Ingrid Klimke: Finding Success In and Out of the Saddle

*** This transcript was created by AI and has not been proofread ***

[SPEAKER 1]

Welcome to the Equestrian Connection podcast from wehorse, the online riding academy. My name’s Danielle Kroll, and I’m your host. On this week’s episode, we’re talking with Ingrid Klimke, a woman who needs no introduction, but I will summarize some of her successes regardless. Ingrid Klimke is arguably one of the most successful riders worldwide, a multi-Olympic medalist, and a successful competitor in multiple disciplines, including dressage, eventing, and show jumping. I’m so excited to welcome Ingrid to the podcast, but she’s certainly no stranger to WeHorse. Ingrid has 21 courses with us here on the WeHorse platform, with everything ranging from starting young horses to Cavaletti exercises, to advancing your dressage training, to improving your jumping, both in the ring and on the cross-country course. We’ll be talking about all that and so much more, so get ready for a great episode. I am so overjoyed to be welcoming Ingrid Klimke to the Wee Horse podcast. You’re no stranger to wehorse, but this is your first time here on the U.S. podcast, so welcome, welcome, welcome. Hello! Ingrid, how did you first become involved in equestrian sports and what initially drew you to dressage and eventing?

[SPEAKER 2]

I grew up with my father. He was, when I was young, a dressage rider, but before his first Olympics in 1960s, he competed as an event rider. So he started with eventing. What I mean, when I grew up seeing him training in dressage, competing in dressage, we still have had a racetrack, for example, around the dressage rings. There were always Cavaletti builds. All the young horses also did some show jumps or we went for hugs, condition training. So in his heart, he was still an inventor or was really often talking about his time when he was an inventor and how much the sport has changed. but he was a lawyer and he said that to be a lawyer and a rider, it’s only possible as a dress-up rider, time-wise. Otherwise, you cannot be a non-professional and have another profession.

[SPEAKER 1]

What was it like growing up in that equestrian family? A lot of people, maybe they found horses on their own, but you grew up with it. What was that like?

[SPEAKER 2]

I was very happy because my father set an aisle for his competition horses in the yard where there was also a club. What meant there were other kids in my age, they had ponies, school horses, school ponies. So there was always a gang of young girls which loved to play with ponies. And so I’ve had a pony, but was not very wolf personality. Dressagebahn, I could play with the ponies. And I think that was just the fun part. I could pedal from my home where we lived. We didn’t live at the yard, but just 10 minutes by bike away. So I felt very free to be able to just play with my ponies and saw him riding. And we went to the competitions, but we played around, for example, Aachen or Wiesbaden or all the big shows was a playground where We played behind the scenes and never went on vacations because my father was a lawyer. So for his free time and his vacation was to go to a championship or to be in Aachen and the big shows. So I have two brothers. So not always all three of us could go, but always the one who behaved best. So sometimes I was with them. Sometimes I stayed at home with the ponies was also not a bad time. But for me it was just normal to spend the weekends on the horse shows and every free weekend peddle to the horses. Everything was around the horses and I grew up in a horsey family which I really enjoyed a lot.

[SPEAKER 1]

And now as a competitor in multiple disciplines, how do you balance training and competing in both dressage and eventing? And I know that With eventing, there’s of course a large dressage component, but you are extremely successful as a dressage competitor in your own right. So how do you balance bringing in all of those different aspects of the discipline?

[SPEAKER 2]

When I was young, first I played with the ponies, then I was a young rider and had the chance to jump with Fritz Ligges, who was a friend of my father’s in the earlier days. He competed in eventing and in jumping at the Olympics. And so for me it was always the joy to do everything. I enjoyed dressage, yes, but I also wanted to jump and then I started eventing and first I wanted to become a teacher and not do the horse as a business, horse as business, but in the beginning of my 30s I decided to become a teacher is too much time waste. I prefer become a riding teacher and continue and I never ever had to decide luckily because I always have had some dressage, some eventers, some youngsters, some jumpers and it always depends on the horses I have had. So they pretty much all do the same. Some ask for example, do you do a big difference in the training? But not really because all of my horses go on pasture, all of the horses do Cavaletti work. It doesn’t matter if it is a young dressage, a young eventer or a young We don’t know, maybe a jump or he will tell us in the end of six. And so the other days for sure, there is a focus for the dressage horses when they are later, I would say after six, seven, eight for sure, then more and more they jump just a little bit for fun. But all the dressage horses do completely jumping. They go for hugs, they do the water training. If we have a room free, we take them to the hill because I think it’s important also for the dressage horses that they gain strength, become a happy athlete, what means they must do a variety of other things. Otherwise, when they are 16, I’m not so sure if they like to do pierre passage and purets if you do it too much and it’s not a present for them anymore. And with the eventus, for sure the condition training in the green season is counting The schedule is counting for the schedule because you have to plan every four to six days your gallop work. But all around, they do dress-ups, they do cabalete, they jump a bit. So when we do, for example, when we set up some jumps, then everybody’s jumping. And the good thing is that there are not enough weekends that you can compete them all every weekend.

[SPEAKER 1]

So

[SPEAKER 2]

The dressage horses, sometimes in the summer when the eventus have a little bit more, don’t compete that often, but they train them at home. There are a lot of pastures, they do a lot of harks. And as soon as the eventus, after the green season, which is always October, November, December, where they take a time off, I do a lot of dressage and have all the youngsters dressage coming up again. And they do winter work, winter work, get onto the next level. So for me, I really love it because this green season is only from April to October and then in the winter, like last winter, I could join the wonderful shows for the World Cup qualifiers where the eventers just took a little bit easy work at home.

