Helen Langenhanenberg – the interview

Words and photos – Rebecca Ashton – additional photos from Digishots

German dressage rider Helen Langenhanenberg is as delightful to talk to as she is to watch ride. After Grand Prix successes with Responsible, she took over the ride of Damon Hill from her then trainer Ingrid Klimke. The chestnut stallion and Helen went on to win team silver and finished fourth individually at the London Olympics in 2012 and then individual silver and team gold at WEG in Normandy in 2014. Her partner in the top sport today is the 17 year old stallion Damsey FRH owned by Leatherdale Farms. With numerous successes under their belt, their third place test at this year’s World Cup Final, will perhaps be talked about for many years to come. That final centreline! They are currently ranked fourth in the world.

 I caught up with Helen at Hagen: Horses and Dreams where she campaigned two youngsters. One of them, Vayron won the Nuremberg Burg Pokal Final qualifier, with the other, Frank Sinatra coming a close second.

Helen and Vayron at Horses and Dreams

 You’ve been doing so much lately; having babies, competing horse, I can’t keep up! Gothenburg World Cup Final. Let’s start there.

 That’s a good start!

 Talk us through it. That final centreline…do you think that will go down in dressage history? (Damsey looked so fired up coming down the final centre line that for a while it looked as if the judge at C was going to dive for cover…)

 Hahahahaha. I think so!

 Did you actually think you’d be able to stop Damsey?

No. In between I wasn’t sure if he was going to stop. With the extension towards piaffe, he was already on fire. I had difficulties to get him to piaffe because he was really in the mood to show himself. But I love this, honestly. He’s 17 and I think nothing could be worse than if he didn’t want to present himself or to be fresh. Although we lost some points there I think it really shows that he is in the best mood and he wants to do it.

 We had an okay piaffe, not what we can do, but we piaffed a little bit and then I thought, “Okay, I have him back”, but then the audience was clapping and I thought, “Okay… now I’m in big trouble.”He thought, “If you want me, you get me!”He was ready to start again.

 I loved it. But anyway, I had to stop him. I had to pull the hand brake to really make him know I wanted to stop now! Though I’ve given more sensitive half halts in my life, I really didn’t have a choice! But I love this energy and will.

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I feel like that whole show, I wasn’t there but it seemed to be quite exciting and everyone was really enjoying it.

I think we all had a good time. It was a good show, super organised, very friendly, super conditions, the footing and the stables. I think everyone was in the mood to do it.

 

The degree of difficulty judging, do you think it’s been a bit of a game changer in terms of what people are choreographing?

 Maybe. I changed the freestyle in January because I thought, we can do more. The B score was always too low. For the good A score we get I thought we needed more in the B, so I thought what can we do? We changed the half passes with the pirouettes. I think he’s the king of pirouettes. I always feel once I am in, I could do 50 pirouettes. He doesn’t care, he’s just doing it. The rule is, if you get at least 7 for everything, you get 100 for degree of difficulty. It’s a high risk for sure, but if it works…

Helen and Damsey at Aachen 

But that makes it more exciting as well. That also must say something about your training with Damsey, that he has that much energy at the end and also that you can make it that hard for him now even as he gets older?

 I don’t think it’s hard for him. He’s older on the paper but he doesn’t feel older in the body. He actually feels younger now than when I got him.

 How long have you had him for now?

 The beginning of 2015. He’s 17, there will be an end as it is with every horse. But that was a real goal for me to go to the World Cup final and it’s perfect to end like this and now anything else is additional. As long as he’s in this mood, I definitely will not stop and whatever comes we take it. When the moment comes that I feel he gets tired or he does not want to do it or he’s not feeling good, then it’s over. Then he can be the school master for my kids. They both are always riding on him. He can be a really naughty boy but with the kids, he’s so nice. When I have them in front of me, I nearly can’t get him into trot. It feels like he knows. I give him an aid and he thinks, “Oh…no.”

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Let’s talk about your pregnancy. You were competing to well into it.

