Even though heavy rainfall turned the 2011 European Junior and Young Rider Championships into a depressingly muddy affair, one young German lady shone brightly as a ray of sunshine. Seventeen year old Vivien Niemann won team and individual test gold. Before this golden glory she was just a local hero in the south of Germany but in Broholm, Denmark, she became the junior rider break out star of 2011.
With convincing rounds on a highly talented Hanoverian named Cipollini Vivien caught the eye of the dressage public. Time for Eurodressage to pay a visit to this double European champion.
On the racetrack
The Walldorf racetrack is located directly next to the A 5 motorway and its assortment of stables, indoor and outdoor arenas and fields around the grassy gallop track draw little attention of the busy car drives who race by at at least 120 kilometers an hour. Unknown to many Germany hides one of its best youngsters exactly in this place.
Upon taking the exit at Walldorf the first pastures appear but not with horses, but huge ostrichs scattering about. The first property is called “Astoria Ranch” but that is not thename of the dressage stable of Vivien’s parents Christoph and Ilona, both Grand Prix riders. The racetrack comes in sight and several warmbloods are looking out of their windows: That must be the right entrance.
Upon entering the bright stable corridor in which the usual morning hustle-bustle of a professional stable is in full cry Vivien turns out to be the perfect host, immediately offering a cup of coffee in the stable lounge. Then she bursts out she never had somebody from the press at home before. While Vivien disappears to make her European champion Cipollini ready for his training her father gives a tour of the property.
After overcast cold weather in the morning the clouds disappear round 10 am and the sun shines brightly, slowly warming up the still fresh air.
”When we moved here we built our own stables with 19 boxes in 2008. The other stables you see here belong to the riding club, housing boarding and school horses,” Christoph explains.
Niemann shares the two indoor arenas, a big newer one and a small old one, with the club members. Next to the stable complexes the white fenced racetrack surrounds a variety of outdoor arenas, two Olympic size dressage arenas, a grassy and a sandy jumping arena directly at the edge of a big forest where there are over 80 km of trails for hacking. Ideal conditions to train dressage horses of all levels.
“I like using the racetrack to train my dressage horses and we are in the forests within one minute. Isn’t it beautiful here? Almost like on holiday," said a smiling Niemann.
The family is not only training on the racetrack, they have some carefully selected thoroughbreds in their stable as well. While Vivien is tacking Cipollini her father opens the door of a stall in which a dark bay leggy gelding stands.
“This is one of our thoroughbreds which I retrain to become a dressage horse. He has nice movements and why not giving it a try? Lörke, Schultheis, they all rode thoroughbreds and were successful with them.”
Cipollini, a horse with star potential
Vivien decides to first ride Cipollini, the horse with whom she made a comet-like rise over the past year and who carried her to both gold medals won in Denmark. The Hanoverian by Compliment out of a Western Star dam is bred by O-judge Dr. Dieter Schüle. He is a sympathetic type of horse, expressing happiness and contentment with himself and the world.
”He wasn’t like that at the beginning when we got him as a 6-year-old. Mrs. Schüle offered him to us so we took him on a try-out basis. Cipsi quickly turned out to be rather difficult. He could be extremely stubborn in the way that if he didn’t want to go somewhere he just wouldn’t do it. At the beginning I could only ride him backwards in the arena," Vivien admits.
As soon as the horse started gaining ground forwards, he revealed great talent and convinced Vivien’s father to buy him in June 2009. First he intended to keep him for himself, but soon it became apparent Cipsi would be Vivien’s horse: “I am also happy seeing him excel with Vivi.”
Today passing a part of the racetrack to get to the dressage arena nearby is no problem at all. With long reins and ears pricked Cipollini wanders as relaxed as can be to his working place. Vivien starts with an extensive walk period on long reins. Cipollini stretches his topline and takes interest in men checking nesting boxes in the forest behind. She continues working in trot and canter on big circles, riding him in a simple snaffle bit.
Everything looks supple, easy-going and exceptional. The horse’s basic gaits are extremely smooth, elegant and at the same time athletic with lots of shoulder freedom.
”I am sure Cipollini becomes a Grand Prix horse,” Christoph Niemann remarks, adding “he will learn the whole programme," before mountingone of his training horses. Vivien adds: “He just has to know what to do and he will do it. He’s learning fast and he’s a really clever horse.”
While riding Christoph observes his daughter from the corner of his eye and now and then gives some advice.
