Carl Cuypers Returns to the U.K. to Bechtolsheimer's Yard

Dressage

Great Britain

Belgian Grand Prix rider Carl Cuypers will return to the U.K. to become manager of Ursula and Wilfried Bechtolsheimer's yard in Ampney St. Peter, Great Britain.

Cuypers celebrated brief international success in 2006 when he received the ride on Grand Prix horse Barclay II and was selected on the Belgian team for the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen. In 2014 he showed Anna Nolte's Bilan at the World Young Horse Championships in Verden, Germany.

Cuypers began as a working student at Norbert van Laak's yard before starting his career as a professional rider at Ann Kathrin Linsenhoff's Schafhof in Kronberg, Germany, before moving to Hofgut Liederbach in Liederbach, Germany, where he got the ride on Barclay II in 2006.

In the late 2000s he moved to Wilfried Bechtolsheimer's yard where he was an assistant trainer to Laura Bechtolsheimer for a period of time, after which he worked at Sissy Max-Theurer's in Austria and the Swiss yard of the Lualdi family.

He returned to Germany to become independent and worked at several stables in the 2010s, including at Nussbaumhof, at Anna Nolte-Jaworski's Hofgut Rosenau and most recently for Marco Müller's equestrian centre Spessart.

The 41-year old Cuypers has now accepted the position of yard manager and home trainer at Bechtolsheimer's UK yard. Laura Tomlinson (née Bechtolsheimer) runs her own, new stable in Tetbury twenty minutes from her parents' place.

"Laura moved to her new yard outside Tetbury earlier this year so Carl will take over the role of home trainer to Laura and the other riders and coordinate the production of the young horses," Wilfried Bechtolsheimer told Eurodressage.

Wilfried and his wife Ursula are spending more time in Switzerland due to health reasons and have therefore appointed a new yard manager.

"We will continue to support and enjoy our horses as much as possible and Klaus Balkenhol, though taking more of a back seat, will continue to be part of the team," Wilfried added.