made her international junior debut on First Date and Attractive. The family acquired Julie's gold medal winning horse as a 3-year old stallion at the 2020 Hof Borgmann auction for 75,000 euro. His name was spelled "Attraktiv" at the time.

Individual test silver medal went to German team mate Maria Teresa Pohl aboard the 9-year old Hanoverian stallion Diaton FRH (by Dimaggio x Brettin Woods). The gorgeous, big moving chestnut excels with his basic gaits but was titled to the left throughout the entire test. The pair scored a personal best of 72.588% although the judges were clearly divided: 70.294% was the "low" score (11th), while 74.559% was the high score (1st). Pohl trains with German based Dutchman Peter Hameeteman.

Dutch Dominique van Dalsen made her way onto the third step of the podium for bronze with a personal best score of 72.471%. The minor spread in her scores went from 70.588% to 73.971%.  She lost some points in the walk pirouette left and simple change between D and L. This is Van Dalsen's second year on the Dutch team with her horse Just Johnson, an 11-year old KWPN gelding by Johnson x Florencio owned by Petra van den Berg.

Dutch Sofie van Rooy and her 11-year old Dutch warmblood Juan Tango B (by Don Tango x Negro) landed off the podium in fourth plae with a personal best of 71.882%

Kur: Schmitz-Heinen Makes it a Hattrick

On Sunday morning a new opportunity presented itself to win a set of medals in the Kur to Music finals.

Julie Schmitz-Heinen and Attractive fulfilled their roles as favourites for gold and did just that. The panel of judges rewarded her freestyle with 77.530% which turned out to be the high score of the class, good for Julie's golden hattrick. Three judges placed her first, two had her second. 

Dominique van Dalsen upped the ante and gave it her all. Starting in the best possible position - last to go - which always works to the benefit of the rider in a the freestyle as the scores increase towards the end, Van Dalsen was able to ride a personal best score of 77.325% on Just Johnson, landing on the silver medal step of the podium, her second silver after team silver on Thursday.  Van Dalsen has been competing the tall bay gelding internationally since April 2023. At the 2024 European Junior Championships in Opglabbeek they won team silver, but stranded in the individual test in 17th place, not moving onto the Kur finals as fourth Dutch rider. In Le Mans they were the anchor of the team. The 18-year old Dominique trains with Mark van de Donk and is in her last year as a junior rider.

Individual test silver medallist Maria Teresa Pohl could not repeat the feat with Diaton in the freestyle and dropped to 9th place after issues i the walk pirouette, but her team mate Viktoria von Braunmühl grabbed the chance, as penultimate rider to go in the class, to gain the spotlight.  Aboard the 14-year old DSP bred First Class (by Furst Romancier x Wind Dancer) she scored 76.305% and slotted in third for Kur bronze. The 17-year old Viktoria has been riding First Class less than a year, having taken over the reins from Lia Welschof in the autumn of 2025. This is her first time on the German team, having ridden only one international show as a junior rider in her career. She trains with Dorothee Welschof. 

German team trainer Hans-Heinrich Meyer zu Strohen credited Dorothee’s work for Viktoria's success. "‘Her home trainer played a huge part in this. She prepared Viki really well for the test and the rider performed very well."

Dutch Sofie van Rooij and Juan Tango B were back into fourth place (75.345%), while Denmark's Rikke Schoubye Johansen and her 12-year old Danish bred Baunehojens Carpaccio (by Charmeur x White Talisman) were in the top fie with 74.995%

Photos © Libby Law - Boulerie Jump

Related Links
Scores: 2025 European Pony, Children, Junior Riders Championships
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2025 European Pony, Children, Junior Riders Championships