Wolfgang Müller Passed Away

Dressage

Germany

German Riding Master and former team rider Wolfgang Müller has passed away on 30 December 2021. He was 90 years old.

Initial Education

Born on 6 October 1931 in Landsberg an der Warthe, former East German territory (now Polis Gorzow), Müller ended up living in Löbnitz.

He began his training as a rider in Altmark after World War II. In the 1950s he continued his education at the Halle-Kreuz state stud. He then moved to the Potsdam army club, where he received training from Werner Eggers and Willi Lorenz, before settling down in Löbnitz.

Career Highlights

Dressed in blue uniform, he rode on Marios xx (by Asterios xx) on the East-German (DDR) team at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico alongside Horst Köhler on Neuschnee and Gerhard Brockmüller on Tristan. They finished fourth with the team and 16th individually.

He scored team silver at the 1969 European Championships in Wolfsburg and team bronze at the 1970 World Championships in Aachen.

At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, they were fifth with the team and Müller was again 16th individually, this time on Semafor. The DDR-team consister of Müller, Gerhard Brockmüller and Horst Köhler, who rode the horse Immanuel, who used to be known as Rosemarie Springer's Olympic horse Kassim, but had to be sold across the border under a different name to hide its West-German identity.

He rode in eleven East-German Dressage Championships.

Legacy

He was a well respected trainer and his students achieved 35 titles at DDR-Championships.

With Helga at the 1963 DDR-Dressage Championships

His most famous students were Ralf Lahmann and the sisters Anke and Ina Saalbach. The latter became his wife and was an international dressage rider. The now 61-year old last competed at CDI's in 2009.

"He was one of the most successful dressage riders from the former DDR and was one of the few, who despite very little means and possbilities compared to his West German colleagues, was able to achieve success," said German journalist Dieter Ludwig. "They (DDR team) had four horses at Grand Prix level, no trainer, no contact with the big dressage riders in West-Germany, and neither did the Russian colleagues help them. Each rider was there for the other. They learned from the circus how horses has to be trained to do piaffe, passage and one-tempi changes."

In 1968 he was decorated with the "Master of Sport" title in the DDR and received the prestigious honorary title of "Riding Master" from the German Equestrian federation in 1998.

Müller leaves behind his wife Ina.