#109 The Secrets to Success with Olympian Jessica von Bredow-Werndl

[SPEAKER 1]
[00:00:01-00:00:08]
In this episode, we're airing a special classic episode with Olympic dressage rider Jessica Von Bredow-Vernal.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:00:09-00:00:30]
Why dressage? What fascinates me about the sport? And that is simply this non-verbal communication with an animal, when you manage to then dance with the horses based on these finest aids. And even as an eight-year-old girl, I already said, I want to learn to dance with horses. And that is still the child in me today, saying that is why I do it every day. It just gives me so much joy to dance with these horses or simply to work with the horses.

[SPEAKER 1]
[00:00:31-00:01:36]
Welcome to the Equestrian Connection podcast from WeHorse. My name is Danielle Kroll, and I'm usually your host, but we're airing something a little different this week. Shortly before WeHorse trainer Jessica von Bredow-Vernal won the World Cup Freestyle in Germany with a sensational score of 89.64 back in 2020, she appeared as a guest on the WeHorse podcast with WeHorse CEO Christian Krober. In this classic and translated episode, the personable dressage rider from Germany discusses the secret to her success, her journey to the top level of the sport, and the training philosophy that enables her to have her horses in peak fitness and motivation exactly when it counts. You'll hear the crucial piece of advice a biathlete gave her and how she managed to fast track her career. The journey of KWPN stallion Uni and how she managed to win this special horse over. So again, This is a translated episode from the WeHorse podcast, originally aired in 2020, but it's still just as good today. Enjoy.

[SPEAKER 3]
[00:01:37-00:02:24]
Every now and then we replay classics for you from our WeHost podcast, Evidence Locker. So today we have a conversation that I personally remember extremely fondly, namely the one with Jessica von Bredow-Werndl. Back when we recorded the podcast, I can still remember it very well. She wasn't an Olympic champion yet. It was in the year 2020. It was before the Tokyo Olympic Games. In parts, it was even before Corona. An almost completely different world that one can hardly imagine. But it is still a highly interesting conversation. Above all, it is also a timeless conversation that I am having with her. And that is why we would like to recommend this podcast classic, the WeHost Classic with Jessica von Breda-Werndl to you once again. Enjoy. Hello, Jessie. It's great to have you with us.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:02:24-00:02:25]
Hello. Nice to be here.

[SPEAKER 3]
[00:02:25-00:02:36]
We want to talk about you, about dressage, your work, your work in Aubenhausen. And what actually excites you about dressage? What is it? What is the appeal of dressage for you? Why are you a dressage rider?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:02:36-00:03:10]
Yes, that's a good question. I was absolutely crazy about animals, even as a small child. I mean, when I was four, my whole bedroom was already full of pictures of animals. And my aunt used to breed Leveza ponies back then, and that's how we got into riding in the first place. We were then allowed, my brother and I, to take riding lessons there once a week on school horses. And for me, it was immediately clear that this horse virus had completely taken And hold of me. But that, of course, doesn't mean you stick with it. And for us, it just really turned out that way. Even though we were doing two things at once for a while, I was also a ski racer and my brother was too.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:03:10-00:03:13]
You are not far from the Alps, after all.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:03:13-00:03:13]
Exactly.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:03:13-00:03:16]
Obenhausen is between Munich and Rosenheim.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:03:16-00:03:20]
More between Munich and Salzburg, so really close to the Austrian mountains.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:03:20-00:03:22]
You're practically a ski racer by birth there, aren't you?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:03:22-00:03:27]
Our mom also raced in ski competitions. She competed in the European Cup and is a ski instructor herself.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:03:27-00:03:33]
And were you then at a bit of a crossroads, trying to decide between going out riding or perhaps heading off for some skiing?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:03:33-00:04:07]
Yes, it was really like that. We were sometimes picked up from school very often in the winter, even ate in the car, then went to slalom pole training, as we call it, drove to the mountain and trained, then drove home and everyone still rode their pony. And at some point, there was still homework to do before we fell into bed dead tired. And when we were in high school, it was already clear that it was really difficult to juggle all of that. Yes, that's not possible. And then we decided on horse riding. I mean, for me, it wasn't a difficult decision, but having to make a decision at all wasn't exactly cool because we also enjoyed skiing. But in hindsight, it was easy after all.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:04:07-00:04:10]
But you as a family didn't have anything to do with horses before?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:04:10-00:04:20]
Nothing at all. We are not a horse riding family at all. Only our aunt bred Leveso ponies and that's how we got into riding. But my dad had an office furniture company and used to be a passionate sailor.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:04:20-00:04:22]
Something completely different again.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:04:22-00:04:31]
Something completely different. And was very successful at it too. And mom, she always preferred to ride as a child, but was supposed to. Had to ski and wasn't allowed to.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:04:31-00:04:32]
Weren't really allowed to.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:04:32-00:04:40]
She was allowed to sometimes, but she wasn't allowed to fully pursue her passion. And now she's living out her dream from back then through us. And that's obviously great.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:04:40-00:04:45]
And why did it become dressage then? You could have become a show jumper too, or gone in a completely different direction.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:04:45-00:04:51]
Well, dressage is always the foundation for everything. And Benny, he always did everything together with me, no matter what we...

