Q: Do you have a completely different team for the indoor competitions?
A: No, I have three really good marathon leaders: Eminence, Pascal and Bill, which I also take to the indoor competitions.
Q: When did you buy your two 6-year-olds, Monty and Winston, and where did the rest of your team come from?
A: I got them as 4-year-olds, so I started to train them right from the beginning. Rambo, who once belonged to Michael Freund before he sold him to Hungary, is 9. When I got him two years ago, he was a young horse with talent, but he had no competition experience. Bill was first driven by Christoph Sandmann, then by Michael Freund, from whom I bought him. For the last four years he’s been with me.
Q: Have you been training lately with Michael Freund?
A: No, I asked him several times, but he was always too busy. Lately I’m training totally on my own.
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Q: Together with Michael Freund and Chester Weber you have formed The Global Team. Does it still exist?
A: We never found the main sponsor we had been looking for. After Michael Freund’s retirement from international sport, it’s become more a team of friendship. When I drive in the warm-up arena and ask Michael how it was, he’ll tell me his opinion. That’s very helpful.
Q: What competitions do you have lined up for the remainder of the year?
A: Certainly in Riesenbeck (Germany) and maybe Breda (the Netherlands), but I’m not planning on too many competitions, because my horses are so young. I do also plan to come to the CAI Kentucky this October, where I also went last year. I also have students in the States, so I can combine that.
Q: In 2008 you won an individual bronze medal, so do you think you have the capability to stand on the podium at the 2010 WEG?
A: With this team I can be very confident. I just need to manage them without mistakes. When you’re in the lead after dressage, you just need to drive the marathon and the cones without mistakes!
