{"id":11423,"date":"2014-08-07T15:39:30","date_gmt":"2014-08-07T05:39:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/?p=11423"},"modified":"2015-01-22T07:27:10","modified_gmt":"2015-01-21T20:27:10","slug":"monica-theodorescu-and-the-future-of-german-dressage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/2014\/08\/monica-theodorescu-and-the-future-of-german-dressage\/","title":{"rendered":"Monica Theodorescu and the Future of German Dressage\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m not sure when we first started visiting Gest\u00fct Lindenhof, but it has long been one of our favorite spots in Germany. This time it was the first time we\u2019d been there since Georg Theodorescu died, but there was still the same calm, civilized feel to the establishment \u2013 but of course, since Georg\u2019s daughter, Monica is very much heir to the tradition established by her father and mother, Inge.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But there have been changes, ever since Monica was appointed German team coach; she has scaled back the activities at Lindenhof, although she continues to teach a number of very lucky pupils, and that list was just increased by one, when German team member, Kristina Sprehe finally decided that the drive to Hagen to the Koschels, was just too much, and she is now training with Monica.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Monica<\/p>\n

Monica and co-trainer Jonny Hilberath watch on in shock as Helen Langehanenberg has an error of course in her Grand Prix Special at the 2013 Euros<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Monica had a very pleasant start to her coaching career, achieving a gold medal at the European Championships – not surprisingly, she enjoyed the occasion\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cHerning was a nice competition to be at, often there are all sorts of restrictions, don\u2019t go here, don\u2019t go there, don\u2019t do this, you are not allowed in there, but it was really nice and friendly.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was nice the horses at the top were all ridden in a horse friendly way\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of horses with quality, we are seeing more horses that are really special. You can see that it is just the form on the day that counts. The first three, four, five, could have all been good enough for a medal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The style of dressage has changed; there is a big difference between Salinero and Valegro\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, they are completely different horses. I think we are back to suppleness and relaxation, and definitely it is nicer to watch. I didn\u2019t see one stressed horse there. Of course it is stress to go in such a big arena, but not in a negative way.\u201d<\/p>\n

To have such good competition that it was down to the last ride to decide who was going to win the medal\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThat was really good for the sport. It\u2019s good when there is a lot of competition, and even better for us when we win. At the end it all went well for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

I was thinking about it, and it is nice for you as coach, because in former times, Germany was expected to win the gold medal every time, and if you didn\u2019t it was a disaster, now you are not expected to win every championship and there is not so much pressure on you\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cAs a rider in the team when everyone thought Germany was going to win, that was a lot of pressure, because you could only be so stupid as to make the team lose the gold medal. If you didn\u2019t ride well enough, you could only be the stupid one, and no one wanted to be that stupid one who lost the gold medal. That put on a lot of pressure on. Now it is a different kind of pressure, you want to win, but you are trying your best and maybe another team is better. As long as you do your best it doesn\u2019t mean you have lost anything. Four years ago in Windsor, we were fighting for a bronze medal. But it didn\u2019t feel like it was before, where you felt you can\u2019t even go out of the ring if you miss that gold medal, you can\u2019t even go back to Germany.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow sometimes the other teams are better, at Windsor it was tough to get the bronze, it could have been the Danish team. Now you don\u2019t feel like \u2018oh my god we lost a gold medal\u2019 it is more like we did well enough to secure the bronze.\u201d<\/p>\n