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:04:51-00:04:52]
Your brother, Benjamin.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:04:52-00:05:15]
Exactly, my brother, I have to add. He always wanted to jump too, but the foundation is dressage. And he had a pretty cool pony, De Capo. And that apparently made it appealing enough for him, I'd say, to stick with dressage. And I have always enjoyed jumping with the horse. I still do it today, but just not high, only cavaletti height or maybe one and a half cavalettis. And that's just for balance. And I like that. And that's enough for me too.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:05:15-00:05:31]
And was this tandem, I mean, with you and your brother there from the beginning, because that is also something unusual. So not an equestrian family. Okay, so such a great career is really extremely remarkable. But then, in a way, running on two tracks, doing the whole thing together with your brother is really something special.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:05:31-00:05:41]
Yes, that's wild. Looking back, it's also really unusual, I would say. And we naturally got on each other's nerves from time to time, I think. No matter what we did together, just normal, like brother and sister.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:05:41-00:05:42]
So the usual sibling love.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:05:42-00:05:58]
Quite normal, but I have to say, the older we get, the easier it becomes and the nicer it gets. And the more grateful we both are that we have each other. And now I think we couldn't even imagine doing it the way we do without each other anymore. So it's really cool how that has developed.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:05:58-00:06:12]
The perfect symbiosis now, so to speak. And were there also a few happy coincidences? Because it's not inevitable, you know, to slip into this top level sport. It takes a bit of luck here and there too. Did that happen along the way or was it always the plan? We want to aim for the very top.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:06:12-00:07:53]
No, it was quite bumpy to be honest. I rode a Levitz pony. It had absolutely no basic gates, but apparently I made such a pretty picture with her that I was already able to beat my brother with his good pony back then. Simply just through correct riding. That's where this competitive urge came from. So it was just always this slight competition between us, the two of us, which, however, never turned negative. I can't remember a single day in our lives where we had real competition. So it was always something stimulating, never something that is negative. So it was always positive. And the day we said we wanted to do this professionally, that day doesn't exist. But we were, after all, very, very successful during our junior and young rider years. But we didn't just go and buy ourselves expensive horses. We learned with the horses from an early age, always only bought young horses, and then trained them together with our trainer at the time, Stefan Minch. And in hindsight, that's really good because we've simply always taken this long journey with the horse together. And in doing so, we also learned how to train them. And during that time as a junior and young rider, the feeling definitely solidified in me. I don't know if I can say the same for my brother, but for me, that I would really, really love to do this professionally. But then there also came a time after that junior and young rider period where we were very, very successful, where we simply had no success at all. for five or six years, huge dry spell. We simply didn't have the horses at the right time to be able to build on our successes, to build on them for our adult years, for the senior years. And then from 21 to 26, we maybe had a small success here and there, like qualifying for the Nürnberger Bergpokal final, or once I qualified for the World Championships. Qualified young horses, but that was it.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:07:53-00:07:57]
It was also fun and also sacrificing your life a bit for it to go in that direction, right?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:07:57-00:09:18]
I mean, it was pretty, well, it wasn't even the world championships. I qualified young horses for the Bundeschampionat, but other than that, there was nothing. And we were quite spoiled by success from our time as young riders. And when you have absolutely no success for five or six years after that, Benny and I were studying on the side. I did a distance learning program. I also managed the gym for two years that my dad owned, which was basically what was left over after the sale of his office furniture company. And honestly, I enjoyed it so much that at 25, I actually considered whether I even could, wanted to, or should become a top-level athlete. Because this gym and sports in general, that has always interested me. I completed training as a nutrition coach after my studies, and I was just chronically unsuccessful, or so it felt at the time. And you really do ask yourself if it's all worth it. And honestly, I also had huge self-doubts. I also didn't know if I was good enough, if I could really manage to come anywhere close to what I achieved as a junior and young rider now that I'm in the senior category. Luckily, I have to say I then ended it. Up with a very cool coach. Someone just set up the appointment for me, who apparently is a very good athlete, Tobias Angerer, whom I didn't know well, but whom I met at an event. I made it for a body that I met at an event. Yes, exactly, whom I met at an event. And he then told me about the coach, said, go there sometime. I think that would be good for you.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:09:18-00:09:20]
So a mental coach, more like a life coach.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:09:20-00:09:33]
Yes, it's more of a life coach who just asks you the right questions. And he asked me the right questions. And it then became pretty clear to me quite quickly that I absolutely wanted to ride. So it was like a windshield wiper that I turned on once and could see clearly again.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:09:33-00:09:35]
It was an eye-opener.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:09:35-00:09:57]
That was really great. So I am also very, very grateful that everything fell into place like that. Back then I was 26 and I just told myself, okay, I have my vocational training now. I have my degree. I have my high school diploma. I have everything I need. I already have professional experience. Now I'm just going full throttle until I'm 30 and then I can make a new decision. And then I'll see where I stand. And at 28, I think I was in the A squad.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:09:57-00:10:06]
So at 26, making the decision to really say, okay, I'm giving myself four years now. Either it takes off in quotation marks, or I'll just do gym.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:10:06-00:10:19]
Or I run the gym. And that's a nice life too. So it's not necessarily just there isn't only black and white. There are many different lives that can be beautiful, but I am so glad that I decided on this life after all. And I find it incredibly exciting.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:10:19-00:10:31]
Now, when observing you guys, mental training is a big topic or generally the topic of coaching, which you just mentioned as well. Does that come from that phase of life you were in where you had to make a decision? Or was it already there before?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:10:32-00:11:00]
Always for a long time. I already wrote my specialized paper on mental training back in school because I simply experienced it firsthand. In my first junior year, I was completely surprisingly second at the Prix de Besten, and that is the first selection event for the European Championship. And then I rode in the second selection event. I don't even remember where that was back then. And naturally had a huge chance to qualify for the Euro team. But I was so nervous I couldn't get anything together and I went off course twice.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:11:00-00:11:01]
How old were you then?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:11:01-00:11:06]
15. I went off course twice and ended up 12th. Out of 12? And that's when I knew, oh shit.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:11:06-00:11:08]
Damn, super optimal.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:11:08-00:11:17]
I think there's something to be done here. In that area, off I went. That's when I really started focusing on preparing myself better using rituals and routines for competition.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:11:17-00:11:33]
Is that something where you also feel like you were ahead of your time? Because especially in equestrian sports, that's a topic that is coming up more now. Mental training, I think that's also a general societal thing, but that was when you were there. 15 years old, completely utopian that people were dealing with themselves like that, right?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:11:33-00:12:01]
I think top athletes have always done that because I don't think maybe there weren't that many junior top athletes. Maybe we were quite early on that, but I don't think... Even though it is now a more public topic, but I believe peak performance in top-level sports, everyone deals with mental strength in their own way. Now, it's perhaps more well-founded knowledge that is more easily accessible, I would say. And there are more coaches and mental coaches today. But back then, many, many people surely already did. that they engaged with the topic.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:12:02-00:12:22]
Where did the equestrian addition come from then? So on one hand, the mental aspect, but it's also about equestrian training. How did you develop the philosophy that is now, for example, also being shown really publicly with the training evening at Equitana by Breddo Verndel, which is on Wee Horse? Where did that inspiration come from on the equestrian side? The inspired one shows.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:12:22-00:14:26]
