Most of you will quite rightly ask "who is Philipp Becker?" The German dressage trainer never counted his Grand Prix victories in an attempt to fill up a list of achievements. He had never been on a German dressage team and has never appeared much in the media. Still Philipp Becker has influenced international dressage in his own way, training several international dressage horses alongside his boss for 35 years, the late German Olympic champion Herbert Krug.
Today Becker continues making an impact on the dressage scene as the trainer of some German Grand Prix riders, including Susanne Lebek and Uta Gräf. He coaches them in a way which reflects his character: modestly, from the sideline and behind the limelight.
Eurodressage met with Philipp Becker to discover the man behind the stars and watch a training session with him to find out his visions on dressage.
Some Roundabouts before Reaching Dressage
Philipp Becker was born only a few years after the end of World War II from which his father, a passionate horseman, returned badly wounded. Unable to continue his own riding career Becker’s father „put everything in me to realise the dreams he couldn’t live himself anymore.“ Johann Christoph Becker always had horses and he convinced his young son to start riding as well.
When Philipp Becker was 14 his father was among the founding members of the Riding Club of Mainz-Ebersheim. Philipp in the meantime had got his first own horse and like usual during the 1960s competed it in jumping and dressage competitions up to L- level.
Though enjoying his riding and loving to work outside with animals a career as a professional rider or trainer was never something he considered for himself after he had left school.
Philipp did an apprenticeship as a mechanical engineer. „Well, I finished it, but it was clear to me that this is not the way I would like to earn money for the next 40 years so I went to the German „Bundeswehr“ (army) and continued riding as a hobby.“
During that time, at the beginning of the 1970s, Philipp and his father were looking for a horse for Philipp and drove off to the neighbouring state of Hessia where Herbert Krug’s stable is based in Hochheim. Krug had not yet made himself a name as an international dressage rider nor as a dealer of high class dressage horses, but he was known for having a range of good horses for sale.
„This day in 1971 was destiny and nothing else. We went there and I tried some horses at Krug's. When I dismounted he offered me to stay and work for him on trial for 6 months. I immediately took on the chance.“
Becoming a Dressage Rider
Herbert Krug had been a butcher by profession, but never worked in this job and in the 1960s he started a promising career as a dressage rider in Germany after he had done eventing. When Becker began working for him Krug was only at beginning of making himself the name he would later become in the dressage world.
Neither Krug nor Becker knew back then that they would remain an inseparable, successful duo until Krug gave up his business in the mid 1990s.
"Of course I had had instructions for years when I began my job at Herbert’s yard and I had competed up to S-level in jumping. But all the time I thought that what my former riding instructors had told me cannot be good, though I did not know what to change and how. When I came to Herbert and got dressage lessons from him I sensed right from the beginning that what he adviced was true," Becker reminisced.
Each day he got the unique chance to ride many different horses under Krug’s supervision as well as learn from first class schoolmasters like Westpoint, a horse which previously had been successful at S-level under his boss and which carried Philipp to his first S-dressage classes.
"I was so lucky being allowed to ride Westpoint among other excellent horses in order to learn dressage. Learning dressage meant getting the right feeling for a movement. This is the best and most effective way to learn and can only be done on very well trained horses. When Westpoint for example showed the right collected trot with me Herbert would say that I should save this feeling in my memory which I did."
Philipp had the opportunity to compete Krug’s dressage horses at shows which he did up to Grand Prix level, but a career as a dressage rider had never been his main aim when working with horses. On the contrary: „I loved working the young horses at home, see how they progressed. Also when Herbert was away at shows somebody just had to stay home, keeping the business going on.“
Although not showing very much Becker was awarded the Golden Riden Badge by the German Equestrian Federation for ten wins at S- level which was handed to him by legendary Josef Neckermann in a ceremony during the 1991 CDI Wiesbaden.
A Unique Working Relationship
Between Philipp Becker and Herbert Krug a once in a lifetime working relationship evolved as the years passed by.
„Quite from the beginning we recognised we liked each other and that Herbert’s working style suited me perfectly. He watched me riding and supported me and I did the same when Herbert was in the saddle. As he had taught me everything about dressage we absolutely worked on the same wavelength for 35 years. We only needed to look at each other and we knew what the other thought.“
The legendary Herbert Rehbein once described their relationship with the following words „You two are only there once in this world.“
Krug mainly traded with horses from the German Democratic Republic in the 1970s and later very successfully with horses from Scandinavia. Together with Becker he formed a duo which began to influence the international sport from the 1970s onwards.
When Becker joined Krug’s stable a grey Hanoverian called Monaco was one of his boss‘ competition horses. This horse soon after was sold to one oft he leading dressage riders oft he USA, Dorothy Morkis, who rode the charming grey to Olympic team bronze and a 5th place individually in Montréal 1976.
Monaco became the first of several horses from Krug’s stable which reached international glory and which had previously been trained by him or Becker.
„With all horses we trained the motto was that if a horse is not talented enough for the job it is no pleasure for neither the horse nor its rider. And without pleasure a horse cannot excel so it’s useless trying to train a horse without enough talent," Becker explained.