Does it feel much different to be the coach not the rider?<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cNot so different, you just feel like you want to pull on your boots and get your horse out of the stable. Otherwise, it is not so different. There is much more to do and to think about. Every word I say is so important, you can\u2019t just say something without thinking. As a rider you are just concerned about yourself and the horse, now I have to think for a few more of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even for such an experienced rider as Isabell who made a mistake with her times at Aachen\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cSurprise, surprise, she was a horse too early. All of a sudden she said, take off the bandages, and I said to her, there is one more horse, and she said, what do you mean! No!! Yes. Where is he? Over there. I thought she would see that, and the Rolex clock, but things happen, even at Aachen when you have something in your mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is it a different dynamic that you have been recently a rider and the riders can relate to you?<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cHarry Boldt had competed not so long before he became coach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yours is more of a team effort, I see Jonny Hilberath up there with you in the stand and in the warm-up arena\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cJonny is my assistant. There is much more to do than there was in the 80s or 90s. Then it was just the team and the long-listed riders that Harry had to take care of. Now it is much more. It starts with young riders under 25; J\u00fcrgen Koschel helps with them. There are many more shows than we had before, there is much more to do than take care of a few top horses. There are the young horse championships, the selection trials for the World Young Horse Championships, the World Cups, it is a non-stop all year job now. We do more clinics, and I go to a lot of riders \u2013 I am visiting them almost every week.\u201d<\/p>\n

You are still riding yourself?<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cI do here in the mornings when I can. I still have some students here, but less from foreign countries because I can help them here, but I can\u2019t help them at international shows any more. I have a very good Bereiter, and she takes the young horses out, and takes care of clients\u2019 horses. We still need to have this place running. I also have some riders who come here with a few horses for training for a couple of days. But we just have a few \u2013 not 40 like it was, that would be impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Monica<\/p>\n

Monica in her competition days with Ganimedes\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the German system, a rider\u2019s individual trainer can help them at a Championship \u2013 Mr Koschel was helping Kristina Sprehe at Herning\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cOf course. The horse spends most of the time in Mr Koschel\u2019s stable, and she trains there. But I also go there before the big shows, and see how the horse is, so I am involved. Not getting to a show and \u2018oh, that\u2019s what is happening\u2019 \u2013 then you get a problem in the communication. We have a very open communication with the riders\u2019 own trainers, and the ones that don\u2019t have a trainer; I have a very easy and open relationship with them. I have to know the horses, what they need, what they do, otherwise I can\u2019t help.\u201d<\/p>\n

What does your selection process look like \u2013 say in the run up to the WEG?<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cWe will have the same trials as always, the German Championships in Balve and then Aachen. Also we consider other shows \u2013 we take notice of the top horse and rider combinations, wherever they are going: Wiesbaden, World Cup Finals. We see who needs to do what. We keep an eye on them throughout the year.\u201d<\/p>\n

But usually the top four at Aachen make the team\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cNot for Herning, Kristina did not go to Balve, and it has been the same in other years. We select the team for Aachen at Balve, and if the riders want to get on a team, they have to do that. But of course, if a horse had a problem, and he needs more time, we can give it to him, like we did with Kristina and Desperados. After he was injured in Goteborg, we gave him a little more time to get fit, not to go to Balve, and to go to Aachen but in the CDI class. We couldn\u2019t name her in the Aachen team because she was not at Balve \u2013 as it turned out, it was a good tryout for Fabienne (L\u00fctkemeier with D\u2019Agostino), she was on the team for the first time at Aachen and that was good when she ended up in the team at Herning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is it a challenge to bring in new young riders\u2026 this time you had Kristina and Fabienne, are there any more out there that are looking promising\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have two more young riders on our long list, our B cadre, Jessica Werndl, and Jenny Lang. They both did young riders, and then came through the under 25 Grand Prix classes. They both competed at Aachen and I think they were 3rd<\/sup> and 4th<\/sup> in the Grand Prix, one was second in the Special and one was second in the Freestyle, in the CDI, and they are only 26\/ 27 \u2013 so there are some good young girls coming up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which is good because for a while it looked as if the team was always from the same circle\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cYes, the same circle. Now luckily we have this system of the under 25 Grand Prix. It is a very good way for them to get into Grand Prix, and the good shows have these classes. Even at Herning, they had an Under 25 championship, and this was an unbelievable opportunity for them to ride under the same conditions as the team riders. I never had that\u2026 we had to get in there quickly. These young kids have the opportunity, without the pressure, just to develop and learn. And these kids really want to learn, they want to ride and learn and be competitive. They are just starting, and I can see them with wide open eyes \u2013 oh I never heard of that before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you think the standard of horses is improving, or is there too much emphasis on young horse classes and not so much on breeding horses for Grand Prix?<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThey shouldn\u2019t exclude each other but it is definitely not so easy. I think what I saw at the Young Horse Championships at Verden this year, most of it was really well ridden. Nice and easy-going horses that didn\u2019t look like they were too exhausted because they had too much work already. I thought it was a good championship and good riding was rewarded. You can only make good Grand Prix horses with good riding, and good riding was rewarded there \u2013 it doesn\u2019t mean that we will see all those horses in Grand Prix but from my understanding, they were on the right way. I think the judges were looking for correct and well-balanced and happy horses, with natural movement. You can see it, from the hind leg moving to the contact. You can always see by the contact and the way the horse moves, if he is under too much pressure or not. It is not easy for young horses to work in such an atmosphere, so most of them hold their breath when they come in\u2026 but you could see with some horses that they did not want to go any more \u2013 but most were nice.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Helen<\/p>\n