 I competed at Neumunster in February last year and my second daughter was born in June and three and a half weeks after her birth was Aachen…

How? Just how? Both ends!

 It just worked. I wanted it and it worked. She came out in the morning and in the evening I really had the feeling that I could ride.

 No! You didn’t, did you?!

 No, I didn’t. I waited five days. I think she was born on a Wednesday and on Monday I rode again. I wanted to ride on the weekend but my people had their days off, so I had to wait until Monday.

 How long did you ride until before you gave birth?

 I stopped after Neumunster so four months before the birth and at that point I was only riding Damsey.

 How did you bounce back? Is it just that you’re so “riding fit”?

 No, the first day I thought that it was absolutely impossible. Damsey is always testing me. Everyday. The first time I sat on him again I was really fat and no balance and then he spooked. He never spooks. And then he spooked again. I was very close to falling off. It was absolutely not bad, it was just a little jump, but I had no muscles. “I love you my little devil!” I thought.

 The second day I thought I would not manage it. Nothing hurt but I felt I had no muscle, no balance, no feeling. The third day my trainer was there and I was just trotting a few rounds thinking this will not work again and then feeling was there. I thought ok, it all works. Yep, the third day I was really sure that we could do it.

Did you do any other work to help you?

No.

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How many horses were you riding at that point?

Until Aachen, not too many. Three. Because I really wanted to go to Aachen and I thought, don’t ask too much from your body. If you really want to do this, that’s enough. After Aachen I was riding as normal again.

What’s normal?

Eight,10,12. Haha.

And that’s your day I guess?

 Yes. And then some students.

Helen teaching at Hagen

And then how do you fit the kids in?

 It actually works quite well. The older one is going to kindergarten and for the younger one I have a nanny. In the afternoons I’m there with the kids, so it works quite well.

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 And what’s your training programme with the horses. With Damsey, for instance who’s getting a bit older, but maybe he isn’t so different because he feels so young! What would a week be for him?

Before the show I ride a little bit more with him. Although he’s this age, I always feel that I have to ride the movements and lines with him, that he really knows it. It’s a bit strange but I have really the feeling that it helps. Like now there is not much on, we’re just jogging a little bit, flexing, stretching, just keeping him fit and fresh.

 And then you’ll go for the Europeans this year?

I don’t know. It’s difficult in Germany but I’ll try.

There’s just too many of you! Was Tryon a little bit disappointing? (Helen unfortunately didn’t make the team)

Yes and no. No because I did not really expect it. Yes because we had the points and the results. In the end we were the third German. But I had a good time with the kids and otherwise I would have been away a long time but I think we had the results during winter, in Aachen and then in Munster, my last qualification. But anyway…

 

Helen and Damon Hill at the WEG

I feel that the riders who make it onto the podium are almost totally different to even the good riders. What do you think it is that sets them apart?

I don’t know. We had an interesting talk in the evening at the World Cup with some riders and Judy Reynold’s husband said I have a game face and that he has only seen it with Isabell and with me, we go in with this focus and nothing else is going on around me. I think this is true. Some have said to me why don’t you say hello? I think I’m a very friendly person but when I am in the arena, I’m in the arena, even warming up, and I don’t look around and I’m really focused at that point. I think to bring the horses in the right position really takes a lot, to do everything at once sometimes for sure it looks better, sometimes not, but in the end you want that they handle it in the right way, that the movement can be easy for them. I think you need a real will to do it, real passion.

I mean to be riding 12 horses a day and looking after kids. That takes a certain type of person.

Sometimes I’m tired!

 No kidding. What do you eat? Is there a special, secret diet?

 My husband is a very good cook and I eat everything he makes. I love eating.

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 What’s non negotiable in your training?

 Without good gaits, it’s not possible today. The horse’s mind has to be good as well. They must want to do it. I mean how do I force 600kgs to do it? There’s no chance.

 You’re little but you’re riding big horses under really good control and it’s obviously not forced. So is it just playing with their bodies, doing the movements? What is it for you?

