It is generally known that Germans like to base their decisions on exactly defined criteria. Thus it is no a surprise that the selection procedure for the newly created U25 competition “Prize of the Liselott and Klaus Rheinberger Foundation” in Aachen was stipulated in detail beforehand.
“We based our decision on the performance which the young riders showed during the Piaff Förderpreis so far,” explained Jürgen Koschel, national German trainer for young dressage riders with high potential.
“Thus we nominated those two riders who scored the highest after the competition in Lingen mid of June.”
Most successful were Kirsten Sieber and her 12-year-old gelding Charly WRT as well as Kristina Sprehe who is partnered with Royal Flash, a 14-year-old gelding. They finally won the ticket to Aachen after tough internal competitions. No wonder that both young ladies are very delighted to go. “Of course I wanted to win but nevertheless it was a pleasant surprise when I really succeeded,” commented Kristina Sprehe when remembering the moment when she was officially nominated.
Her team mate Kirsten Sieber is kind of a selfmade woman. She was six years old when her parents finally gave in and bought her a pony. She learnt to ride in a stable located near Dortmund which is a typical barn for kids who ride just for fun in their leisure time. In hindsight the 21-year-old thinks that this atmosphere enabled her to develop the right attitude towards her sport: “I never feel stressed. Primarily I ride for my own pleasure. Thus I have a consistent approach, but there is no pressure.” Her father Ulrich Sieber has been her most important trainer since childhood. When she reached Grand-Prix level she started training with Klaus Balkenhol one or two times per week.
The extraordinary talent of Kirsten appeared at a relatively early age. With her pony Velica she won several medals in championships on national and European level among them the gold medal at the European Championship in 2004. Since 2005 she has been riding Charly. Kirsten still remembers her first months with the large chestnut which is bred in Holstein. “Flying changes did not work and now and then he would simply dash off.” But Kirsten’s relaxed attitude as well as a lot of endurance helped buildin up trust and they turned into a perfect pair. Kirsten characterizes her horse as a reliable and highly motivated sport partner.
Their good cooperation resulted in numerous prizes in the young riders division. Two times silver and one time bronze at the Young Rider European Championship in Azeitao in 2008 and the silver medal one year later at the YR European Championship in Ermelo was followed by a third rank place at the FEI World Cup Finals in Frankfurt the same year. And due to her excellent performance in Mannheim and Lingen she ranks first so far in this year’s “Piaff Förderpreis” circuit. No wonder Kirsten Sieber has been a member of the German team since 2004.
The young rider, who combines her riding career with a bank traineeship, was very proud when she heard about her nomination for the U25 competition in Aachen. All the same she sticks to her casual attitude: “I continue following my usual training scheme which also includes enough leisure time for Charly.” Kirsten is confident that she will not lose her head when she enters the Deutsche Bank stadium. “As soon as I am sitting on horseback I forget the surroundings. I can concentrate very well then. My goal is to deliver an outstanding performance in spite of the impressive scenery.”
Kristina Sprehe, the second member of the German U25 team, grew up in an environment where horses rank first. Her parents run the well-known stud Sprehe located near Oldenburg where top-horses are being bred and trained. So it was normal that Kristina started her riding career at the early age of five. Professional training right from the start combined with a wide choice of excellent horses paved her way. All the same the 23 year-old does not want to depend on horse riding alone. She is studying management and economics at the University of Oldenburg.
Since 2002 Kristina has been successful with various horses in the junior/young rider division. 2002 she won the team gold medal during the European Championship with Diddi keeps Cool, and she delivered the same performance with Wyoming two years later in Aarhus. On the back of that horse she also won the bronze medal in Saumur in 2003 and in Aarhus in 2004.
Kristina has been riding Royal Flash for four years. “It is a horse who keeps his nerve, who is very reliable. But at the same time he has enough sensitivity to be a good dressage horse,” she characterises the 14-year-old gelding. The greatest success of the pair so far was winning last year’s final of the “Piaff Förderpreis” in Stuttgart.
Kristina’s most important trainer was Holga Finken, but now she switched to Jürgen Koschel. She wants to intensify her training in order to prepare for the competition in Aachen. “It is very exciting for me to ride in Aachen,” she pointed out. “It is such an impressive stage, such a great audience.” However, Kristina is confident that she can manage the challenge due to her extensive international experience.
“We start as a team and therefore I strive for a top performance. I hope that my team mate and I end up with a good result. All the same it is hard for me to guess which rank we might gain because I do not know the competitors from the other nations well enough,” she admitted.
by Irmgard Peterek for Eurodressage.com
Photos © Private - Barbara Schnell
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