DInja is a Dutch dressage amazon who has already had great successes from young horse classes to championship Grand Prix. Her greatest success at the top sport was an individual bronze in both the Special and Freestyle at the World Championships in Herning in 2022 on the stallion Hermès and she followed it up with a fourth place at the Paris Olympics in 2024. This year she already won the World Breeding Championships for Young Dressage Horses with the six year old stallion Red Viper and she has also been named with Hermès on the Dutch team for the Europeans.
In our chat with discuss how her journey began. Her grandfather’s influence and commitment. What it takes to ride these amazing horses. The influence of the stallion Capri Sonne Jr and why she decided to ride stallions early on. We talk about what a day is like for Dinja, why fitness work is important to her, her management of the horses, running a stable on her own and what it takes as well as what she learnt from one of her big mentors Leunus van Lieren. Dinja discusses her plans for Hermès and insights into his quirky character and why he’s a championship horse. We chat about her Paris Olympic experience and her individual bronzes at the World Championships in Herning and we meet some of her young up and coming horses such as Mauro Turfhorst and Red Viper. It’s also interesting to hear how her training and priorities in the arena have changed over the years and how she prepares for a test. And why does Dinja have a western trainer?
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51:35
Jessica Von Bredow-Werndl: Know When To Kick Yourself/ Know When To Hug Yourself
Last year dressage superstar Jessica von Bredow-Werndl successfully defended her Olympic gold medals both in the teams and individual competition in Paris on her champion mare Dalera. A year on, I sat down with Jessi as she compares her experiences of both the Tokyo and Paris Olympics and post Olympics. What she experienced may not be what you imagined.Things can look very different from the outside. This is a very honest, heartfelt and insightful interview.
We talk about the pressure of Paris, the rituals she used to get through. Jessi opens up about what strategies she learnt from Tokyo that helped her through Paris.
She didn’t have the show she had hoped at Aachen this year with her new ride Diallo, but it’s about putting things in perspective, dealing with “failures” and the positives she learnt in the days afterwards. We discuss the differences between the horses, balancing life and how the death of her coach affected her and why the journey is so important.
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Becky Moody: Aachen CHIO 2025. What a Year!
It’s the “Aachen Series”! Today we chat to Team GB dressage superstar Becky Moody. This was her first Aachen experience and she brought her top star and current number two in the world Jagerbomb along with her young small tour mare Magic Dream JB. We talk about the highs and lows of the last 12 months post Olympics. The challenges of being at the top of the sport. How the horse sport is different from the other Olympic disciplines. We discuss her up and coming horses and how all horses are different, how much these top horses love their job and catering for all their different personalities and the difficulties of when the public don’t understand the journey of dressage. We also touch on her clear, logical training approach. And why does Jagerbomb enjoy a buddy at these shows?
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17:08
Patrik Kittel - The Fire and the Smoke
Swedish dressage rider Patrik Kittel has been in the top sport for 25 years. A competitor in four Olympics and numerous World Equestrian Games and World Cup finals, Patrik rode to victory in the World Cup final this year in Riyadh. In this podcast we discuss taking on criticism and where the dressage sport is at the present moment; horse welfare and what do horses really need; bringing positivity to the sport and how we go about improving things in a methodical way; learning and not being afraid of mistakes; working hard and what it really takes to be at the top and how horse care has changed over the years. How did the whole journey start for Patrik and why did he chose dressage as his discipline? We talk about how to pick yourself up and be better and better; criticising yourself and the passion to keep improving; Touchdown’s personality; off the horse work and what Patrik learnt from his mental coach; the benefit of watching others and what he aims for in a training session. We also take a moment to remember Scandic
And what did Isabell Werth say to Patrik to motivate him?
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59:51
Christoph Hess: The Rider's Responsibility
Christoph Hess is a modern day master. He studied to be a teacher at university and was a rider of competitions and at auction yards before becoming an international judge for 30 years in dressage and eventing, judging everything from young horse to Grand Prix.
He worked at the German Equestrian Federation for almost 40 years being the head of training for 30 of those years and headed the Federal Performance Centre at Warendorf for over 20 years. He is currently the training ambassador for the German Equestrian Federation and coaches many eventers in dressage on their journey to the Olympics.
In 2019 he was awarded the gold German Equestrian Cross for his services to the sport. He won the “Silver Horse” at CHIO Aachen this year for his social media content. Christoph is so passionate and generous with his knowledge, and one of the most inclusive and positive people I’ve ever met. He will help anyone who has an interest.
In this interview, we discuss his foray into social media and how it can be used in a positive way. We talk about his philosophy of riding, how riding is different from all other sports and our responsibility as riders. We look at the scale of training, the ability to teach technique and feeling, his view of the sport at the Paris Olympics, the state of the sport at the moment and how we move forward with positivity, using old knowledge in a modern way and what should 95% of your money be spent on.
And what was the key to France’s Olympic silver in Versailles?
Rebecca Ashton here. As an equestrian journalist, I get to interview people who are top of their game and have so many ideas and information to pass on. This often transcribes into quite long interviews, sometimes a few thousand words.
While the interviews I do will still be transcribed and offered to you in written format (with great photos of course!), this is for those of you who want something interesting to listen to while you’re getting the dinner ready or driving in your car or mucking out the stables so you don’t miss out.
Österreich