[SPEAKER 1]

Are you feeling inspired by this conversation with Ingrid Klimka? Good news! Here at WeHorse.com, we have 21 online courses with Ingrid that covers everything from starting a young horse, to advancing your dressage movements, to eventing, and more. Check out WeHorse.com for a free 7-day trial to get started. And as a member, you get access to everything in our WeHorse library to watch whenever you want. Also, we have an app, which means that you can download a course or a video to watch without Wi-Fi, which is perfect for those days at the barn when you want a quick dose of training inspiration before your ride. So what are you waiting for? Go to WeHorse.com and check out our free seven day trial to access our WeHorse library and see if it’s a good fit for you. And start training with Ingrid Klimka and a variety of other trainers. We can’t wait to see you in there. And now back to the episode.

[SPEAKER 2]

So I must really say it only for sure works if you have a wonderful, wonderful team at home. What means when I’m gone with the one group, the other ones are at home, they are lunch, they do a little bit of hacking, they have their free day, they do a little bit of basic work. And then when I come back, they are ready to work again. Because anyway, you don’t work them day by day by day, or not me, always do the same thing. I always change my daily program. I sometimes do, I would never do three days in a day, three days in a row dressage, because I know it wouldn’t be any better. I mean, if I try to explain somebody the flying change, I do it, I do it once over Cavalletti, and then I do it again. And then I play around. And he will, I will try to explain it to him, but maybe in a little bit of variety ways. And so I think they all enjoy it, because They are as much as they can outside on the pasture. Also in the winter they like to be out as much as they want, or they have the chance to go out as much as they want. And they always have their breaks which are sometimes also longer than one or two weeks. Sometimes they get a four weeks or six weeks where I say this is just happiness. And they play around, they also go on hikes a lot then. or on the racetrack a little bit, do condition training, but not mentally and physically work so hard that I look in a long-term process that I want to have my horses healthy and happy when they are 14, 15, 16. Absolutely.

[SPEAKER 1]

I love that. I love the variety for them. It’s such a full, fulfilling life for them. Yeah. And for me too. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. It’s definitely not boring.

[SPEAKER 2]

If I only would go to dress-up shows, I know very much that I would be, I really love to be in the nature and I love to walk horses or to pedal the courses. I love to live in the lorry beside the horses, put them on a little paddock beside the lorry and be with the horses, be in nature, be out. in company with the horses in the nature. And in the dress up, you have to be, it’s just a different discipline. You have to be very focused and very quiet. And the day is good filled with good eating and sleeping and resting and focusing.

[SPEAKER 1]

So I’m ready for the next adventure when the adventure is coming. And so when you’re bringing the young horses along, like what qualities or different things do you see in them that you think, okay, this one is telling me it wants to be a dressage horse or this one’s telling me it wants to be an event or like, is there anything that stands out to you that you kind of use as a guideline?

[SPEAKER 2]

Yes. If you want to have a top quality dressage horses, there are so good horses out there from breeding and from quality. And if you really, perhaps a big dream to bring him up to the top, then it must be three good gates. If they don’t have a walk, I mean, you can maybe have an ordinary walk, but better you have a good walk because you cannot change the walk. And later, if it counts, if the marks are very close, there’s somebody who is walking from nature for a nine or an eight, you would have the six and seven if you count it together. You can ride as good as you want, but there are other horses out with a quality. Same as with Kenta. The better the Kenta, the better the period will be, the changes will be, the quality will be. And if you think of Piaf Passage, the most important thing is that you have very good hind legs. They must step energetic under the center of gravity with a good rhythm. Because this rhythm, you have a trot. Piaf is just trot on the spot. So if they have a good shot, I look for it. I wouldn’t look for the very most extension because if a horse learns Pierre Passage and collect more, then the extension will be always good enough. But I look for the good hind leg and the rhythm. And also for the confirmation because if you have a horse which is really downhill or has the hind legs far away, It always has to work harder than another one, which from nature can sit, can sit on the hind legs, can sit on the hops, have it easy to dance, have it easy to do a pirouette. They love to do it because for them it’s not hard work. You see that they can carry themselves. And if you look for a long run and want the horse for a long run dance with you in the ring, then you must look early that from confirmation there’s not a huge, huge problem. And this is hard to find because the youngsters are already on the stallion breeding and you see top horses. And on the other hand, when they are two, I have a hard time to see it when I not sit on them. I really want to feel it. I want to feel also as much as I can about the character. Is he a joyer who gives everything for you and is a little bit hot or positive forward or is he a little bit lazy and it takes you always quite an effort. Horses which I wouldn’t choose are a little bit hot-blooded or somebody will really weigh a little bit on the border to say will he be an inventor or will he be a dresser while he is so full of himself, so smart, so quick thinking. And in the long run there’s quick thinking and the character will say okay I’m ready. I love, I look forward or I love what you do. I’m interested in working and learn new things. It helps you a lot. So I would never buy a horse from the video or from not having sit on it because I need the feeling. Very seldom I got a horse and said, you know what, it might be a wonderful horse, but I feel him too lazy. I don’t feel this energy and I have so much energy. So the energy part must be together. Where other riders might say, Oh, he’s a wonderful men’s horse. And I don’t want somebody who is so crazy. So it always has to match together. If you look for a horse, you must feel the horse and you must have the connection. Because in the way of bringing a horse up, there are lots of ups and downs. And in the downs, you must still believe in your horse. Everybody else can say he will not be good enough. I don’t care, but I must have the trust and the feeling. I think this is the really top sportler. And yes, at the moment, maybe a phase where nobody other can see it, but I feel it.