We have been inspired since our first day on horses. So it's really a combination of all the things that we like the best, I would say. We learned so incredibly much from our trainer at the time, Stefan Munch, regarding patience. He modeled this patience for us so well, which is incredibly important. But also this starting early and taking a lot of time in the training. And also this very correct riding, because especially with the junior horses, if you don't have a lamp kicker, a horse with naturally flashy movement, then it's simply about the perfect seat and this very precise riding. And he really taught us that wonderfully. We were also always lucky enough to go to great clinics, such as with Hubertus Schmidt, for example. And we also trained with Udo for a long time. We were allowed to train with Isabel for five years. We were able to look over Isabel Wirth's shoulder and learned a great deal there as well. But that was after a while, the time when I also became quite insecure because I realized I couldn't just copy her. I mean, she is so unique and also special in the way she works with the horses. And somehow, when I finally decided to take the leap and try it out for myself after all this time, I unexpectedly discovered a clear path forward, working closely together with Benny. And honestly, It is just so incredibly rewarding and eye-opening to see how everything has come together in such a meaningful way. We somehow had the feeling of picking out the best of everything, so to speak. Somehow found our own way of working with the horses, but also of living. It was also very, very important to us that the horses, for example, get to go out into the pasture. And that's how a fundamental principle of our training came about, because we said we simply want to work with happy horses. And happy horses are horses that, above all, get out a lot and get to go out into the pasture. And that's when we started to really follow through with it, that we actually put all the top horses like Une back then out to pasture. And everyone, we just put them out on the pasture as well. That was also the beginning of our own training time for the first time. So that was the beginning of really training independently. Let's put it that way. After we were allowed to learn from so many professional great trainers, and even today and in the future, we will never stop learning. But looking back, that was really the beginning of something entirely new for us.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:14:26-00:14:31]
And then Ine was your top horse with whom you then broke into the world elite. That was the game changer, right?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:14:32-00:15:01]
Yes. And I don't know if anyone thought it was possible. In retrospect, many people tell me they never thought it was possible that I could make it with Une, but I only had him, and I imagined so much that he simply, that this is it, and that I could make it with him, that I believe he also grew beyond himself for me, totally grew beyond himself. And that is also a great feeling when you have the feeling that a horse is happy and absolutely wants to do everything right for you. And yes, that makes me very proud in retrospect. But I must add, The Johnny Hilberth back then.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:15:01-00:15:04]
The national coach at the time, still the national coach today.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:15:04-00:15:16]
He wasn't the national coach yet back when he started. To be our training partner, or rather to be our trainer, also at the big tournaments, when I was about 26. That was at the same time as this real independence for the first time in our lives.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:15:16-00:15:28]
Is Yinev for you then also something like your horse of the heart? Your career will hopefully last for many, many more years. You are right in the middle of it. Can one already say that UNA was such an incredibly important building block on this path?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:15:29-00:16:00]
Yes, definitely. Although I have to say, every horse that has accompanied me so far is a very important building block. I have learned so incredibly much from all the horses. When I, from him, I probably learned the most consciously. So that was just such a very conscious, independent questioning. Also, honestly, the first time in my life that I took over a horse that already... Knew how to do things. He had already been shown in tournaments up to Inter 2. He basically already knew all the tricks. And that is different from when I train a horse myself and develop a language together with it.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:16:00-00:16:01]
It's always something different and special.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:16:01-00:16:41]
Yes. And above all, I first had to learn to speak his language before we could develop a common language and also get him on my side first. He is also a stallion and stallions, you really have to... I think, I mean, I want to win over every horse, but stallions, they don't immediately commit to you. That's what it felt like to me. And I just tried to make his life so incredibly as varied as possible so that he would just become very curious about me. So, for example, I then... He wasn't the most diligent back then, which I can't say about him at all anymore today. He has a lot of power now too, but he has... I just did Piaf work with him in the forest, for example. I just always did things that he didn't expect.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:16:41-00:16:44]
A bit of variety too, and always keeping them occupied.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:16:44-00:16:47]
Exactly, and riding without a saddle. Yes, yes, I always came up with something.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:16:48-00:16:50]
So piaffing in the forest, what else did you do?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:16:50-00:17:17]
I don't know, I tried to make every day different. I mean, he naturally has his feeding routines and his paddock routine. And I don't know, aqua trainer, treadmill, those routines are there. But when I rode him, it was always a bit different. For example, going for a ride beforehand, then working or just the racetrack or just in the woods and then suddenly galloping in the woods or doing piafs or pirouettes if the space allows it. And the next day I rode without a saddle. On the third day, I just did different sequences. So it was all just that.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:17:17-00:17:18]
Simply the variety.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:17:18-00:17:34]
I just always tried to introduce variety. And he found it super exciting. And then he wanted to give more and more and more. And with that came the strength he had to be able to carry better. And then everything somehow became easier for him. But it did take a while until we really grew together.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:17:34-00:17:39]
You just said, past your time for every horse. What else do you place importance on? Speaking generally for all horses now?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:17:40-00:18:24]
Well, we just want them to be doing well. And I always say it's all like a huge mosaic. And all the little pieces have to fit together somehow. And one such piece can be physiotherapy, the perfect saddle, making sure it's really good for the horse, that the bits fit, that... I don't know, it's just about trying to remove all the obstacles that could prevent a horse from moving well or feeling comfortable. It also includes us as riders with our fitness, that we are simply athletic too, so that we don't block the horses in their movements. So I try to look at the matter from all sides so that I simply make the horse's life easy and pleasant. And I make it so much easier for the horse by optimizing everything. From their daily feeding to the farrier, to the fit of the saddle, and even my own personal fitness, to ensure we are both performing at our very best.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:18:24-00:18:26]
That is a very modern approach, one has to say.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:18:26-00:18:28]
But I keep learning more all the time.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:18:28-00:18:48]
So the approach of removing all obstacles is, by the way, also how all the big internet corporations do it. Scrum is such a buzzword that people often throw around. The Scrum revolution, which is reaching many corporations and many large companies, is exactly about this topic. How do I manage to clear away all obstacles so that one can reach their full potential? That is the way, isn't it?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:18:48-00:19:38]
That's how it is. Exactly. And I'm constantly learning new things. I mean, that's also really exciting. But it's also important that I don't get bogged down in the process. That I'm now only looking at, I don't know, is the saddle now 20 or 1 mm too far to the left or right? And maybe that's why the traversal to the left or right isn't going so well. You have to be really careful there. So what still counts the most is really good riding and simply listening to your gut feeling. And I'm a total gut feeling person anyway, and I just try to feel my way into it, into the horses and to see if they are doing well. And yet I have really great people around me who support me just to make sure the saddle fits, that the feed is good, that we also simply... ensure that the horse is not restricted in its capabilities from whatever side that may be. And that is very, very, very important, I think.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:19:38-00:19:40]
What role does success play in that?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:19:40-00:20:36]
That is a good question. Well, I do believe that success spurs you on. But at the same time, when I also have a failure and is just as much a part of it as success, I fortunately always realize very quickly that it is not the reason why I do it. So the reason why I do the sport now, the way I do it is I believe really the daily, well, I know it, the daily work with the horses that just makes me so happy. And that's why to come back to the very first question, why dressage? What fascinates me about the sport? And that is simply this nonverbal communication with an animal when you manage to then dance with the horses based on these finest aids. And even as an eight-year-old girl, I already said, I want to learn to dance with horses. And that is still the child in me today saying that is why I do it every day. It just gives me so much joy to dance with these horses or simply to work with the horses. And the most beautiful success or the most beautiful successes for me are those in daily training. When I teach the young horses a new trick, for example, and they have understood it. That is just cool.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:20:36-00:20:39]
Do you also do like... Groundwork or circus tricks here and there?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:20:39-00:20:47]
Yes, I do that too. Not that much because it's a bit difficult time-wise, but with Zaire, for example, I did that a whole, whole lot. Also at tournaments so that she...

