Canadian Olympian and World Championship veteran Beth Underhill and the Rein Family LLC (Mark and Tara Rein) have announced they are dissolving their partnership which saw her campaigning their top jumper, Nikka VD Bisschop, as well as My Clementine and others since the beginning of 2022.
Underhill remarked, “After two and a half years of successfully partnering with the Rein family and their string of top horses, we’ve mutually decided to part ways. It’s truly been an honour to ride and represent the Canadian flag under their ownership. Thank you to the entire Rein family for the understanding and respect we’ve had for one another during our time together.
“Their support provided opportunities to compete on the world stage, including across Europe and at two major games. Riding on the Longines Global Champions Tour as part of the Rome Gladiators team was an incredible experience.”
Underhill listed some highlights of their time together. “Being double clear in the Nations’ Cup at CSIO5* in La Baule riding Dieu Merci and going on to win the Rolex Grand Prix two days later was a career highlight, as was anchoring the Canadian team with a clear in the first round of team competition at the 2022 World Championships in Herning riding Nikka vd Bisschop. With Nikka, I ended the 2022 season as the highest-ranked Canadian athlete based on clear rounds in 1.55/1.60m competition. We went on to be part of Canada’s winning team in the Wellington Nations’ Cup in 2023 and finished a close second this year.
“I am especially proud to have been a member of the silver medal team at the 2023 Pan American Games that qualified Canada for the upcoming Paris Olympics. While disappointed that I won’t be accompanying my teammates on that journey, I’m looking forward to the future and to new opportunities to support and represent the Canadian Show Jumping Team.”
Mark Rein commented simply, “We cherished our partnership with Beth and we wish her nothing but the best going forward.”
While he has confirmed that the family would like to see Nikka with a Canadian for the Olympics, no rider has been named. (According to FEI rules, because the the horse was registered under Canadian ownership as of January 15 2024, it must be ridden by an athlete of the same nationality.) Currently, Kyle Timm has been riding their very nice 11-year-old Casino Calvin and Brady Mitchell has been piloting some of the family’s hunters at WEF.
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