 I think suppleness and that in the end it feels good for them. It’s the same as us, if something is easy for us, we like doing it. If something is hard work and feels impossible for us, then we try not to do it and I think it’s the same with the horses. If we as a rider or a trainer are able to explain everything to them, that it is possible for them, that it feels good for them and they have the feeling that they can do it, then I think they start to enjoy it and then they start to love doing it.

For sure I always say the horses haven’t read the book on how to be a good Grand Prix horse so we make mistakes, the horses make mistakes. I’m not always giving the perfect aid. It’s a long and hard way. It’s not just going out for a hack and playing around and all of a sudden you say, Woo hoo! Grand Prix!” It’s not how it is.

Many people say oh, the poor horses, but they enjoy a challenge as well, like us. I think if I would retire Damsey now, he would be completely sad.

I always wonder as top riders, what do you think the general public doesn’t understand about riding at the top level?

I think that sometimes I get the feeling that people think we are really forsaking the horses. We are not nice to them. But we do everything for them. I think there is nothing wrong to ask more. You should not ask for impossible things but, as I said to Susie my student before, the more better riders there are, the better you get so you grow and I think it’s the same with the horses. They do something and it feels good and they feel, “Oh, I can do it,”and the next time they try even more and then they start to fight for it and they really like it. But it’s not always like that directly from the beginning. But once they get the feeling, they love it. Not every horse, for sure. Not every rider or human wants to do it either. Some horses do like to do nothing! But the good horses want it.

And the sport horses are bred for it.

Yes but sometimes you even have breeding where you don’t expect it but they can do it because they want it.

 What horses have you got here at Hagen?

 Two youngsters. Both eight year olds. The stallion Vayron (Vitalis/Gloster) is huge, he’s nearly 1.90m.

Vayron – he’s huge

 Helen! Why?

The owner asked me and I think the horses is super, super, super good.

How do you begin with a horse like that?

I only have to get on! That’s the biggest challenge! He has very good rideability. He has no (show) routine at all. This is his fourth show and I wasn’t sure when I arrived here yesterday, I thought okay, I think he will die when he sees this. He was super this morning though when I warmed up but I have no idea what happens tomorrow when we compete.

I hope you have a monkey grip.

I have it on every saddle! Always. It even helps you for getting on! Once I started with young horses and some really bucked, since then I always have it, even on Damsey. It’s a bit of a habit now.

I think Vayron has nearly endless potential. He has done only a couple of S level tests so I have no idea what happens here, but he’s been feeling good and then we make the decision to ride, so we see what happens.

The other eight year old, Frank Sinatra 7, is a Fidertanz/ Louis Le Bon. He has definitely more routine than the other one but even he hasn’t done much. I think he can be a very good Grand Prix horse. He’s doing a super job.

 So what’s it like, you get these really great horses and I know it’s your job, but it still must be hard when they get sold on you?

I’m getting better with that. I was really bad with that at the beginning but you learn. Some horses come and the owners say to me directly there will be a point when they have to be sold. We all have to live. It is like it is but then I’d prefer to ride a good horse during that time and make the best out of it and maybe then to find a good place for the horse to go. But that’s the job. If you have some horses in between that can stay, then that’s ok, but it’s not my strongest part, selling them!

Who’s helping you now with training?

Christian Wendel. He’s not too well known but he’s a Grand Prix judge here in Germany. He trained Suppenkasper before I got him. I did not really think about asking him but I got a horse from him who was trained up to S level and it was so well trained. My husband said to ask him. I knew him as a judge and I liked him because when he judged me I could understand the score. I always had the feeling that it fitted. So, it’s probably a little bit of a sad point now because he doesn’t judge me anymore!

Helen and her trainer, Christian Wendel

I asked him and he does super in hand work with piaffe and passage. He has a lot of feeling for that and I think a super, super education for training. The first lessons we had together I smiled the whole time and said, “I say the same thing!”. So I really think we both have the same philosophy. I’ve been training with him now about three years. It works really well.