[SPEAKER 1]

Yeah.

[SPEAKER 2]

Let’s say a little bit like this. And with the inventors, it’s quite, um, I think it’s much easier because for sure they need stamina. And I really like Therabat because they still have to run fast and even fast and collect because for the technical elements they must slow down and show jumping canter and they must be able to really speed up for very fast canter to make, to ride in time later. You need a good jumper who’s careful because nowadays if you have a rail down or two you are off the podium. So a good jumper is important, but in the dressage you can do everything. If it has not such a good walk, I don’t care. If the canter is flat, I would say it’s super, it’s economic, it doesn’t waste time when we run fast. So I don’t need this uphill dressage canter. Where I would look for is a dressage horse. And in the event you really can form very well in the way of making it. I always think a good horse were made by the rider. And in event you can really form to become a good horse, especially he can do a good dressage. If he is a good show jumper and careful, you can always ride the quality of jumping. What is not like in a top jumping, in the pure discipline jumping, the height we have, you can do with a good jumper every time. And in cross country the same, there’s so much with confidence. So the horse you will build up trustfully, jump in the water, later you will learn the water and ditches and all the things. It really has to do with trust and the bond you have with your horse. So an event, you never know. I also have had, for example, an event where I thought, oh, he’s a super jumper, but he was much too careful. So in the end of six, I said, I think he must be in the jumping spot because he doesn’t, still doesn’t like water. He over jumps everything and is too careful. So you waste so much time. And I just feel it’s not his sport doing cross country, but he’s so happy in the jumping ring. And then I gave him to a jumper or sell him as a jumper and know he is there in his special, um, what he loves to do most.

[SPEAKER 1]

Yeah. Yeah. And now in terms of like the trust and the connection, like obviously that is extremely important, especially in things like eventing. Um, and. When you approach building the trust of a horse or building the connection with the horse, how do you go about that? Is it spending time with them? Is it with the regular rides? How do you approach connection?

[SPEAKER 2]

I wish my day would be double long because then what I would like to do is I would start with some grooming. I would start with some horsemanship. I would spend more time with them than with me on the saddle because For example, in the morning I feel I’m the girl in the saddle or the rider who explains and building the trust from on top. But you must have, it’s only possible with me because I have Carmen, who is my head girl in the barn, who checks every horse, who knows exactly, is he happy? Is he happy in the stall? Does he like to be outside with his friend or the other friend? Do you feel that He needs more attention. Some horses doesn’t need so much attention. Some horses are happy if they are out on pasture with their friends. And if you come, they keep running away because I said I don’t need to. Some others really need the person on the ground very much and need to get the confidence there. So it must be always the same clear red line for the horse, the same clear path that the horse knows if I do something right, brav, pet him and say you’re on the right way, whatever they do. If they should stand still in the wash stall, they must stand still and not fall around. If we load them, they know they’re on the lorry, so they do it fine. If not, okay, we keep being behind them until they do it. So they must, in the barn, in the barn and on the right, they have the same guideline, which gives them confidence and trust if they do something right. If not, We explain it again. And the most important thing is that you are really patient and know this really will take time. A horse needs to repeat, learns repetition. And if the horse, if you ask something, explain him something, but he does, he gives the wrong answer. Don’t beat him because he has given an answer. It was the wrong answer, but he doesn’t know it’s wrong. So you ignore it. You think about, what can I do better as a rider? Because I’m sitting on him trying to explain him how he can do a proper can-to-walk transition, for example, with no walk step in between, with not falling on his shoulders, and with doing it in a very nice rhythm. So I as a rider, me as a rider, walk, think about, OK, what can I change? What can I do? Maybe the half on a little bit more clear before to say, sit, sit, sit, walk. And then the horse realizes, okay, there are three hoppers now. And when it’s good, right away, pet him. All my horses know if I say, brav, and crawl them, gives them a little scratch on the neck, they go, and then they walk. And it’s quite funny because then you teach them the change, and the moment you say, brav, they walk. And then you have to explain them, no, now we can do it, but we have to keep going because there’s more coming. There’s one change. Now we look for the fourth or the three. But the horse must really, every horse wants to please the riders. Every horse gives his very best. And if they can’t do it, there is a reason. Either they have had a bad experience or they have a health problem or they have just a bad day. Sometimes you would like to ask them. Why is it not working? Although I have tried so many different things now, but I cannot get the answer I want. Then you go the next day and all of a sudden the horse presents you a wonderful change and is waiting for the bath. And you say, yes. So I think it’s, it’s really so much fun. And it’s, it gives you such a, or me, I feel so privileged after so many years now, I have had so many wonderful horses where I learned so much from. and still keep learning and still you start with the youngsters. And I think it’s the best thing. I love what I do for me. It’s the best thing. I recover if I sit on a horse. If there’s something not going so well, I sit on a horse and try it again. And if he does something good, I’m happy and try to show him the happiness, show him that he was winning the big prize of Aachen, although there was no Aachen at home, but you must really tell your horse. I’m so sure every horse feels your emotion. If you sit on the horse thinking about something else and the telephone rings and you walk, the horse is somewhere else too, because you are not connected with your horse. But if you really sit on your horse, feel into your horse, if you really try to be five, six seconds ahead, not wait till the horse gives the wrong answer or does a fault or a mistake. You must before think about how can I help him and support him that he can do it. And if he does it, you say, super boy, and he will be proud. And if you do this step by step, year by year, they know exactly, I would say every horse of mine knows when I’m on them, right away they are up.

