Grete Püvi, born in Tallinn, Estonia and living in Nice, is competing at the 2015 World Dressage Masters in Vidauban on 13 - 15 March 2015 for the second time. She loves the atmosphere and the ease of the event and is looking forward to the competitions.
Grete’s family was not into horses at all and she doesn’t really know where her passion for horses comes from. “The only thing my mother can think of is that she made a blanket for me when I was a baby and that blanket had images of horses.” Her parents did not want her to ride, they thought it was too dangerous. They wanted her to continue playing the piano. The whole family plays an instrument and her sister Pirjo Püvi is a well-known opera singer in Estonia. When she was seven-years-old she secretly went to ride with a few friends from school. “But after four lessons they told me I had to pay for the next so I had to tell my parents. They, of course, were not happy, but they also knew they could not stop me. When I was 12-years-old my mother bought me my first horse. The horse was more suitable for jumping, so I started jumping.”
Then Grete turned to dressage and after a while she had won all titles and competitions possible in Estonia and she had to make the decision whether she wanted to ride as a hobby or go professional. She decided to reach for more. She asked her good friend Rolf Beutler-Bath, a German dressage judge, what would be the best to do and he recommended to go and train with Udo Lange in Germany.
After two years she moved to Monica Theodorescu. Previously known as Grete Barake, Puvi has been training with her partner Alexandre Ayache since Janiuary 2014. “We work very well together. We complement each other. I learned the discipline and correctness in Germany and Alexandre is an expert in teaching the horses to react quickly to the aids, passage and piaffe.
The level of dressage in Estonia is growing and Grete tries to help as much as she can. There are some good young riders in Estonia and one of them, Charlotte Pärt, is trained by Grete and is riding Grete’s old Grand Prix horses to gain experience. Charlotte’s goal is to compete at the 2015 European Young Riders Championship. Grete herself is aiming for the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016 and “to do the best I can and to enjoy and love my horses.
She thinks the new WDM initiative to support some events in upcoming countries, like the show in Tallinn in October 2015, is a very good idea. “It will definitely help to further develop dressage in the region. Perhaps through this there will be a chance that new nations are integrated in the top level competitions one day.”
She is riding her horse Talent (2000, KWPN) for just over a year now and she loves her. “She has such a good character, she does not behave like a ‘typical mare’ and is very cooperative. She only has one very strange habbit. During every test she will whinny when we go into extended walk. And really….. in every test in competition, but never at home.”
Text by WDM - Photos © Astrid Appels
Eurodressage's Astrid Appels took photos of all riders competing in the CDIO Vidauban. If you are interested in photos, contact us by email with your name and the name of the horse
Related Link
Eurodressage On the Scene at the 2015 Vidauban Dressage Festival