Skye Morssinkhof: Riding Into the Senior Ranks, Believing In Her Dreams & A New Chapter in 2025

At 22, Dutch show jumper Skye Morssinkhof is entering her first season as a senior rider. After years of success in the youth categories—ponies, juniors, young riders—and a European Championship medal to her name, she now faces the challenge of stepping up against the best in the world.

2025 has already been a year of big change for Morssinkhof. In January, she launched her own company after working for several stables, taking full responsibility for her horses, clients, and career path. But just as her new venture was beginning, she was sidelined by a broken collarbone. “Mentally, it was quite a setback because you’re very excited to start on your own and then something like that happens,” she explains. “It took me a while to get my confidence back and trust my abilities, but I feel like right now I’m on the right path again.”

Her goals for this first season are less about big results and more about establishing stability. “Five star would be the dream,” she says, “but when you start on your own, you also need to sell horses and make a business. So my goals would be to have a successful business and slowly get back into the sport also.”

Strength, Fitness, and Nutrition

Away from competitions, Morssinkhof invests heavily in her own fitness—something she believes is essential for modern riders. Her mornings are spent with the horses, but several afternoons each week she’s at the gym, working on strength and conditioning. “We’re always really looking at the fitness of the horses, which obviously is very important, but I also like to work on my own fitness,” she says. Nutrition is a particular passion, and if she weren’t a rider, she could imagine a career in that field.

Cooking as a Creative Outlet

Cooking, too, has become one of her favorite ways to relax. “In my free time, I like to cook for friends or family.” She especially enjoys finding healthier twists on traditional comfort foods, trying to make less nutritional meals more balanced without losing their flavor.

Dreams Beyond the Arena

While showjumping is the heart of her life, Morssinkhof also dreams of experiences far removed from the competition circuit. On the sporting side, she hopes to compete outside of Europe for the first time, naming New York or Mexico among her dream destinations. Personally, her imagination is captured by the American West. “I would love to go to Montana and ride on cowboy horses, like West Coast. I just wanna be a cowgirl,” she laughs.

Building a Career on Teamwork

Looking back at her career so far, Morssinkhof points to her medal at the European Championships for Young Riders as her proudest moment. It was a result built not on star power but on years of hard work with a horse she developed herself. “She really wasn’t the scopiest or the best horse there, and I’m definitely not the best rider there, but it was just the teamwork. That moment was really emotional for me.”

Believing in Herself

Now, in her first year as a senior, she is learning how much mindset matters. “I have to believe in myself because I can really doubt myself sometimes,” she admits. “When I believe in myself, I’m flying. But when I start doubting myself, it gets hard. My advice would be to believe in yourself and to keep working on it. With every setback, just keep going.”

For Skye Morssinkhof, the season ahead is not about overnight success but about building the base for a long career. With her deep passion for horses, her commitment to fitness, her creative outlet in cooking, and her determination to grow her own business, she is steadily laying the foundations for a future at the very top of the sport.

Valentina sozzi – Ph Stefano Secchi

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