[SPEAKER 1]

Even if

[SPEAKER 2]

The day before they were hugged and maybe they’d go and say, oh, they were a little lazy or they were a little chilled. I think, great, let them chill with you. And as soon as I hop on them, they are like, ready for the next adventure.

[SPEAKER 1]

Where’s the fence? What do we do?

[SPEAKER 2]

And this is what I really want them to enjoy.

[SPEAKER 1]

I love that. I think that that, I mean, people can take so much away from that. And as simple as, you know, to be clear is to be kind. And yeah, I just, I love that. So goal setting, obviously you are somebody that does not shy away from setting goals, you know, having accomplished many. How do you approach, do you have like a plan in place of the way that you set goals for yourself and the way that maybe you set goals for your horses? What does that look like?

[SPEAKER 2]

I pretty much sit down at Christmas or let’s start a little bit earlier, often after the season, when the season is done in October, I go with Carmen through the barn and I’m thinking, how was the development of the horse, of each horse individually, thinking what has gone very well, where was the weak point, and often with the youngsters, I keep going for quite a while, even if other people say, oh, he’s not good enough, or why do you choose this one? Or I say, let me keep going. But then I look in the mirror and say, Is he really a top sportler or is he maybe a better young rider junior’s horse? Is it worth to keep going through the winter work and for the next season? Or do we better say we sell him? It’s very seldom we sell him, but sometimes I have to be more clear. I always go sometimes too long, I would say, but I very seldom give up or don’t feel like give up. feel that I do the right decision for the horse, let’s say like this. And then we know which one will go in the Winterberg. So from November to March, I have pretty much my plan what I want to explain them this next winter or what next step they learn that they come one class higher. And then I sit at my plan around January. and start thinking about which horse would be which aim for the season. Who wants to qualify for what, or who doesn’t qualify for anything because he needs another working, learning year from the youngsters. And then we start making the dressage plan, the eventing plan, then we put it together. And then sometimes we scratch a bit because I say who is now first from the priority, always the championships horses first. And then I look for maybe some gaps where I say, okay, we leave it open here. If it works well, we enter him there. If I feel he needs more time, we put him a little bit more back for the rest of the season, for later months. And then it’s really great because you have this wonderful plan on the board. You start in April and you already change because the show is stretched. The horse lost a shoe and half of the foot is gone and you have to decide to give him a break. So I think it’s as a trainer or as a rider or living my life, you have to be, you have to make a good plan. But more important is that you are very flexible and don’t feel stressed if plan A is not going because of plan B, C, D. And if you then look back, you find out that was really very interesting how we ended up and who all of a sudden went far better than we expect or who needs another time. So yeah, you have to be very flexible and really feel and look into your horse.

[SPEAKER 1]

And what do you mean by that, to look into your horse?

[SPEAKER 2]

For example, this was one thing with the shoe, it’s pretty obvious that the shoe is, you lost the shoe and half of the foot is gone, hoof is gone, you need to wait. But sometimes All of a sudden, I really feel that she’s so nervous, that she looks skinner, she’s much more skinny, she’s much more nervous. That was a good example. I sometimes like to go for hunting with the youngster because I think it’s a good experience. And the one mare, she was good in the hunting, but she was hotter and hotter and she stopped eating and she She looked more thinner and it was just not the right thing for her because she was too nervous for this or it was too much for her. And I thought for the other one it was perfect. So instead of keeping going and say we follow the whole hunting season because I love to hunt, I just say no. She has done it now three times. It’s not good for her health. It’s not good for her recovering in the winter. This is my fun part, but maybe it’s not good for the horse. So I look at the horse. or I speak with Carmen, I must say, if I say, I look, I always can say, Carmen and me, because Carmen and me are very double-checked. She looks at the horse in the stable, or I come in the morning and she says, I doubt a little bit he has that, or I ask, oh, was he very tired after yesterday? She says, not at all, he’s fresh. It doesn’t seem to have bothered him if he had done a really work out. So we have to, I double-check because I can’t do it myself, otherwise I would have only half of the horses, but to be able to have, for example, at the moment I have six in each discipline. So I have six here, six there, 12 in training and two who are coming and going. But that is quite an amount of horses if you want to really check and make sure that everybody is on the path.

[SPEAKER 1]

What means

[SPEAKER 2]

If Kam checks him and says he’s ready for the next work, go for it. If she says she was quite tired and I look at her, I think maybe we do this week a little bit less, she needs a little bit more recovery than the other one. You can’t say it with feet. I have several horses where I start, for example, as a five-year-old. For four years, they have had the same feet, the same blacksmiths, the same training, but they’re totally different. You can’t say because you have him in your barn is treating the same, they are the same. Because it’s most important is that you find out what kind of personality it is. Is it somebody who worries a lot, who is very sensitive, who maybe from outside you wouldn’t realize, but from inside you feel, phew, there’s quite much going on. And the other one you think, oh, he’s so lazy, but not. He is quite not thinking, but he’s just slow. He’s slow in everything. So you can’t say he’s stupid. He’s just slower or he needs more time. And for me, the most interesting thing is what kind of personality, what kind of guy is he or she. The dominant males, if you explain them once what they have to do, they know forever. Sometimes the cestallians, I always find out, they keep asking again and again. And I have to sometimes explain to them a few times that they still behave, even in the breeding season, and there are mares around, you still stay on your place. But with the mare, very quickly, if you have a leading mare, it’s the best, because they are the queen. They know exactly what they want, what they do. You have to just make them keep going and carry other things. It’s like my horse, Asha. She is such a queen. She is a queen in the barn and knows exactly that everybody is running behind her, telling her how wonderful she is.

