Onze instructeurs
Grace Rowley
Grace Rowley has been part of the team at the Hollandsche Manege since February 2026. Originally from the UK, Grace started riding properly at the age of seven, although her love for horses began even earlier while riding Shetland ponies at a local farm when she was just three years old.
At heart, Grace is an event rider. She loves the adrenaline and partnership that come with galloping across the countryside over big fences. Over the years she has also developed a strong passion for dressage and showjumping, competing at multiple national championships.
As an instructor, Grace especially enjoys teaching advanced dressage and jumping lessons, but she also loves helping beginners discover the joy of riding and watching their confidence grow lesson by lesson. Her teaching style is positive, energetic and active. As she says herself, she often feels like she does just as many steps as the horse during a lesson. At the same time, her background in the traditional English riding school system means she values focus, discipline and commitment in the arena.
According to Grace, one of the most important things a rider can develop is feel. Learning to truly understand what the horse is doing and creating harmony together is, in her eyes, what riding is really about. Riding is a constant conversation between horse and rider, where communication and balance play a huge role.
Choosing a favourite horse at the stable is difficult for Grace, but Mountain has a special place in her heart. Known as the gentle giant, he was also the very first horse she rode when she started at the Hollandsche Manege.
One of her funniest memories from her first weeks at the stable was accidentally bringing the wrong horse into a lesson after struggling to tell Roderik, Flanagan and Hennessy apart. A mistake many riders at the stable can probably relate to.
Outside of horses, Grace has always played competitive netball alongside riding and competing in the UK, something she has continued since moving to Amsterdam as well.
Her personal motto?
“If in doubt, take one out.”