Heike is married to William Bell and has two sons, Jake and Archie.

Her family has always been closely associated with equestrian sport, both in Ireland and internationally. Her mother, Gisela Holstein, is a list one international dressage judge. Heike first sat on a pony at the age of two and, along with her younger brother Erik, went on to compete in showing and lead rein classes. She won her first Irish National Champion title in 1990 at the age of 18, and has won it 11 times since.

Heike trained with 7-time Olympic medalist Dr Reiner Klimke for many years as his only pupil. Living in Germany gave her the opportunity to travel to many shows on the European circuit and learn from one of the all-time greats of dressage.

Heike Holstein’s many achievements include being a four-time Olympian, 11-time national champion, coach to a Paralympic triple medallist, Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) tutor, and HSI Dressage Level 3 coach. While achieving all this, Heike also managed to find the time to attain an Honours degree in Business Studies from Portobello College.