[SPEAKER 1]

It’s funny. I have a dominant mare like that and she just has this like cool confidence about her. Like nothing phases her because she knows, well, I’m going to, you know, whatever. She’s just, she’s cool, calm and collected. And I think, man, I want to be like you. You know, here I am, here I come. Everybody realizes I’m here. Exactly. Yes. So now for those of us who don’t have a Carmen, you know, um, that whether we’re at a boarding stable or I have our horses at home, and of course we don’t have as many horses as you do. But, um, if we have, let’s say one horse or two horses or three, and looking at the management of them. So there’s a lot of technology out there now that you can keep track of their horses day to day. Whether it’s my horse was acting this way or my horse looked this way or whatever it may be. Do you have any technology that you use or training methods or anything like that that has really started to change your approach of your day to day?

[SPEAKER 2]

Maybe I’m a little bit old-fashioned, but I trust my feelings and I trust my intonation. Because if I look at a horse or if I’m with a horse, I feel pretty much, or if I trot a horse, I look where he is not 100% sound. You can have it on an app and the app will tell you, okay, he trots on the left front or right hind or whatever. It’s good that you see it on the app, but it’s more important that you see it yourself too, because you’re sitting on the horse. I don’t do this with the app looking if a horse is not fine or not. What I do is, what I think is very interesting, is that we take blood when we canter, or blood after the cross country, and we look at the lactate. Do you know what lactate is? Lactate in German. Lactate in English.

[SPEAKER 1]

Lactate is… We have lactic, L-A-C-T-I-C. Yes. Yeah, okay.

[SPEAKER 2]

And then you… take it again after 30 minutes and then you see how much it went down and you also must see it individually because some horses have a very low and it gets lower some have a little bit high which you can’t compare with a horse who has it a little bit lower from nature but individually you find out and see oh i thought he is very fit but the lactate was quite high so Then I’m thinking about my condition training. Do I have to do a little bit more? Because it looks as if it was too long in the anaerobic area. With the cantering, you need in your training, in your canter training, a little bit of anaerobic to build it up. But you don’t want, you want to build it up like this and goes down, then you make the next canter and up. So if you are too low, it’s not good. If you’re too long up, it’s also not good. So this is something we do with all the horses and we also look at the heart rate. We have a girth where we can see it. The heart rate is not that important for me. Then the lactate measurement also after a competition and 30 minutes later. And I have had it, for example, a few years ago, there was a man who was very high, was always much lower, and I thought there must be something wrong. And she really has had a lung infection, which we didn’t know before. But after that, we checked her and said there must be something wrong. Let’s check the blood, let’s check the lungs. There must be something with the condition because she was never that high. And sometimes they don’t feel so tired because they have so much adrenaline and it’s competition. So if the spirit is high, they overrun it and you maybe don’t feel it. But if you see it later, you can check and then find out, oh, there was something wrong. That really helps me a lot, but I’m very much, I do a plan also for my Canterburg, for example, that I know, okay, here’s my interval. I do three intervals. I know my competition will be 15 minutes, 10 minutes, for example. So 10 minutes will be the four star long in the date. So I know that I want to two or three times before, canter 15 minutes in three intervals. Because I want to be over it, have them extremely fit three weeks before, not a week before, so they can recover and then come back. I have them top fit at the long format. So I do pretty, I have my system and my plan, but then I go to the hill and it’s rock hard because it hasn’t rained. So I never would do it or it’s raining crazy or I feel of the last competition was tougher than I expected. I go a day later. So again, um, I, I write it down and put it then in my calendar. I know what I wanted to do, but I know exactly what I did. And then later you also find out that there’s a little bit of, um, flexibility. Often people ask me, can you write me down a plan? exactly plan how long, how many minutes, how many minutes between.

[SPEAKER 1]

Do you trot or walk?

[SPEAKER 2]

I said trot or walk is the same. If I go downhill and feel it’s easy for the horse, fluent, I trot. But if you feel, oh, it’s, he’s stumbling and he’s not happy with going down, I walk. So the same thing with horses, because if you have 10 horses, you have 10 different ones, 10 different types, 10 different health, 10 different You can’t, for me it’s very hard, I often try to make it a little bit open that I say, oh, I can do it between four and six days. Sometimes four, sometimes five, later six, but something in between. If you want to be a good rider and a good trainer, you must have for sure knowledge about why you do it, what you do, how you do it, for sure, all of it, very important. And then your feeling is important. Because you don’t have a tennis racket, you don’t have a ball, you have a horse. And you must look at your horse, feel into your horse, and try to find out if my plan is also his plan.

[SPEAKER 1]

Yeah, that’s a good point. And I think, too, like you had mentioned, for example, the training plan. you know, you can have a plan in place, but like you said, there’s so many variables that get thrown in because of the horse. And then also looking at, okay, but why are we doing this? So why are we doing the Cavaletti work today, for example, or, you know, I don’t think my horse is up for it today and knowing that, so I have to veer away from the plan. And like you said, that’s, that’s really important to have that intuition and to have that feeling. Yeah. Yeah.

