Page 23 - FIS World November 2016

would not be competing at this level today without the support that FIS provided him. “I would not have made it to the Olympics at the age of 21,” he said.
Since graduating from FIS, Sönke has been a full-time student at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management where he is pursuing a degree in business administration. He says balancing the academic workload with riding and training is manageable, but requires planning.
Asked whether FIS equipped him with a good basis for his current pursuits, Sönke con rmed that FIS prepared him well. English has been useful and it is completely normal for him to function in the language, and he felt particularly well-prepared for his classes in management, business, and accounting. Regarding working in an international arena - the whole competitive riding arena is international in nature and his FIS background has been helpful to him.
Discussing plans for the future, Sönke said, in his typically modest demeanor, he would like to pursue a master’s degree and, of course, to continue riding.
In a conversation with Stefanie Rothenberger-Krause, Nadine’s mother, the family’s philosophy of raising and training horses is readily apparent. “We always try to keep the horses natural and let them decide on the pace of their progress.”The horses
Semmieke, Sönke and Sanneke display an impressive collection of gold medals in front of their stables in Bad Homburg.
have diverse training exercises, outdoor and indoor areas to practice, and grass paddocks for their leisure time. Since they enjoy exercise and walking in water, the family has an “aqua-trainer,” essentially a treadmill in a large tub. The e ect is simultane- ously a form of exercise and physical therapy that gently strengthens the horses’ legs and ankles.
Sönke’s mother expresses a similar attitude and thinking in relation to training horses. She pointed out that horses convey emotions in numerous
ways – for example by how they position their ears: forward means they are happy, slightly back means that they are listening. She explained it is important to “allow the horses to have fun, not push them too hard, and let them show you the way.”The horse will indicate if it wants more challenges – a surprisingly soft yet inspiring message for champion riders, and apparently, a winning recipe.
Nancy Huston
Development & Alumni Relations Manager
More Gold Medals at Home
Sanneke and her horse, Deveraux, won gold in the under 25 category in all three of her events at the European Dressage Championships in Hagen, Germany in June: the freestyle, the individual competition, and with her German teammates, the team dressage. Like Sönke, Sanneke is ranked among the top riders in Germany.
Semmieke switched from “ponies” (smaller horses ridden by youth age 12–16) to horses in 2015, one year earlier than her age group and was thus the youngest rider ever to compete at European Championships. At the European Junior Riders Championship in Spain in July, she and her horse, Dissertation, won silver in two of her events: the freestyle and individual competition; and together with her German teammates, gold in the team dressage. One of Semmieke’s most successful years was 2013 when she
was the rst pony rider ever to score over 80%. She did this three times winning three world records. In September Semmieke was nominated by the German Olympic Sport Federation for the 2016 Pjotr Nurowski Best Young European Athlete Award, which is awarded annually by the European Olympic Committee to the best young athletes under age 19.
Nadine is also an award-winning rider. She has represented Germany at four consecutive European Pony Championships since 2012, where she won three team golds, and three silver medals in team, individual and freestyle.
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