Udo Lange Celebrates 80th Birthday

Dressage

Germany

German dressage trainer Udo Lange celebrated his 80th birthday on 13 April 2023.

St. Georg wrote a tribute to the renowned trainer, who had a dressage saddle by Passier named after him.

Udo is born in Dresden in 1943 during World War II. He and his family fled to Düren near Cologne, where he discovered his passion for horses in the stable of Otto Nagel.

He began his formal education in riding school Kordes in Hilden. He became a certified riding at the Westfalian Riding and Driving School under the legendary Paul Stecken.

Udo began working as trainer at Castle Wittgenstein in Laasphe, in the Ludwigsburg riding club, and for entrepreneur Gustav Epple.

Lange proved his versatility in the saddle and was 1966 Regional Eventing champion and competed up to S-level in show jumping. He rode his first Grand Prix dressage test in 1971 at age 28.

After working in the barn of Ulla Salzgeber's parents in Essen, Lange went independent in 1975. He became a five-time German Professional Dressage Rider Champion and in 1996 he was named "riding master".

He coached students such as Ton de Ridder, Margit Otto-Crepin, Robert Acs, Bernadette Brune, and German based Canadian Christilot Boylen with whom he managed the Gammertshof equestrian centre in Röttlingen between 1990 and 2014.

In 2004 he became Brazilian team trainer.

Currently, Lange lives in Medingen.

Source: St. Georg