[SPEAKER 2]

And when you only have one horse, It’s wonderful because you have another job. You go to your one horse. He’s winning. You can groom him and enjoy it. It’s like a massage. You get everything off your head because you are with your horse. And if you ride, you come home and have a happiest person because everything is gone from your work. So I think a horse gives you so much happiness or relaxation when you go grazing or when you go to the fields and see them grazing. and groom them and just spend time with your horse. Then you have the connection, you know exactly which points he likes and which points some horses like it, some not. But if you have one, two, three horses, make sure, I think some things are important, if you don’t have time to be all day with your horse, make sure he’s enough out that he can, because every horse loves to be out, enough good hay, nice company with other horses which they like and then if you don’t come they are happy on the pasture if you come it’s fine but if you want to have a happy horse and you feel happy as a rider or trainer then make sure that you try as much as to think how it would feel in nature where the horse comes from. I don’t know if in America all the horses get enough out but sometimes here I wish that dressage horses can spend more time on bigger pastures because they are always very afraid that they hurt themselves.

[SPEAKER 1]

Yeah, absolutely. It’s meeting their basic needs. My horses, I have them here at home and they live out 24-7 with the option to go into the barn. And they are happy as happy could be. You know, so it’s I truly believe in that as well, is the option of A, you know, of course, meeting their basic needs, but having them to truly feel like a horse.

[SPEAKER 2]

Yes, that’s what I want to say. You can explain it much better. That was my English.

[SPEAKER 1]

Thank you. You explained it. I just summarized it. Very good. Super. I learned a lot. So can you share some of the more memorable moments of your career? I’m sure there’s been lots, but are there any that have stood out to you?

[SPEAKER 2]

From my youth on, I must say, when my father won with Alaric in Los Angeles, unfortunately, my brother was there, not me. But I watched it on the television. But I was quite young and didn’t know what this meant to become individual and team medalist. Then later in 88, I was in Seoul on his last Olympics and saw him winning the team medal and decided that he was always counting in Olympic medals or Olympic years. And then I start also thinking that would be wonderful to also take part of the Olympics and compete with the best. And my first Olympic games were 2000 in Sydney. with my sleep late with my brace therapist. And I was very excited. I thought this course was the toughest I ever have seen and yet definitely not ridden. And he went so well, he round in time. And I know exactly that moment that I was very emotional also because my father died much too early, 99, was only being 63. So I knew that always his wish was that one of his kids compete at the Olympics. So this first Olympics was definitely the most emotional. But then I was there followed four more because I was now on five Olympics and each one was different, but each one is very, very special because you never know when you make it to the next four in the next four years. Do you have the next house ready? So I feel very privileged that I already could take part of the Olympics. But there are also some other moments like I competed once with my Bruxy, with my small little theropod. He was the winner of the gold team in London and in Beijing, in Hong Kong. So two years in a row, I competed on the Olympics with him. And then I decided to do burly. But Birdie was the highest ever I’ve seen and walked. And I wasn’t so sure if he can make it or if we can make it surviving. But then Chris Bartle came and said, try, go for it. You can every time hold your hand and go home, but you are ready and do it. And he was, yeah, he was just flying over this course. He was fast like a rabbit. And when I came to finish, I thought no horse can jump or give you more confident and go because he did it. And I decided in that moment, when I came to the pinch, I decided that I will retire him and give him to my daughter Greta as a schoolmaster, because he was so fit and healthy. But I thought no horse can do more for you. Or for me, it was like, now he has given it all. And becoming fourth in Burleigh was like when he got an individual medal. So I never will forget that moment, really, for sure. But there were also so many other moments, like when we go for hugs or when you school the youngsters and all of a sudden you realize they have learned something very difficult or when it took them a while. Sometimes it’s not the ribbon or the medal. Sometimes it’s the day at home where I think, I mean, what a great, what a great moment that Yeah, out here in the nature and the horses giving its best, very, very best. And nobody was there, but I was there.

[SPEAKER 1]

I felt it.

[SPEAKER 2]

So I think working with the horses for so many years, I was so privileged to get to know also so wonderful trainers like my father, then Paul Stecken, then I was with Chris Bartle and with Hans Melzer. And then now I can learn from Johnny Hilberath, from the German Dressage Bundestrainer.

[SPEAKER 1]

so much.

[SPEAKER 2]

He gave me another, I would say in the last two years, he gave me really another step up in bringing piaf passage and purets, much more in the dressage, top quality one and not in my easy one. But I still have the privilege to learn and have so many wonderful moments where I enjoy learning with the horses.

[SPEAKER 1]

And now what about the opposite? Are there any moments like throughout your career that have been hard and that you’ve, you know, maybe overcome something and had like a big learning moment?

[SPEAKER 2]

There was again, I think Bruxy, that little black half-sitter brat learned me a lot because he was not a good jumper. And I got him after, or when I tried him, also my jumping trainer and also My feeling was that he’s maybe not the best jumper, but maybe we can, he will learn. But then I learned the lesson that he will not learn because he didn’t know that for me, the cross country was my favorite. Yes, he was super in dressage, wonderful in cross country, overnight leader. And then it came to the last phase, show jumping, and he just knocked down how much he just felt like If it was one or two later, I was happy. In the beginning, I was hoping for a clear round. Then I was happy with one, maybe two. But there were the German Championships, the European Championships 2011 in Lomé, overnight leader, also with the team. I was last to go in. Luckily, we still at that time had so many rails ahead, in hand. But it was horrible because he started knocking down fence number three, four, five, six, and I kept counting. And later I looked at the board and it was 24 penalties. And I was under shock because luckily the team still won, out of one more rail. But I really was so frustrated that I thought, will I really keep going? Or why is he doing it? I mean, he’s my best friend. He can’t let me down so much. Then I decided, then I realized, he’s still my friend, but he doesn’t know that he has to just be more careful. For him, it was just knocking a fence down was easier. And sometimes he did it, sometimes not.