Helen Langehanenberg and Damon Hill winning in Neum\u00fcnster earlier this year\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It must be nice for your team to have a horse like Damon Hill \u2013 those sort of horses don\u2019t come along too often\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cEverything went right for Damon Hill. He was well taken care of throughout the years. He is a horse with outstanding quality in every sense, three gaits are fantastic, walk, trot, canter couldn\u2019t be better, and his attitude is fantastic. He is really a very smart horse, and he has the best rider for himself, on the horse, Helen is a top rider, and she and her husband are the best managers for this horse: not too many shows and the right shows. Everything comes together for this horse.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a horse and rider like that, as coach do you just leave them alone?<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cI try to help, but not like you have to do it this way <\/i>but I can tell them what it looks like. We talk a lot not so much the riding, but I just give Helen \u2013 or both of them \u2013 little hints, like if you do it that way it will look like, and she tries and \u2018ok\u2019 \u2013 those are only details because they are already on a very high level, but there are always little details that refine and re-tune a little. That\u2019s what we do, but I would never get involved like, no you must start with the canter first \u2013 make him piaffe this way \u2013 not at all, that doesn\u2019t help at all. I watch them, see what the horse looks like \u2013 I also see the horse when he is not in Grand Prix work, every now and then, to get to know the horse. How does he move when he is not in full training? What does he look like when he is a little fatter and not that fit? I just have to know, and then they can know exactly how much time they need in advance for the horse to be prepared. To start working more, or work less, for the next time, we can still improve a little bit here or there. We look at the videos, and this way I can help a little bit here, a little bit there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carl Hester recently remarked that both Helen and Charlotte had \u2018ice\u2019 in their heads, they were such cool competitors\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cYes, but it is the same thing, the right person on the right horse, it is absolutely the combination that works. Helen is really realistic, and straightforward and focused. When she tries something, and it works, that\u2019s it, she just keeps it \u2013 you don\u2019t have to tell her again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Are you enjoying being coach?<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoy it very much. Still, I miss my horses and the riding, but as soon as I am working with them, it is forgotten, I\u2019m not like poor me, <\/i>definitely not. It\u2019s really a lot of fun, it\u2019s really interesting. I don\u2019t do it just for fun, I do it because I would like to give something back to what has made me, my career and the person I am. I think I can give a little bit back to the sport, and the younger riders.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m not sure when we first started visiting Gest\u00fct Lindenhof, but it has long been one of our favorite spots in Germany. This time it was the first time we\u2019d been there since Georg Theodorescu died, but there was still the same calm, civilized feel to the establishment \u2013 but of course, since Georg\u2019s daughter, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1243,35,613,390],"class_list":["post-11423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dressage","tag-dressage","tag-monica-theodorescu","tag-national-coach","tag-world-equestrian-games"],"acf":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11423"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11423\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20516,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11423\/revisions\/20516"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}