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:20:47-00:20:48]
At tournaments too?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:20:48-00:20:54]
Yes, but not with circus tricks, but rather with leading and parking and letting them stand. Yes. So just groundwork.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:20:54-00:20:57]
Like the little things in the stable tent, so to speak, that you can practice.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:20:57-00:21:08]
And also in the arena, yes. Simply so that she engages with... that she focuses on me and also builds trust. Now, I noticed that it also helped that she is so relaxed now and can enjoy it so much. At the tournaments...

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:21:08-00:21:11]
And the golden ribbon is then the end result of this overall work.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:21:11-00:21:23]
It would be a lie if I said that I don't enjoy winning and being successful. That's cool. I have never taken drugs and I don't plan to, but I imagine it's comparable to being high. You're high, but you're also just as fast as down there.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:21:23-00:21:24]
Positive state, so to speak.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:21:25-00:22:04]
Yes. It's so crazy when you've achieved something big, but the next day it goes exactly, it continues with the same daily routines. And that is so beautiful, but also part of it. So, for example, I once had a huge success with Ernie, where I was very, very narrowly second behind Isabel. That was five years ago. That was like the breakthrough for Weigold. She won with Weigold in Amsterdam. And I was very narrowly second behind her with 82% back then. And that felt so wild. It felt crazy awesome. That was my best freestyle back then and such an awesome result. And two hours later, I'm sitting on the plane and it's all gone, except that I still have a smile on my face. But nobody cares anyway. But it has...