This on the other hand did not mean that Krug and Becker only took super talented horses in training or refused trying to work with less quality prospects. "Of course talent alone is not enough. Most important is that a horse wants to work and please. A good working ethic can compensate a lot. If a horse isn’t physically able to do S- or Grand Prix work and doesn’t get the required movements no matter how hard it tries it’s unfair to the horse to labour for it. A horse only keeps its motivation if it gets some pleasure out of its daily work," Becker elaborated.
Still sometimes horses surprised Becker and Krug, developing more positively than they ever expected them to do. One of these was the most elegant Swedish gelding Balzac. This noble liver chestnut did well up to S-level when Becker as well as Krug doubted he would ever learn the piaffe to reach Grand Prix. "We decided to give it a try, but it was so difficult for him that neither Herbert nor me were convinced Balzac would make it in the end."
Balzac did, but only because his trainers' duo had lots of patience and took their time day by day. „Every day we took Balzac out of the stable three times and gave him short sessions of piaffe work. As soon as there had been the slightest success, one acceptable step, we praised him and immediately put him back to the stable.“
It was always Krug’s way to work horses very individually and Becker copied this style up to this day. Balzac learnt a piaffe, not one for a 8, but enough not only to start at Grand Prix-level, but to represent Belgium in the 1986 World Championships in Cedar Valley with Decia de Pauw.
Glory with Muscadeur
Another example of a horse which was not bred for the job and additionally did not have an ideal conformation, but due to his excellent gaits and strong will succeeded up to Olympic glory was Herbert Krug’s best horse ever, Muscadeur.
„At the end of the 1970s we began to travel to Scandinavia to look for dealing horses. Usually Herbert would not go to bigger studs, but to small breeders where he often found good horses for affordable prices. In 1980 he came across a huge gelding in Denmark with a long straight back. He was already 8 and had been jumped by the owner’s wife with considerable success. Herbert took him home to be sold again“, Becker remembered.
At home in Hochheim Becker was the principle rider of the liver chestnut in his daily training and even though Muscadeur should be sold he progressed daily. "I quickly told Herbert we have to keep this horse as Muscadeur was so intelligent and eager to work and learn that it became apparant he would easily overcome his physical disadvantages to develop into a good dressage horse."
Krug was still sceptical because this horse had rather straight hindlegs and a long back -- not ideal for Grand Prix -- but Muscadeur’s strong will to learn and please washed away all doubts and made him a Grand Prix horse in just two years. "To give you an example how fast he learnt: Once Herbert went on a 14-day-holiday and before he left he jokingly said to me: ‚Philipp, when I come back Muscadeur can do passage!‘ When he came back Muscadeur actually passaged."
So Krug und Muscadeur had their first start for Germany at the 1982 World Championships in Lausanne, where they competed as individual riders because they had become the German reserve champions the year before.
„What many never thought thought, happened. Despite his conformation Muscadeur learnt a very good piaffe. He really lowered the croup and had a fantastic rhythm. He just had the will to do it and overcame all disadvantages. He was a textbook example what a horse is able to do if he loves his job."
Muscadeur went on to be a member of the victorious German dressage team at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, finishing 7th individually after he had been in the gold medal winning team at the 1983 European Championships at Aachen.
Krug usually did not spent an awful lot of money when he bought dressage prospects for his stable. And if he now and then purchased a more expensive horse “it was no guarantee that these horses were really better than the cheaper ones,” said Becker in hindsight. Through sheer hard work, dedication and ability he and Philipp Becker can take credit for some Olympic dressage horses.
At the 1988 Olymic Games in Seoul the Swedish geldings Emirage (ridden by Eva-Maria Pracht for Canada) and Courage (ridden by Ann-Katrin Linsenhoff for Germany) won team bronze and team gold. Both were discovered by their riders at Krug's barn some years earlier.
The Hessian branded Trakehner gelding Floriano, with whom Krug became the 1987 European team champion, was sold to British dressage newcomer Annie McDonald-Hall who immediately qualified him for the 1990 World Equestrian Games in Stockholm, just missing the individual final there.
"Floriano was an amateur horse stabled in the neighbourhood. I test-rode him once and he gave me a super feeling, so we bought him. Due to his ambition and good temperament he progressed from M- to GP level in only one year, completely without force."
By dealing high quality dressage horses almost all the legends of dressage came through Krug’s stable now and then to look at horses and try them out. For Becker this was highly educational as well:
"All the famous dressage riders of that time had been there and when they tried out horses I could learn an awful lot. In particular I profited from conversations with Herbert Rehbein who was such a friendly person and liked sharing his knowledge."
Going on his Own
For 25 years Philipp Becker had worked fulltime at Herbert Krug’s stable until 1986 whe he started to split his time between Hochheim and his own stable near Mainz. "From 1986 until Herbert gave up his business in 2006 I worked there for half a day and then took care of my own stable in the afternoon."
When an era of almost 4 decades was finished with the close-down of Krug’s stable another window opened for Philipp Becker. The upcoming young Grand Prix rider Susanne Lebek asked him to help her with the training. They had first met each other when the Lebek's were occasionally looking for horses in Krug’s stable. They started a training-relationship which still exists nowadays.
