Heike is the daughter of Joachim Kemmer, a noted horse breeder who established Amselhof Walle, a stud that is now run by Heike. In the 1990s, Heike became the farm manager, and moved the focus of the stables from show jumping to dressage. Heike was reserve rider for the Sydney Olympics, but finally got to ride at the Athens Games in 2004, where she was 26^th individually on Bonaparte and was the discard score for the gold medal winning team. At the 2008 Games in Hong Kong, she was again a member of the gold medal team but this time took home an individual bronze, again on Bonaparte. At the WEG in Aachen, the pair were once again members of the gold medal winning German team.