Vivien rides some half passes, half canter pirouettes and flying changes. Cipollini's single flying changes are breathtaking, jumping them smoothly and hugely upwards- forwards. This could be a challenge later on when 15 one-time-changes have to fit on the diagonal.
These are future issues though. For now Vivien plans to debut at S- level soon. “I still don’t know if I ride one more year at juniors’ level or if I upgrade to the Young Riders next year. Cipollini is already able to do a Prix St. Georges test.”
Without a doubt this leggy Hanoverian owns star potential, but everybody involved in dressage also knows that "between Prix St. Georges and Grand Prix there are the Alps," as legendary trainer Willi Schultheis once appropriately declared.
Goldi is Where it Began
Vivien brings her best horse back to the barn and parks him backwards in the wash-box at the beginning of the stable corridor. While hosing the horse down she explains she was not able to do this on shows but Cipsi has changed so much and now she can groom him without any problems anywhere.
After Cipollini is well looked after and starts munching on his second breakfast Vivien sits down in the small lounge to talk about her equestrian past. ”I think I started riding before I was able to walk. As my parents are professional riders we always had horses, of course. When I was born the Kasselmann family gave my parents “Goldi” as a gift and with him my riding started.”
Goldi, whose real name is Goldsturm, was 18 years of age when Niemanns got this noble small Westfalian bred palomino pony. He had served as Francois Kasselmann's pony before becoming Vivi's schoolmaster. Now Goldi is 36 and still the lively gelding around. He is probably the most beloved four legged inhabitant of the barn. “Every horse is available for purchase here, but not Goldi," said Vivien’s father.
Goldi has the life of a god at Stable Niemann. To see, let alone photograph, this equine living legend is not easy, on whom. The door of Goldi’s box is always open and he prefers to run around the fenced stable complex the entire day, either grazing or bothering the horses a bit which poke their heads out of the stable windows. Vivien did her first lead line and riding classes with him.
Upon seeing Vivi Goldi pricks his tiny ears and canters away with flying heels. “After Goldi I got two German riding ponies. Don Danny, a Westfalian by Danny Gold, I got for dressage in 2004. He was then 4 years old in 2004. Six months later I also got Little Lars for jumping. My father always considered it essential that I could do both. He said I should be able to jump up to L- level and then decide which path I wanted to follow. I admit I love jumping very much as well and would like doing both disciplines, but this would be very time consuming. My mare Baloubetta du Soleil is currently competed by David Will and came 4th in a jumping class at this year’s CHIO Aachen. We sold my jumping pony Little Lars to Athina Onassis where he serves as children pony for her husband’s children.”
With another jumping pony, Jacomo, Vivien even competed at the South German Jumping championships, but when Cipollini entered her life in 2008 the decision to focus on dressage was made.
An outstanding 2011
”2009 we had our first season together and I competed Cipollini in the “Youngsters championships” of Baden-Württemberg in Schutterwald which we won. It was on L- level. A year later we became state champion at the juniors and had two placings at Hagen so I was confident going to the German Championships, but I didn’t come into the final like I hoped to. This only gave me even more panache for the next season," Vivien explained her rise to an early climax in her career in 2011.
Unlike Vivien’s triumph at the European championships she wasn’t the superior rider nationally throughout the season. However she always ranked in the top 6 at every show she rode before Broholm. On the one hand this was an indicator of how high German Junior Riders' level was, but it also showed that Vivien could further improve Cipollini in the course of the outdoor season.
Not only did she have a peak performance in Denmark, but she was also rewarded with personal best scores.
After scoring consistently in the high 60s and low 70s at the European Championship qualifiers and at the Preis der Besten, in which Vivien finished in the bronze medal position, she managed to score her personal best of over 75% in the individual test at the European championships.
”To be honest I wasn’t thinking about results before the championships kicked off. I hasn't set a personal scoring goal in particular. I just intended to ride properly and help the team. I am lucky I never suffer from taut nerves. The only ones being nervous at a show are my parents, but not me.”
Vivien’s relaxed attitude also helps when it comes to handling Cipollini’s nerves.
”On shows he sometimes turns out his macho side and is looking for ghosts. But I remain calm and confident and then he goes on. If I am calm he becomes calm as well.”
After the European Championships in July Vivien and her mount Cipollini allowed themselves some much needed time-off from dressage. The publicity and hype her double gold had caused became a bit much to handle. Vivien took two weeks off to work in the jumping stable of renowned jumping trainer Dietmar Gugler in Hessen. ”There nobody cared who I am
and what I had done. I was just one of the girls and I enjoyed it very
much.”
