Sanne Thijssen is just 25 years of age, but a force to be reckoned with. Still, her parth to the top wasn't without its challenges. "When you achieve incredible success at a young age the whisper begin.” Sanne recalls, her voice steady yet tinged with the echoes of past doubts. “People said I was just lucky. They said it was all thanks to my horse. But I knew I had to prove them wrong.”
Her journey began with the incomparable Con Quidam, a partnership that seemed almost fated. “I started riding Con Quidam when he was seven which is about 11 years ago.” she recounts. “We were both young, and we grew together, scaling heights that came quicker and easier than anyone could have predicted. The wins started to come quite fast and easy.” But as meteoric as their rise was, it wasn’t without its challenges. Skepticism shadowed her victories, with critics attributing her success solely to the horse beneath her. “Most people thought my success was all due luck, and my amazing horse.”
Her meteoric rise faced a sudden setback when her cherished horse, Con Quidam, sustained a career-threatening injury. So when Con Quidam got injured five years ago it was her oppertunity to prove people wrong.
However, it was not as easy as she thought… The world watched as the young rider struggled to reclaim her place at the top, grappling with horses that, though good, couldn’t match Con Quidam’s brilliance. Sanne explained: “After he was out, I had some good horses, but less unique than Connie was. So you keep on trying to go clear or get over those high fences, but it was not solving the problem. I started doubting myself. What if the others were right, and all my success was only because of Con Quidam?”
It was that period of her life where she couldn’t see light at the end of the tunnel. The darkness of self-doubt loomed large, and the thought of giving up became an all-too-tempting escape. But Thijssen’s story is not one of surrender. “There was a moment that I wanted to give up,” Sanne confesses her voice filled with the raw emotion of that pivotal time. “But when I lost confidence, my family was there to help me see things differently. I decided to train twice as hard and prove to myself that I’m good enough.” With renewed determination, she pushed herself to the brink, training harder than ever, refusing to let the doubters win.
After months of hard work, she finally started winning on her horse Hi There as well. “We also grew into the top level together, that gave me a lot of confidence - that it's not only one horse that I can do that big classes on.” Thijssen admits. Riding Hi There, she began to claw her way back to the pinnacle of the sport, each victory a testament to her grit and growing confidence she went on to add: “But of course, Con Quidam is once in a lifetime horse. And when Con Quidam got better, I was stronger, and I could give him the confidence at that point - so we got even stronger together.”
Her journey began with the incomparable Con Quidam, a partnership that seemed almost fated. “I started riding Con Quidam when he was seven which is about 11 years ago.” she recounts. “We were both young, and we grew together, scaling heights that came quicker and easier than anyone could have predicted. The wins started to come quite fast and easy.” But as meteoric as their rise was, it wasn’t without its challenges. Skepticism shadowed her victories, with critics attributing her success solely to the horse beneath her. “Most people thought my success was all due luck, and my amazing horse.”
Her meteoric rise faced a sudden setback when her cherished horse, Con Quidam, sustained a career-threatening injury. So when Con Quidam got injured five years ago it was her oppertunity to prove people wrong.
However, it was not as easy as she thought… The world watched as the young rider struggled to reclaim her place at the top, grappling with horses that, though good, couldn’t match Con Quidam’s brilliance. Sanne explained: “After he was out, I had some good horses, but less unique than Connie was. So you keep on trying to go clear or get over those high fences, but it was not solving the problem. I started doubting myself. What if the others were right, and all my success was only because of Con Quidam?”
It was that period of her life where she couldn’t see light at the end of the tunnel. The darkness of self-doubt loomed large, and the thought of giving up became an all-too-tempting escape. But Thijssen’s story is not one of surrender. “There was a moment that I wanted to give up,” Sanne confesses her voice filled with the raw emotion of that pivotal time. “But when I lost confidence, my family was there to help me see things differently. I decided to train twice as hard and prove to myself that I’m good enough.” With renewed determination, she pushed herself to the brink, training harder than ever, refusing to let the doubters win.
After months of hard work, she finally started winning on her horse Hi There as well. “We also grew into the top level together, that gave me a lot of confidence - that it's not only one horse that I can do that big classes on.” Thijssen admits. Riding Hi There, she began to claw her way back to the pinnacle of the sport, each victory a testament to her grit and growing confidence she went on to add: “But of course, Con Quidam is once in a lifetime horse. And when Con Quidam got better, I was stronger, and I could give him the confidence at that point - so we got even stronger together.”