[SPEAKER 1]

You never could tell.

[SPEAKER 2]

But it was a very good learning lesson that you as a rider, you can try as much as you can, but you can’t really change a horse completely. Or you can’t do miracles. I think I’m a good trainer, yes, because I do it now so many years with different horses, but I can’t do miracles as things which you have to accept that the horse just is not able to do it or doesn’t know that he has to do it in this moment. And then I was very thankful later that I have it because I was a team member in London Olympics. He brought me to badminton twice, to burley. I could so many competitions. I could compete while he has the biggest heart in the world. So with the horses you don’t fly too high because you always get down to the bottom. On the way up you be very nice to everybody because you will go the way down. Hopefully up again but you all meet them and the horses will tell you. That was definitely for me the most experience as being a trainer and a rider to be thankful to have the horse even with weaknesses and the last very very sad moment was last year Bobby I competed in Patoni in the four star he was so ready full of himself he came through the winter okay he was 17 then but he came through the winter totally healthy I competed and all of a sudden after the water I felt that there’s something wrong and he was really lame and there was a tendon breaking down. It was horrible because first of all, he had so much pain. Then you feel so guilty. Then you ask, maybe haven’t we seen something? How could I have had avoided it? And there were so many questions. Can we bring him home? Will he survive this? Now he survived it and is happy on his pasture one year later. But it was a real doubt. For sure, he’s 17. He felt it’s all what he loved to do, but maybe should have had to retire him when he was 16 after he did Super Europeans. So you never know when it’s the best time to retire. But this was definitely a moment where I was quite sad for not only for quite a while and doubting and questioning. And yes, I was very, very sad.

[SPEAKER 1]

Yeah, we tend to take things really personally as equestrians. But, I mean, he’s happy and retired, so… Yeah, that’s good.

[SPEAKER 2]

He survived his retirement and is enjoying it.

[SPEAKER 1]

Yes, yeah, absolutely. And now, what about the pressure? Do you ever feel pressure to maintain you know, a certain level or a certain status or, you know, anything like that, that you have gotten yourself to. Does it feel like, oh gosh, I have to stay there?

[SPEAKER 2]

No, because when I was young, I grew up, I always tell my girls now, because I said, if you are good, there will other people say for sure they are good because it’s the daughter of what they said to me when I was good as a young writer or early when I was my youth, I said, for sure, because she’s a daughter of Reine Klimke. If I was not good, the people would say, for Reine Klimke’s daughter, she must be much better. So, I mean, I really try to not listen to what others say, because some would say, or everybody has his opinion. For me, it’s more important that my inner circle, my very good friends or my really family, we speak open out and say, well, is this horse really the quality you need? Or is it good to retire Bruxy that time? For example, it was my intermission. I was very happy about it, but I would ask really good friends, which I trust. But I try to really say, I do what I love. That’s why I’m doing it. And as long as I feel fit and healthy and have those wonderful horses, I keep going. So many people ask, would you become a trainer?

[SPEAKER 1]

How long will you ride?

[SPEAKER 2]

I said, no idea because the horses will tell me or my body will tell me. But as long as I really enjoy it so much and have wonderful horses, a wonderful team, super horse owners, wonderful sponsors, why should I now say I’ll retire in five years or two or 10? So I try to pretty much say I live now. I live now with the horses and the team and the wonderful people I have around me now and there will come a change and then I maybe have to change I have to look back or look from outside and think what can we do better or what is now the way I want to go or because I for sure love teaching and I also like to do clinics but at the moment There’s more writing, less clinics. Maybe there will be some students and clinics more one day. And I also like to do it. But at the moment, being a mother and a writer, I prefer spending time with my family and my daughters and also want to take some weekends off or have time for vacation. That’s why I do it so little. But maybe one day there will come a path where I say, no, I go in this direction or in that. It’s important, I think, that you live now. know exactly what you do and why you’re doing it and enjoy it and other times will come.

[SPEAKER 1]

Yeah, absolutely. You have, throughout this entire interview, given boatloads of really, really, really good advice. But is there anything for aspiring equestrians of any age, of any level, any advice that you would give?

[SPEAKER 2]

First of all, you must really work hard. Because even if you are very talented and have a very good horse, you must really work hard. You must know seven days a week you have to take care and a whole year round. And sometimes I love it, but I know that I can’t do everything. You have to scratch some things out of the calendar and know, okay, then I can’t join every party. And often I miss barbecues on the weekends because I’m in the horse shop. But if I have a horse, I want to compete. So I know often the youth that I feel they want to do everything. And it’s hard because you must set a priority, work hard, go for it. And then you must trust yourself, really believe in yourself, believe in your horse and be patient. It really takes time. I think especially nowadays where everything goes quick or also through Facebook, Instagram, you see all the others do wonderful things, you think that everybody is better, everybody has more wonderful horses, or I don’t know what. Really enjoy your horse, enjoy your life. It’s wonderful. And do what you do. If you realize maybe this is not my horse, but my parents want it, or somebody else gives this horse to me and wants you to make a superstar, but you don’t have the connection, you can’t do it. Follow your dreams, trust your heart, and you will be happy. And your horse too.

[SPEAKER 1]

That’s great advice. I love that. Ingrid, apart from horses and the sport, what do you like to do for fun? What other interests or hobbies do you have? Or maybe if you had, hypothetically, double the amount of time in the day, what would you also do?