Meanwhile Vivien’s mum Ilona exercised Cipollini by hacking him in the nearby forests which was much appreciated by the horse. ”It really did Cipsi very well. You could hack in long reins and he would not become nervous or unsettled, on the contrary, he became more relaxed.”
Vivien and Cipsi picked up work again in August and competed at the 2011 German Championships in Freudenberg, where extensive rain falls had turned the arena into a swimming pool at the start of the show. In familiar rainy settings both won the silver medal behind team mate Pia- Katharina Voigtländer on Laetitian.
When asked what the biggest change has been after this extremely successful season Vivien laughs and gives a humorous reply: “That I had to switch my riding jacket and helmet for tail coat and top hat for the European Championships. I never rode in that dress before and it was an unusual feeling at first.”
A Future with Ferdinand
Vivien's second ride of the day is Ferdinand, a 6-year old Baden Wurttemberger bred gelding by French Kiss x Sandro Hit and her future star. “He also came from Dr. Schüle about 18 months ago, I cannot remember exactly when”, Vivien reports.
During school holidays there is plenty of time to groom, tack and ride her two horses, but on school days Niemann is supported by her mom. ”I visit a gymnasium in Mannheim so when I have school I only come to the stable around 5 o’clock in the afternoon. My Mum has already walked and groomed Cipollini and Ferdinand for me in the morning. I myself do the riding from about half past 5 on. In the holidays it’s just reversed.”
The gelding is now 6-years-old and might be the ideal back-up for Cipollini next year.
Vivien’s mum wraps the front legs over the coronet band and explains that it’s safer in this case as he is very sensitive in his hoof bulb and overreach boots rub him. Her husband beams seeing Ferdinand being tacked up in the corridor: “This is a very good horse, lots of quality. He is something special.”
Vivien, wearing stylish breeches in the same bright intense blue like the bandages of her horse, makes a very pleasant picture aboard the black gelding. Ferdinand moves differently from Cipollini, but it would be a quandary to say which horse has better basic gaits as they both move with outstanding quality.
When asked why this horse wasn't promoted for the Bundeschampionat this year, Ilona Niemann replies, ”well, he has the quality for sure, but the programmes required at Verden or Warendorf are quite demanding for a 6-year-old and the horses have to be in top shape and very consistent throughout the outdoor season which is much asked for of such a youngster. It wouldn’t suit Ferdinand. He needs quiet work at home and no pressure like that. He started successfully in some L- and M-competitions over the summer and we are happy he was doing fine."
With this second highly talented horse Vivien’s equestrian future seems to be secured even though one might be sold one day. “It would be wonderful to keep both horses for Vivien, but it’s our profession to train horses and trade them later on, so maybe we have to sell one horse”, Vivian’s father says regretfully.
At the end of the day a funny situation appears: Goldi is standing in front of Cipollini’s window, bothering his big, winning successor.Goldi has already done his deal, laying the early foundations of Vivien’s riding career. Her current success and future depend on this talented Hanoverian who looks annoyed by the cheeky old pony.
Article by Silke Rottermann for Eurodressage.com
Photos by Astrid Appels and Silke Rottermann
Vivien Niemann - Profile
- Date of Birth: 13 April 1994
- Nationality: German
- Place of Birth: Mannheim
- Sign/Horoscope: Aries
- Profession: student
- Hobby: riding/ going out with friends / reading ( english books ) / watching football
- Best personal quality: to have really strong nerves
- Personal defect: being very subborn
- Favourite book: perfect chemistry / the new kid
- Favourite film: 21 / Wanted / Salt / Gossip Girl / Fast and Furious 1-5
- Favourite actress: Keira Knightley
- Favourite actor: Leonardo Di Caprio
- Style of music: rock / party music
- Favourite singer or band: Taylor Momsen / The Pretty Reckless
- Favourite car: Ford Mustang GT500
- An unforgettable holiday: Florida ( USA ) winter 2010/2011
- Favourite dish: italian food / spare ribs
Related Links
Eurodressage Photo Database: Vivien Niemann
Niemann Clutches Gold in Junior Riders Individual Test at 2011 European Championships
Niemann and Cipollini Excel in First Group of Junior Riders Team Test
Walterscheidt, Voigtlander, Rothenberger Win 2011 German Youth Riders Championships
