His wife believed he was the best rider in the world before she ever met him. His groom said she didn’t know of anyone who was easier to work for in the dressage industry. Fellow Grand Prix rider Debbie McDonald said he’s the only person she’d allow to ride her horses without worrying.
Extraordinarily talented, yet always humble, Steffen Peters proved he was worthy of all of these compliments this year when he garnered the highest score for the U.S. team, clinched the team bronze medal and placed fourth aboard Floriano at the FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany.
Although Peters has long been a player in the upper echelons of dressage, 2006 was his year to really stand out. “I can only credit that to my horses,” he said. “And my wife Shannon has an outstanding eye and is my coach on the ground. She knows exactly what the international standard is like, and if I ride at home and I’m not right up to that standard, she reminds me.”
Steffen also said that he couldn’t have achieved these milestones without the help of Floriano’s owners, Stephen and Laurelyn Browning. Shifting the spotlight away from himself is typical of Steffen, but others recognize his talent.
“Steffen has an incredible natural feel, a natural ability that most of us would kill to have,” said Shannon. “He’s a very sensitive rider and gets along very well with the hotter, more sensitive horses because he rides with a lot of tact and a lot of feel.”
McDonald, who rode on the WEG team with Steffen, added, “He was the one that I chose to work with early on in my career. He has such a wonderful way with the horses. He’s soft, effective and doesn’t ride with pure strength.”
Those soft aids are one of Steffen’s trademarks. “I think that my overall philosophy is that I try to get a lot done with the horse being very responsive to the aids–if less is more then I’ve lived up to my daily standards,” he said. “I have three rules when I ride: suppleness, suppleness and suppleness. That’s something I never compromise on. I feel if the horse is always perfectly supple and it listens to the rider’s aids with the highest possible standard, you have very good productive days.”
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Steffen also stands out for his ability to stay calm under pressure. “He’s very level-headed,” said his groom, Lientje Schueler. “You would never know if he’s in a stressful situation.”
“Not too many of us worry when Steffen goes in the ring,” agreed McDonald. “No matter what it might look like in the warm-up, you know that when he walks in the ring it’s going to be fine. He has the ability to just focus on the task at hand. He doesn’t fret if it wasn’t perfect in the warm-up.”
She laughed as she said that Steffen is the only one she knows who can eat a greasy hamburger and fries before he competes with no ill effects.
“I never was bothered too much by pressure,” he admitted. “I enjoy the challenge, and so far it’s worked out that the more important the competition, the better I ride. There’s always a little bit more pressure when you compete with a team at a major championship like the World Games, but at the end of the day you just concentrate on your performance. Concentrate on each and every movement and making each and every moment get the best possible score.”
Steffen credited his father, Hans Hermann Peters, for helping him deal with show nerves. “My dad taught me early on what it means to be in the zone,” he said. “There are many times when people might think I’m rude because before I get on the horse I’m in such a zone I don’t even hear that somebody said something to me.”
Steffen’s strong bond with his horse was another important component of his WEG performances. “Floriano is an amazing horse, but Steffen can get so much out of horses just because they like him,” said McDonald. “That’s one of the reasons I’ve always tried to aspire to be the rider he is.”
That connection to his horses is an important part of Steffen’s daily training. “We don’t treat it as a job, it’s a love of the sport for us, and a love of the horses is No. 1,” said Shannon. “Steffen has a talent in keeping his horses happy. He never wants to work them past their prime or past when they’re happy to work.”
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While Steffen was thrilled with his fourth-placed individual finish, he has bigger hopes for the future. “It’s always a dream to receive an individual medal, and this year it became awfully close,” he said.
“That in and of itself was already a huge dream. I’m a very lucky person. I have an amazing support group behind me with amazing sponsors such as Steve and Laurie Browning, Akiko Yamazaki, Lila Kommerstad and Peggy and Fred Furth. There are some wonderful horses that are coming up. It’s obviously my dream to win an individual medal, but I’m extremely realistic every time when I compete. With the horses coming up, I would say the future looks promising. If it’s going to be enough for an individual medal, that’s something I dream of, but we’ll just have to see.”
Personal Profile
Birthdate: Sept. 18, 1965. “It’s also my wedding anniversary. It’s a very special day.”
Birthplace: Wesel, Germany.
Home: San Diego, Calif.
Wife: Shannon Peters.
A Day In Steffen’s Life: He starts at the barn at 6:30 a.m. and ends between 3-4 p.m. “I ride seven to eight horses at home. A couple of times a week professionals from the Los Angeles area come down [for me to] teach. In the afternoon, two or three times a week there needs to be time for a workout in the gym. It’s something that I honestly don’t enjoy that much but it’s an absolute necessity if you compete at the Olympic level. And at night I enjoy Shannon’s outstanding cooking.”
How He Felt After The WEG Grand Prix Special: “I think the expression on my face when I came out of the ring and heard 50,000 people screaming and looking over at the scoreboard and seeing 75.60 percent, and, at that time, first place, I think the expression on my face explained it all,” said Peters. “I was just beside myself. It’s very hard to describe in words. The first thing that came to my mind was to be extremely thankful to Floriano and Shannon. The day after the Special I had 583 e-mails on my Blackberry. Shortly after that it quit working! That’s when it really sank in.”
Career Highlights
Team bronze–2006 FEI World Equestrian Games (Germany) (Floriano)
4th–2006 WEG Grand Prix Special (Floriano)
6th–2006 WEG Grand Prix freestyle (Floriano)
Team bronze–2005 Aachen CDIO (Germany) (Floriano)
6th–2005 Aachen CDIO Grand Prix Special (Floriano)
7th–2005 Aachen CDIO Grand Prix (Floriano)
9th–2005 Aachen CDIO Grand Prix freestyle (Floriano)
Team silver–2003 Aachen CDIO (Grandeur)
9th–2003 Aachen CDIO Grand Prix Special (Grandeur)
10th–2003 Aachen CDIO Grand Prix freestyle (Grandeur)
7th–2002 FEI World Cup Final (the Netherlands) (Grandeur)
18th & team bronze–1996 Atlanta Olympics (Udon)
Sara Lieser