[SPEAKER 2]

I love to go on the beach, I must say. I really love to go. We have a little island called Baltum. It’s very small. You can walk around it with your dog, no cars. And you have one pizza and one ice cream. Everything is only once there. You don’t have a choice. And just spend a few days. It gives me, I recharge my batteries. I just wander around with my family or friends and I often go if I feel I’m too much horsey I love to go with my school friends for example four days visit my friend in Rome be totally in this culture wonderful city and come back and really love to ride and I feel I miss my riding but I often do these short trips which I really enjoy and once a year I go with Pferdesafari and do a horse safari and discover the new country. Most Africa, I must say, I mean, I love Africa, but meet wonderful people, be out in the nature. There’s no connection to VLAN, handy. I put my, shut off my mobile phone for a week, no message and enjoy it so much and really feel, feel so relieved or know that I need it because often in my day it’s really a schedule day by day and show by show. We are very busy. I’m very busy, full of energy.

[SPEAKER 1]

I love it.

[SPEAKER 2]

But I need I know I need my breaks. Otherwise, you can’t. Otherwise, I know I would be too exhausted. So I and for me, friends, my family, my friends are very important. So it doesn’t matter if we say, come on, we meet at the pub or if we say we go to a concert or just in the cinema, do something different.

[SPEAKER 1]

I’m open for everything.

[SPEAKER 2]

I love to read a book sometimes, because then you really also have to calm down and be in another story. And I wish I would have more time for it. But when I do it, I really enjoy it. So I would really try to be open for everything what life gives me.

[SPEAKER 1]

It’s like balance. I just get like everything that you’ve mentioned, I feel like of of this entire discussion has come down to like a overall sense of balance. Yes.

[SPEAKER 2]

Balance and come back to be you.

[SPEAKER 1]

Yeah. Yeah. I love that. We have a few WeHorse specific questions that we ask every podcast guest. So they’re kind of like a rapid fire. Don’t think too hard about them. And the first one is, do you have a motto or a favorite saying?

[SPEAKER 2]

A motto or favorite?

[SPEAKER 1]

saying.

[SPEAKER 2]

I think a motto is really that I love what I do. And sometimes if I doubt if it’s really right what I do, I say, why are you doing it? Because you love to be with horses.

[SPEAKER 1]

So you’re here and not somewhere else.

[SPEAKER 2]

So make sure that you know exactly what is good for you. So sometimes I say I really follow my dreams.

[SPEAKER 1]

And

[SPEAKER 2]

I think it’s also good that you have your dreams and you follow them, you are here and live now. And don’t worry too much what happens if, because any worries will come. You every time worry about what happens if. And also, there’s one thing I really learned from Chris Barton. Don’t look back.

[SPEAKER 1]

It’s history.

[SPEAKER 2]

It’s history the moment it’s one day behind you. If you worry and worry and think what would have been if I would have, it does take so much energy, positive energy, really look forward, optimistic forward. And if you at the moment, feel miserable, but for sure, I also do. Sometimes I’m really tired. Sometimes I doubt sometimes I’m miserable. But then I try to look What is the positive thing today? What do I see what I love? Blue sky, is the sun there? I hear the horse whinnying, isn’t it a wonderful sound? But really try to look positive forward.

[SPEAKER 1]

The second one is, who’s the most influential person in your equestrian career? And I know there’s been a lot for you, so you can kind of give a couple.

[SPEAKER 2]

I already set a couple for sure. My father, my father and also my mother, who is now helping me looking. Then there was Paul Stecken. What was the math? He became 100. And after my father’s death, he helped me for the next 10 years. And then there were really super trainers like Chris Bartlett already said and Hans Meltzer now. And then there’s Kurt Gravemeyer in jumping and now Johnny Hilbratt in dressage. So I always, I would say, I’m pretty open to all kinds of trainers and also for horsemanship. I mean, I really like to learn more about it, to play with the horses. And there were several trainers like Peter Kreinbeck from the, or Linda Tillich-Jones from the T-Touch. I also got to know from my father, so it doesn’t need only to be trainers from from riding, but also from the way they treat horses or they influence horses. And they are really like Claudia Miller, I learned from her, she’s also playing with horses or at the moment with Lisa and Mathis Röckner. They do wonderful horsemanship and super shows. I think it’s great what they do to combine sport and horsemanship in a show. So we’re always open to other people who where you see happy horses and think they do great things.

[SPEAKER 1]

Yeah, it’s nice to have that well-rounded approach. Yes. Yeah, yeah. So the final question is, please complete this sentence. For me, horses are… The best friends in the world. You’re right, absolutely. Ingrid, is there anything else you’d like to add for our listeners?

[SPEAKER 2]

No, because if I’m honest, I’m on the show with my daughter and I said at four o’clock we can start writing again.

[SPEAKER 1]

It’s 4.05. I mean, the hour was gone by nothing. Absolutely. I can’t thank you enough for for joining and speaking with me. It was an absolute privilege. And I know that our listeners are going to take so much away from this. So thank you so much.

[SPEAKER 2]

And if they have later questions, maybe we’ll go for it later. So it was very interesting and very wonderful to talk to you.

[SPEAKER 1]

Thank you for listening to this episode of the Equestrian Connection Podcast by wehorse. If you enjoyed this episode, it would mean the world to us if you could leave us a rating and review, as well as share us on social media. You can find us on Instagram at wehorse underscore USA, and check out our free seven-day trial on wehorse.com, where you can access over 175 courses with top trainers from around the world in a variety of topics and disciplines. Until next time, be kind to yourself, your horses, and others.