Thanks to Becker Lebek found her best horse so far, the elegant leggy Hanoverian stallion Potomac (by Prince Orac xx). „When Herbert had given up dealing horses there were some junior riders who came and asked if they would train in his stable," Becker explained. "One of them was Annabell Vogler, the first rider of Potomac. The horse had come to us as a 4-year-old after the stallion performance testing. We had a good relationship with Dr. Bade from Celle and got Potomac like that.“
Through this connection Lebek was able to buy Potomac, the horse that enabled her to join the German team for the first time at the 2009 European Championships in Windsor where they won team bronze.
„Potomac is an absolutely highly talented horse. He is very sensitive and eager to work, not once in his training did we have to be slightly coarsy with him or use a whip“, Becker reported.
Lebek who currently also competes the Hanoverian Baudolino at CDI shows still trains with Becker on a regular basis.
Becker's second master student Uta Gräf enabled Phillip's name to became more known to the public the past two years.
„About seven years ago Uta Gräf, who I knew from the shows as we live not far away from each other, approached me, asking if I can help her with the training of a Grand Prix horse she got in her stable.“ This horse had been Duvalier, the former Bundeschampion of the 3-year-old horses who had been trained to GP by Holga Finken. „I knew Philipp a bit from shows and liked his way of working. Duvalier was a huge horse previously ridden by a man and I felt I needed somebody helping us come together, so Philipp and I began training together," Gräf explained.
With Duvalier, Gräf won bronze at the 2004 German Championships for Professional Dressage Riders. Her horse scored the overall highest marks under all three riders in the horse changes finals, a feat Graf was very proud of.
Over the past two years Uta celebrated considerable success with her stallions Le Noir and Damon Jerome H, earmarking herself for her fine riding style and the tremendous rideability of her horses. At big shows Philipp tries to support her if it fits his schedule and he trains her at home every two weeks to work on the fine-tuning.
"Susi (Lebek) and Uta know their job very well and they are absolutely able to work on their own, but sometimes it’s helpful if someone takes a look and assists with some details," Becker modestly describes how he sees his role with the two ladies and probably also with his daughter Simone, who competes at Grand Prix level on her own horse as an amateur rider.
Another young lady who has to be mentioned is Herbert Krug’s daughter Nadine, an accomplished Grand Prix rider nowadays and once a German Champion in the youth riders division. “When I started my work at Herbert Nadine was a one-year old baby. I saw her growing up and I mainly gave her riding lessons and later trained her," Becker looked back.
Becker, who never favoured competing a lot though having won dressage competitions up to Inter II level, no longer rides much these days.
„After so many decades working in the saddle for many hours a day my back is not the best. Only sometimes if a student wishes I sit on a horse to feel a problem or try to solve it. I concentrate on the training and my 16 boxes at home are occupied with boarding horses.“
Now in his sixties Philipp Becker has followed the development of dressage and the breeding of dressage horses over the past decades, but for him certain things should be untouched by modernity and progress: for instance respecting the horse’s natural predispositions and his temperament. To Becker it’s without question that working according to the classical principles are still valid.
In this aspect he’s a representative of the „old school“, but in his training sessions one will never find rude and loud commands being shouted at the rider, as some claim is "the German way".
Instead there are quiet instructions. If it seems necessary for him Becker vividly demonstrates for example how the horse should be bend in a half pass and he'll have it practised until progress is visible.
Becker is able to treat every horse and rider as an individual, but never forgets the classical scale when working on the proverbally different ways that lead to Rome.
Philipp Becker on…
…what he’s looking for in dressage
Beauty and lightness. We only get this if we work with patience and feeling and without force. If something is not working today it might work tomorrow or in some weeks.
…what he’s looking for in a dressage horse
A horse must preferably have a good back and good hindlegs. But the most important thing is the eagerness to work and the horse’s will. It can compensate physical disadvantages.
…dressage horses being too tight in the neck
If a horse comes behind the vertical most of the time or even permanently something is definitely not right. Often these horses are not strong enough in their backs.
…the most difficult aspect when training a dressage horse
It’s an art training an ambitious horse as it’s a thin borderline between asking too much or boring such a horse.
…his most favourite dressage horse.
It’s a difficult question, but personally I had the greatest fun and the best feeling on Festoe. He was a small Hungarian horse Herbert Krug bought as a ready trained GP horse in the 1970s.
…the most talented horse he had ever met.
It’s hard to say, but probably it had been Wandervogel, a coloured chestnut Hanoverian which belonged to Annabell Vogler first and came from Dr. Bade in Celle. Annabell and I trained him together and he was so extremely easy. Usually I start doing piaffe with a horse in hand, but Wandervogel was so talented we could easily teach him piaffe and passage from the saddle. Later he was sold to Ann- Katrin Linsenhoff who competed him in the small tour in Aachen.
Article by Silke Rottermann for Eurodressage.com
Photos by Elisabeth Weiland and Silke Rottermann
Photo courtesy of Philipp Becker's private archive
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