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:22:04-00:22:08]
In the end, a few hours later, I'm already burnt out in quotation marks. Am I?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:22:08-00:23:02]
Yes, exactly. But still, I am happy and also a bit proud that I managed to do that and proud of Wene that he did it with me. But that is not the reason why I do it. And I realized that too. When I didn't qualify for Rio, it was so close. Because if you had asked me three months before, are you going to be there? Then I would have said 90% yes. And then Cosmo and Showtime came along with Sonke and Doro like a phoenix from the ashes passed me by. And I simply... wasn't in Rio. I was the number four in the world at the time while Rio was taking place, and I simply wasn't at the Olympic Games. And that hurt at first because it's just a huge dream to ride in the Olympics. That is my dream again this year, and I want to make it again. And yet, despite the initial disappointment, I was fortunately able to realize very quickly that absolutely nothing in my life had changed, that I still get to do what I love every single day. And that is what I try to reflect on every day as well, that I am simply grateful for what I get to do and not always just chasing from one success to the next. Defining myself by that, that's not who I am.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:23:02-00:23:26]
If you look at top level sports now, we are here in New Munster, a World Cup station on the way to the final in Las Vegas. You are also competing. If you look at the field of competitors, not just here, but also at many big tournaments, you can see that there is an extreme amount of money in the sport. So there are also riders who buy horses with a lot of patronage behind them. How important is money nowadays to get to where you are now?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:23:26-00:24:07]
I am very fortunate to now really have partners by my side who provide me with horses, for example, Mrs. Böckler-Keller, from whom I am allowed to ride some really great horses, Öne back then, now Dieter Lehrer. And also Ferdinand. It is important to have partners. I can't say money, but partners who entrust you with horses that have a lot of potential. I am now also working with other partners when they say, hey, I have a really good horse. Let's make something of it together. In the meantime, we are also earning our living with it. But it's not the prize money because that would be a lot of pressure if we said we have to yes and we have families and we don't want that at all. We don't want to chase from one tournament to the next as many show jumpers do.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:24:07-00:24:08]
Then you would have to go out every weekend and...

