{"id":69545,"date":"2026-09-14T10:00:40","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T00:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/?p=69545"},"modified":"2026-09-14T10:03:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T00:03:17","slug":"life-at-the-top-aint-easy-ask-jessi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/2026\/09\/life-at-the-top-aint-easy-ask-jessi\/","title":{"rendered":"Life at the top ain’t easy – Ask Jessi"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Rebecca Ashton finds that there’s more to being the world’s number one dressage rider…<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Olympic Games is hard work. The work ethic required, the anticipation waiting to see if you\u2019ve made it to the world\u2019s biggest sporting stage, the long hours, the mental toughness required, the focus. And that\u2019s just the journalists! For the athlete it\u2019s a real test of the human spirit and physical prowess\u2026which is what it has always meant to be. And for equestrians, there are two athletes to consider, one of them completely reliant on the other. So is it all smooth sailing to get to the top of the podium? <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

When you see some of the riders\u2019 socials or see them at competitions battling it out with big smiles, you\u2019d be forgiven thinking that it might be just that easy. Some people are just born to do it. Some were made for it. And then you think, I want that athlete\u2019s life because, hey, what\u2019s not to love about it? What we usually don\u2019t get is the full story; the heartache that can go hand in hand with achieving such Everest sized goals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

One such athlete is Olympic gold medalist, German dressage star Jessica von Bredow-Werndl. Jessi is blonde, pretty, articulate, lives on a gorgeous property, has the best horses in the world to ride, a beautiful family and is uber successful. She has won team and Olympic gold at the last two Olympics. She\u2019s \u201cThe Golden Girl\u201d personified.\u00a0 Her life is perfect. Don\u2019t believe me? Check out her Instagram account. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

So it was a treat to sit down and chat with the Olympic gold medalist and what we had was a down to earth, honest discussion of the toll the Olympics can have on the best prepared and defending champion. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The first thing Jessi says about Paris? \u201cIt was super exhausting. The pictures were amazing, the final last day when I was able to see Paris, I really liked it, I enjoyed it and I realised how much of the city was part of the Olympics. But during the Games while I was competing, I was just in my bubble going from the hotel to my training and back to the hotel. Looking back on it now it was amazing that I could do it again. But it was so much more difficult compared to Tokyo. The pressure was incredible, also because I hadn\u2019t been beaten for three years. Then I was beaten in Paris (Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour on Freestyle beat Jessica and Dalera in the Special), the first time and all of a sudden I was not the one in the favourite position.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cThese 23 hours between the team and individual competition were super exhausting on a mental level.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

How did she deal with it? \u201cI have many tools. That was the toughest mental test of my life. I don\u2019t think anything could be harder on a sporting level.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI do many things, rituals to be in the here and now because there is no fear in the here and now. It is just a projection of the future. But to get there, it takes a lot of strategies not to be too scared of probable outcomes. Breathing techniques, EFT, many things so I could focus on what was happening now. I had to be nice to myself. However it ends it doesn\u2019t change the value of myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

It was a relief for Jessi and the Germans to get the team gold but it also increased the pressure on her for the individual medal. \u201cAfter I was beaten in the Special, they didn\u2019t really expect me to win then the next day. There was a new winner and you could really feel it in the scores.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\n<\/div>\n

\n

On the day of the individual test, Jessi relives, \u201cI didn\u2019t want to be in Paris that day. I wanted to be anywhere else. I told my husband I won\u2019t do it again. I often ask myself, why do I do it?\u201d So why does she keep gong back for more? \u201cI don\u2019t know. But I want it. I\u2019m not addicted. I like to challenge myself but in a very healthy way. I love what I do. I love to see how much can I motivate and manage my horses in a positive way, to see how I can bring their full potential to the surface. Because it\u2019s in my horses. So looking back to Paris, it looked amazing, it was amazing but in the moment for me it was completely exhausting. Where the win in Tokyo was exciting and overwhelming, Paris was a relief. It was tough.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\n<\/div>\n

\n

While the two Olympics felt very different for the German star during the event, they also affected her very differently afterwards. She explains, \u201cTo be honest though, I was more exhausted after Tokyo. After Paris I managed myself with more awareness. After Tokyo I was so empty. Immediately after winning it was like being high (I imagine!) but the low afterwards was very low. I couldn\u2019t feel joy, I couldn\u2019t feel sadness, I couldn\u2019t feel anything for a couple of weeks and it took me about six months to get inspired again. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cLuckily there were the Europeans in between so I had to kick my arse to get back into my routines, but it was tough. It\u2019s a life long childhood dream that came true, but what then? Everyone had talked about post Olympic depression, but I wouldn\u2019t say I was depressed, but I could imagine how it would feel to be depressed because I felt so empty, so useless.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI was also pregnant immediately after the Olympics and then I lost the baby just after the Europeans. That came on top of everything so it was all quite difficult for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Sometimes Jessi still doesn\u2019t really believe that she won the Olympics again. \u201cI look at the medals and wonder if it was me who won them because you think you will be and feel different, but you don\u2019t. It does\u2019t change the most important things in your life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cAnd it\u2019s the same thing if things don\u2019t work out. The most important things won\u2019t change. It helped make me mentally strong. Paris is over now. No one is talking about it. Everyone is now talking about LA. Me too!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

How did she get out of the rut after Tokyo? \u201cI had no plan after Tokyo because I had never had this feeling before. It took time. I remember it was February when I felt inspiration again. I didn\u2019t feel this after Pairs though. That\u2019s crazy. I didn\u2019t have the mental breakdown. I was prepared for it. I planned some days off and I took care of myself. Being aware of what could happen sometimes helps to prevent it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Jessi is quick to highlight that everyone struggles with different things but now she is getting better at getting out of the struggle. \u201cI know when to kick my arse and when to hug myself. This is what I learnt between Tokyo and Paris. This is what I needed for Paris. I needed to hug myself before the Individual test. It doesn\u2019t change my self worth. I can\u2019t give anything more than my best.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\n<\/div>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

So next time you see an athlete with a big smile and a shining gold medal around their neck, know that they are real people with real problems. But what allows them to swim instead of sink? They find a solution, they make a plan and they believe in themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rebecca Ashton talks about what it takes to be the world’s number one dressage rider with German star Jessica von Bredow-Werndl<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":69565,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,4,1],"tags":[2401,1066,2497,535],"class_list":["post-69545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","category-dressage","category-uncategorized","tag-dresage","tag-jessica-von-bredow-werndl","tag-paris-games","tag-rebecca-ashton"],"acf":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69545","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=69545"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69568,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69545\/revisions\/69568"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}