About myself
"What kind of work do you do? Something with horses, isn’t it?" The sort of questions people ask you at a birthday party.
And yes, anyone searching for me on Facebook or Instagram, will find a very high 'horse factor' in my profile. With me on top, with me at their side, when they are getting sold or at horse events or auctions.
My family had nothing to do with horses, but I got the bug very early. I will never forget my first riding lesson - after having nagged them for two years - as an eight year old girl in Aalten, a small village in the east of the Netherlands.
Thanks to the support of my parents, I got my own pony when I was fourteen and started going to shows. When I was eighteen the pony was swapped for a horse.
De paardenkrant
That same year (1998) I started working for De Paardenkrant. Could I write? No. But my employers Henk and Henriëtte Rootveld taught me some tricks of the trade.
In between I rode the ponies of their children, cleaned skewbald Shetlanders for the mare selections, took the film roles to the photoshop on my scooter, checked the newspaper at the printer’s and went along to many, many shows.
There I handed out thousands of copies of De Paardenkrant, jotted down miles of notes and met a great many people.
On the way back home Henk Rootveld dictated the story he wanted published in his De Paardenkrant which I typed out on one of those heave laptops that still did floppies.
De Paardenkrant brought me to interesting places. As a reporter I attended FEI Nations Cups in Rome, La Baule, Aachen, Hickstead and Barcelona and I flew to Wellington (Florida).
Some of the highlights were the European Championships showjumping in San Patrignano (2005), the World Equestrian Games in Aachen (2006), the European Championships in Windsor (2009) and the London Olympics (2012).
In the meantime I followed all the stallion selections in the Netherlands and abroad.
What I never realised in all those years is that as a reporter you build up an immense network. At the time I felt that it was just normal that I knew a lot of people, but in retrospect I have found that these contacts made a very valuable start for my own company.
Wendy Scholten Horses
Since June 1, 2011, I run Wendy Scholten Horses, my own company. The stables got more professional, I took on jobs as a freelance author and photographer and I was approached by organisation bureau EQ International. That was the start of promoting many events, such as Outdoor Gelderland, Prinsjesdag Foal Auction, Indoor Twente and CSI Salland.
As a reporter you can do a lot for an event, but I suspected that I could do more and devoted myself to marketing and online promotion via Social Media and Google Adwords.
The success is immense and measurable! Events are attracting more visitors, foals are selling better at auctions and the number of buyers from all over the world is growing and growing.
The market and technology are on the move and that is what I try to do myself, too. "How can I do better", I constantly ask myself. Whether it is with horses or behind the computer.
The stables
And then, my horses... The start of my working day. I keep my horses at Equestrian Centre Lichtenvoorde in Vragender, just over five minutes from home. I have five of them, on average.
I never really specialised. I like to ride a good horse, whatever the discipline. On Giovanni WS (by Ampere) I ride now at Small Tour dressage level, the young showjumping horses only get their training rounds. It is unlikely that I will do a lot of winning on them, but I hope to see them back later in the big sport, after I have given them a solid basis.
Before, I mainly rode dressage and was successful with Winner (by San Remo), who later moved up to Grand Prix level. In the meantime I got to grips with showjumping. I had to get better at it and with Blom's Alina (by Tangelo van de Zuuthoeve) I jumped from BB level (80cm) to 1.40m, when she was sold and later jumped at international 1.50m level with a German rider.
support
People often ask me: 'How do you manage? All those orders, all those horses and a little boy, besides.'
That is quite simple. Without the support of my partner Ramon Koppendraaier - he is a farrier - I could not have run the company as I do now. Ramon often helps in the stables, especially when I am abroad, and he is the best father Milan could wish for.
My better half, of which I am extremely proud...