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:24:09-00:24:39]
That is not the life I imagined for myself. I also want to be a mom and I want to be there for my little one. And right now he's still coming along because he's not in school yet. And that works wonderfully, but that's not it. And yet money naturally plays a role because we also use it to finance our livelihood. So Benny and I took over this facility and we've been in the black for 13 years. That only works because we keep training and selling horses. So money is a means to an end, I would say. Money is there so that we can do what we love. And that's what we work for every day. And that's just part of the game.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:24:39-00:25:03]
For example, Steve Gerdard has also been here on the podcast. And I discussed with Steve for a long time about how important money is, for example, in show jumping. And he says he is always confronted by people who say, well, in other sports, tennis, soccer, whatever, it is possible to go from zero to 100. Do you think that is generally still possible in equestrian sports at the moment to break into top level sports if you just say, I'm a pony rider from XY and I'm starting now?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:25:03-00:25:39]
It is possible. I always say it is always worth fighting for your goals. And if I hadn't had my own facility, I would have applied to the best riders in the world and started as a groom. I would have watched, I would have listened like a little mouse, and I would have tried to learn something by watching, and would have just used every opportunity to maybe get on a horse there. And I believe if you are truly passionate about something, then money. But of course, there are sports where it is easier because it is not as... financially demanding to hold a tennis racket as it is to keep a horse if you have your own horse. But clearly it is possible, but it is not as easy as in other sports.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:25:40-00:25:48]
As in other sports. But generally, would you say that with a lot of hard work and dedication, everything is still possible? Because that is a very important message, I believe, too.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:25:48-00:26:13]
The way of life. If you really want something in your life, doors will open that make it possible. And I am a thousand percent convinced of that. If you are grateful and also accept the small doors that open and then dare to walk through them. And Charlotte Dujardin, for example, is an example of that. She worked there, I think, as a temp or something for Carl Hester. And I think she groomed more than she rode. And he eventually discovered her talent. And she was probably very hardworking.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:26:13-00:26:15]
An outsider? What are your personal goals?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:26:15-00:26:17]
As a person or as an athlete?

