Story by Chris Hector and Photos by Roz Neave
Thaisa Erwin is one of those people who get noticed. After she finishes our interview, all the people sitting at our table want to know who she is. ‘What an intelligent, charming individual’, seems to be the consensus. They are not wrong. Thaisa has managed to combine elite level riding with finishing an engineering degree, and finding herself a high-powered job in industry.
After missing out in the Athens selection process, Thaisa decided to widen her horizons and headed off to Germany and Holland. Back in Australia she is still abuzz with the experience…
“I absolutely loved Europe. I actually spent two months with Peter and Helena Weinberg, and then at Aachen I was talking with Eric van der Vleuten and he invited me to look at his place, and have a ride and see if I wanted to work there.”
“So the Monday after Aachen I went to his place, and he said, yeah I’d like you to ride here – so I rode there for the next six months, and just felt really right at home.”
Thaisa and the one she left behind, her world cup horse, The Countryman
What do you think you learnt in your time at the Weinbergs in Germany?
“They are such a dealing yard – it kind of revolves around turning over horses. It was good to be there, because Helena had her good horse, Garvi, who had won Olympia and was currently unsound – so I saw the vet work that was done for him. That was fantastic to see. She was also getting Ramonus ready for Aachen – it was so interesting to see the training methods they use.”
Was it very different from what you were used to in Australia?
“Firstly their arena had three open waters, it was huge, it had a bank and a ditch. All the young horses were ridden over water, and jumped more than we would. Lines were quite simple and easy, but it was just a really consistent way of going.”
Did they do much flatwork?
“Weinbergs? No. It was very much jumping orientated, and getting the horses ready to be sold.”
And Aachen?
“It was my first Aachen and I walked in there and thought where am I? It was like a football field, it was just ginormous. Such a great atmosphere. A friend of mine had VIP tickets to the Kür at night, and that was just beautiful.”
How’s that for breeding? Thaisa rides a 4 year old by Heartbreaker out of a Voltaire mare, in Eric van der Vleuten’s outdoor arena…
Then you moved to Holland?
“Eric van der Vleuten is just such a nice man to work for and to ride for. He has a sixteen-year-old son, who rode at the Europeans, and they are both only small people. He’s got this way of riding that has got so much feeling to it, and it suited the way that I wanted to ride. He worked on your confidence, and the confidence of the horse you were sitting on. That was his way of going – it was lovely.”
So why did you come home?
“My horse was still in Australia, and there is only a certain amount of time that you want to be a stable rider. I needed to come back to work, and make more money, and sort out what to do with my horse.”
You are back to being an engineer?
“Yeah, I got another position with my old employers, so after eight months away from a computer, I went back to being an engineer.”
What is the future now?
“It is very open. I have dreams of going back, I just felt right at home there and I would love to live there. Whether I work with horses, or work as an engineer and do horses part-time, I don’t know yet. But I know after being there and feeling what it’s like, I would like to be a part of it.”
Were they two different styles – the Dutch and the German?
“There were definitely two styles. From my limited knowledge and experience, what I saw of the Dutch was softer, a more floaty way of going. Sitting very upright in the saddle. The German way was much stronger. I think it is the difference in the horses really, the German horses are that bit stronger.”
Did you get a lot of opportunity to ride at van der Vleuten’s?
“I rode eight horses a day. I had five that were dedicated just for me at shows so I got to compete every weekend. They were basically up to 1.30 classes, above that you need a different riding license. I had a quality four year old, and I went to quite a few young horse shows, that was great – the way they judge, the courses they jump are lovely for those young horses. It was all judged on style, and marked according to how they jumped. I found that was very good for me to learn how the horse feels, and then be judged on it. I’ve never had that before – it’s always been whether you go clear or not.”
They weren’t too critical of your Aussie style?
“No, not at all. Being a female can be beneficial – it can also be not so beneficial – but with Eric being such a little man, okay some of the horses were strong, but they weren’t overpowering. I rode horses for Eric and Emile Hendrix – they work together – and every week I had a lesson with one of them. That was great.”
Would you say ‘go to Europe’ to other young Australian showjumping riders?
“I would highly recommend it. You have to stay for at least four months. Otherwise you don’t get to experience it. It takes a while to get into the stable, and let them get to know you. There are so many people going through those stables, you have to be dedicated enough so you are remembered. That just takes time.”
So you were mucking out stables?
“Oh yeah, you do everything, but Eric, he cleans stables as well. You feel part of it.”
It was alright speaking English, you didn’t need Dutch?
“I speak a little German that I remembered from high school to get around in Germany, but in Holland most people speak English anyway, but sometimes at shows it was easier in German to get the starting order, or find out what was happening in the marshalling area.”
Plans?
“I have plans of going back. I don’t want to work and try to do the Australian circuit. I either want to do it, or not do it. This time I will plan it more but I definitely intend getting back to Europe.”
This with Sifra (Quick Star/Cantus) and Torteil (Concorde/Polydor)