Adelinde Cornelissen

Dutch dressage champion Adelinde Cornelissen has won many prizes during her career, including Olympic silver (for the individual dressage at London 2012), one World Championship title, four European Championship titles (two special, one freestyle, one team), and two World Cup gold medals, as well as numerous national titles, Grand Prix victories, and the like. She achieved her greatest successes on her beloved horse, Parzival, who passed away, aged 25, in March 2023. Away from the competitive arena, she runs a dressage stable in Nijkerk with her family.

Cornelissen was born in July 1979. She excelled as a junior rider, winning the Dutch national title three times. She began riding Parzival in 2002 and achieved her first senior success in 2004, again winning a national title. The pair became almost unbeatable in the Netherlands, winning many more national titles before Cornelissen was selected as part of the Dutch Olympic team for Beijing in 2008. She won her first major European title in 2009 and her first world title (for team dressage) the following year. Olympic glory came in 2012 when she won the individual silver and team bronze medals in London.

At the 2016 Olympics, Cornelissen pulled out at the last minute due to concerns about Parzival’s health. He retired, but she continued to ride on other horses, most notably Governor STR, on whom she won two silvers at the World Young Horse Championships in 2017 and 2018. Her most recent successes have included victory at a 2022 Grand Prix in Meerle.