Holga Finken Joins Helgstrand Dressage

Dressage

Germany

German professional dressage rider and trainer Holga Finken has joined Helgstrand Dressage as a horse trainer and coach.

Trainer and Coach

"His primary focus will be to ensure age-appropriate and individualized training for each horse, with a strong emphasis on horse welfare," the press release stated. "Holga will have the opportunity to support them (clients) with after-sales service."

Andreas Helgstrand was quoted saying, "we firmly believe that his expertise will elevate us to new heights. As he travels to all our locations, teaching and fostering close relationships with both horses and riders, we can not only develop our teams but also optimize our after-sales service."

The 60-year old Holga Finken and his partner Saskia Lieben-Seutter live in Hagen and their business is based at Hof Löffeld in Lienen. They will remain there and not move to Helgstrand's branch in Syke.

Horses at Heart

Finken on Furst Heinrich at the 2003 WCYH

Born in Hemmoor, Germany, Finken began riding as a young child, but really committed to riding when he turned 14. He knew horses were his passion even though he was learning to become an electrician. He became a working student at Achim Weist's yard in Verden, where he also did his official internship to become a "bereiter" until 1986. He first worked for Hans-Jürgen Armbrust, before becoming an auction rider at the Hanoverian center in Verden, where he became life-long friends with Dr. Ulf Möller, also an auction rider at the time.

He trained for 6 months with Herbert Rehbein and then started his own yard in Kirchwalsede with his ex-wife Birgit in 1989. His first S-level horse was Rigoletto and in 1993 he received the Riders' Badge in gold.

Holga garnered the most success as a young horse rider, winning the 2003 World Young Horse Championships on Furst Heinrich. At the World Championships he competed Wahajama, Donnerball, Rusty, Belissimo M, Wanesco, and Dablino. He rode numerous youngsters to titles and medals at the Bundeschampionate, such as Weltbürger, Wahajama, Wildest Dream, Duvalier, Wie Weltmeyer, Rusty, La Perla, Desperados, Stepdancer, amongst others.

Finkens had several prominent students with him in Kirchwalsede, including Isabel Bache (now Freese), Kristina Sprehe, Saskia Lieben-Seutter and Friederike Hahn. After his divorce from Birgit, Holga moved to Gestut Bonhomme in January 2014 and after six months relocated to Daniela Groenke's Gutshof Uetz. After that Finken and Lieben-Seutter relocated to Sudenhof in Hagen, Germany, where they ran their own business. In that time period Holga competed horses such as Haydn, Daily Pleasure, Wunschtraum, Donjour, Hofgraf, Lusingando, Domenikus, Gino, and Simply Red at FEI level. His last international show was in April 2018 at the CDI Hagen where he rode Bailando II in the small tour.

He coaches students Isabel Freese (née Bache), Rodolpho Riskalla, Sabrina Gessmann, amongst others.