Dressage Expats: Rebecca Williams-O’Brien, An Australian in Germany

Focus

Ex-Pat Stories

Upon request of Eurodressage readers, we'll be launching series of accounts of dressage expats who have uprooted their life to move to another country in pursuit of dressage excellence.

Kicking off this new article series is Rebecca Williams-O’Brien, who moved from Australia to Germany with her 9-year old Hanoverian gelding Hollingrove Dazzler. Originally from Emerald, Victoria in Australia, "Bec" is on an adventure, halfway around the planet, to train with Stefan Wolff at equestrian centre Sudenhof in Hagen.

This is her account of being an expat in Germany during the corona crisis:

A Journey to the other side of the Planet for the Adventure of a Lifetime

From Australia to Germany

Back in November 2018, I attended a dressage clinic with visiting trainer Stefan Wolff. Dazzler and I had a lot to learn and I really liked Stefan’s approach to Dazzler’s training challenges. I put in fivemonths of hard work, and then when Stefan returned to Australia in April 2019 for his next clinic, he invited us to come and train with him at Sudenhof in Hagen am Teutoburger Wald, Germany.

I basically jumped at the opportunity. Why? Because I knew I had a lot to learn, and why not learn in the country that has been at the top of the Sport for (what seems like) forever. I’m very thankful that my husband, David, was standing next to Stefan at the time of this conversation — and has been understanding and supportive right from the start!

So, in early June, David and I visited Stefan’s training base to see what it was like. I must admit we fell in love with Germany instantly. Driving into Hagen aTW and staying at the Buller Land Hotel was like a dream come true. Flowers, sunshine and a place to explore… Yep I was hooked and I hadn’t even made it to Sudenhof yet!

On our first visit to Sudenhof to meet up with Stefan, I realised just how much of a “Duck out of water” I was, and who I’d be training alongside: Holga Finken, Saskia Lieben-Seutter, Eva and Ulf Möller; and an array of Big Name Dressage Riders that come to them for lessons. From that day, I knew I had to do it… I had to move to Germany to train, no matter how terrified or unworthy I felt.

The only real challenge I had with the move was emotionally: separating myself from my amazingly supportive husband, family and friends and my beautiful property and animals, was like ripping my heart out. I had massive doubts that I was even good enough to train in Germany, let alone compete there, but the reality is “you’ll never know unless you try”! I could always come home if it didn’t work out. We set up our property to do Quarantine for Dazzler for 4 weeks before his flight with IRT and I must admit they were extremely helpful getting everything organized.

August 2019 arrived and Dazzler left first with a very smooth trip. I was worried the entire time, but IRT kept me well informed the whole way. Then David and I flew over.

Dazzler and I were reunited on 25th August 2019, ready to begin the work.

The Training

Back to basics we went! Because even through I’d already gotten Dazzler to Prix St Georges and our first CDI*** event at Sydney, there was a lot that we needed to undo to be able to go to the next level.

First up the tension issues and that is Dazzler’s deep desire to find everything else more interesting than the rider. With Stefan’s training background with Klaus Balkenhol I knew I was in the right hands to improve my aids and work out how to get inside Dazzler’s head and, therefore, his body.

Rebecca and Dazzler in Germany (Photo © T. Lehmann)

Oh, and have I mentioned half-halts? Not one every now and again, which is what I have thought for the past 20 years, but every other stride to maintain his balance; and inside leg to outside hand… not the rider's inside leg, it’s the horses inside hind leg and capturing that energy into your outside hand…kind of like a side crunch… what planet have I been on all this time (insert hand slap face emoji)?!?! And then a light bulb went off; all of our training issues come down to one simple truth! My lack of discipline!

It’s taken me a good five months to work that one out. The reality is if I’m not disciplined within myself, how can I expect my horse to work with me. I don’t mean force, I mean having the forward vision, that this is the movement I want and getting it, with correct aids, position of my body, hands and legs. To move Dazzler through transitions, half-halts, half-passes, pirouettes, and everything else — with only the slightest of movement from me, but with the feeling and vision like it’s already happened.

Now, here we are in March 2020. We were meant to start competing but things have gone a tad crazy with the planet, and we are in semi lockdown in Germany. So, we keep training and keep learning.

Currently our focus is on the canter zig zags with the balance and feeling I need for the changes, developing the weight bearing for the full canter pirouettes, and still working on the trot half-halts so that Dazzler isn’t in a moment of tension, but rather a giving activation. The inspiration that I have gained by watching the riders at Sudenhof and at the few competitions that I have attended has been the acute attention to detail. I guess this is also where the discipline comes into it all: you train for a 10, you compete for a 10. You repeat, repeat, repeat transitions and rhythm for a 10, any mindset less than that isn’t worth it. Yes, there is the starting of the learning phase where 10 just isn’t achievable, but it’s the mindset and dedication of the rider that ends up getting you the result. This fascinates me.

Life in Germany

What is it like living in Hagen am Teutoburger Wald? I love it!

Even though there isn’t much happening at the moment because of the Corona pandemic, Hagen is a lovely quiet little town, very much like back home. Except when Hagener Kirmes (Hagen Festival) is on, then it’s like the Royal Melbourne Show crossed with Oktoberfest, and takes over the entire town. Now that’s an experience!

My apartment is absolutely divine, full of light and airiness. The local restaurants are all very good quality and the supermarket is huge… I do very much miss the massive selection of fresh product we get at home in Australia, but I am making do with what I can get, and purposefully avoiding the two bakeries that I live next to! In finding my new level of discipline in my riding I have also found a new discipline in avoiding the massive amount of bread and sweets they seem to eat here.

The local people are kind and helpful. When there’s a “lost in translation” moment there always seems to be someone around to help. With the current virus situation, everyone is very mindful of distance and avoiding contact, even the supermarkets have installed measures to keep the staff (and clients) safe at checkout. I haven’t witnessed any panic buying, but then again, I also haven’t had a need for pasta or toilet paper, yet!

At the barn everyone is very helpful, Susanna and Carsten Berner, the owners of Sudenhof, have been very welcoming, and nearly everyone speaks English, so I’m actually having issues learning German. Stefan’s groom, Sharnika, is also Australian and I’m forever grateful for the level of care she gives Dazzler while I’m not there.

I won’t lie, some afternoons it’s super hard to get through the loneliness, and now that flights are grounded to and from Australia, my husband can’t visit as planned for Easter. I am, however, super grateful for the technology we have today to be able to connect with him and my family and friends regularly. It just makes it all a little bit easier.

So now it’s time to train and focus on my vision, get into daily home workouts, eating healthy, and keep myself motivated until competitions can reopen.

Dressage is an amazing sport where you literally never stop learning and I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Stay safe everyone.

-- Rebecca Williams-O’Brien