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:26:17-00:26:28]
Both. You are a mother. You have a son, Moritz. You live in Aubenhausen on your facility. You train the horses, but you have personal and sporting goals. Where is the journey heading if you look five years into the future?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:26:28-00:26:31]
Well, athletic goals just to continue where I started.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:26:32-00:26:34]
And to fly to an Asian country later this year.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:26:34-00:26:56]
The funny thing is, my son always says, when I ask him where we are flying to, he always says Tokyo because I told him about it once that I would like to fly there this year. And whether he's coming with me, and he always says we are flying to Tokyo. That is, of course, a huge childhood dream. Olympics have, I was already allowed to be at the World Championships and European Championships, but the Olympics somehow have an even more intense...

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:26:56-00:26:57]
Is the Olympic flair in the end?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:26:57-00:27:20]
I don't know. It's just all the disciplines together. That is... Totally wild. European championships and world championships, that's just the disciplines, just equestrian sports. But this Olympics, that is really something else. And I am really looking forward to it. But even there, it's just important now that I stay true to myself and just give my best every single day. And there's nothing more to it. And I can't do any more than that. And then I hope that it works out this year.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:27:20-00:27:32]
Yes, that would, of course, be a great goal. We are, of course, keeping our fingers crossed. And dear Jessie, at the end of every WeHouse podcast, we naturally have the four classic WeHouse questions before I let you go again.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:27:32-00:27:33]
I don't even know them yet.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:27:33-00:27:39]
Yes, that's not bad at all, but you will be able to answer them very well. Question number one. Do you have a motto you live by?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:27:39-00:28:06]
Do what you love or love what you do. You can say both. So I don't have such a concrete motto, but I love what I do. And that is also not always the prerequisite for it. So if you do what you love, then everything you do is not work. And my work is, of course, you don't need that now either. Sugarcoat it. It's also exhausting every day to take care of all the cases. But when you do it with dedication and love, then it just fulfills you so much. And I try to give dedication and love to what I do as well.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:28:06-00:28:12]
Very good. Question number two. Is there a person who has particularly influenced you, perhaps also with regard to horses?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:28:12-00:28:23]
Yes, those are the people I mentioned earlier. Those are my instructors. Already my first riding instructor, Paul Elzenbaumer, who is still with us, who is still at our facility every day at eight years old.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:28:23-00:28:25]
Can he believe what has happened since then?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:28:25-00:28:43]
No, and he was also there for the first time in Aachen last year and really wants to come back this year. And that makes me incredibly happy because he naturally also somehow sowed the seeds because he managed to get us involved with such enthusiasm. And it's also great that I still get to see him every day. We did send him into retirement at 65, but a day later he was back there at 7.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:28:44-00:28:47]
Say something every now and then. Jesse does it this way or Benny does it that way.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:28:47-00:29:19]
He helps us keep the facility in shape, but still gets on a horse himself every now and then. So he really is a totally impressive person. After that, the 11 years with Stefan Minch were incredibly valuable. And the time with Isabel was also valuable. The time now with Johnny Hilbreth and also Monica as a trainer is amazing. And we have had Andreas Hausberger from the Spanish Riding School with us as a trainer for 14 years now. An incredibly good friend of the family and a highly valued instructor. And now for the past three years, also a totally great trainer, Morten Thompson. So those are the most formative instructors for me so far.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:29:20-00:29:21]
Who have also accompanied the journey.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:29:21-00:29:28]
And my brother and I, of course, we reflect on each other. We help each other and walk this path together. That is, of course, the most valuable thing.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:29:28-00:29:34]
Question number three. If you could give riders or horse people one piece of advice for dealing with their horses, what would it be?

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:29:34-00:29:41]
Have some real fun with your horses, enjoy the time you spend together, and always treat them like your very best friends.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:29:41-00:29:45]
Wonderful. And finally, please complete this sentence. For me, horses are...

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:29:45-00:29:47]
The most wonderful meadows in the whole world.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:29:47-00:29:57]
Nothing else can come after that, Jessie. We're keeping our fingers crossed. Tokyo 2020 and all the best for the future. And we look forward to next time. Thank you, Jessica von Bradel-Werndl.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:29:57-00:29:59]
Me too. Thank you. Thank you.

[SPEAKER 1]
[00:30:01-00:30:35]
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.