Photos by Julia Rau and Roz Neave
British Olympian, and coach of the German Eventing Team, Christopher Bartle, sits down with Rebecca Ashton for a Q&A about the German team’s preparation for Greenwich.
Since Christopher Bartle took the reins of the German eventing team they have gone from strength to strength: Individual and Team Gold at the Hong Kong Olympics, Individual Gold at the Kentucky WEG, Individual and Team Gold at the 2011 European Championships in Luhmuhlen and now Individual and Team Gold at London. I caught up with Christopher after the Games to find out from this British super coach, the secret of the German team’s success.
Congratulations Christopher, Team and Individual Gold at the London Olympics; how did it feel, the team you coached winning in your home country?
“On the one hand it was a strange feeling coaching a team in opposition to my own country and on home ground, on the other hand it was also a huge motivation for me personally to get a great result with ‘myʼ team. I saw it as a personal goal for myself as a British coach for my guys to achieve a medal but to have achieved the double – team and individual – was amazing.”
Last time I saw you was at Aachen and you were off to the final meeting to pick the team. The right choice was obviously made!
“My job is to try and make an assessment that is as objective as possible of the potential results that each of the riders on the shortlist could achieve, along with risk factors such as ability to deal with the mental pressure that is special to the Olympics.”
“The team Vet also has to offer his opinion about any risk factors. In the end the Selectors must decide what risk they want to take in choosing the team. Having said all that I was very happy that their attitude was that only a Gold medal was interesting. The team that they chose was exactly the one that I wanted.”
So how did you do it? What were the key drivers that allowed for the gold haul in London?
“Firstly I knew that they were good enough technically to win if they produced their best performances. It was important that they knew that too but I also made it clear from the start that we would only achieve our dream if each one concentrated step by step on the next element and not on the potential end result. The mental side is often the key in such a high pressure high profile event.”
Michael Jung won individual gold in Kentucky but the team as a whole didnʼt do so well. What did you learn from that little blip that was WEG in 2010?
“Yes, Kentucky was very frustrating for me as coach. I felt that we had it in the bag after the good dressage start and knew that they were good enough for the cross country. On the day we made too many silly mistakes which in training and in previous events the riders had not done. Complacency perhaps but it taught me that in future as coach I should spell out my rules for cross country riding more clearly so that in future each performance could be measured against them.”
Did anything change for the team between the lead-up to WEG and the lead-up to London?
“After WEG we really concentrated in training and in the run up events on the cross country riding. We analysed as much cross country riding as possible to measure against the ‘rulesʼ which enabled me to refine them as we went along. The Europeans in Luhmühlen were a great opportunity to put it into practice and to bag all the medals was great compensation for the disappointment in Kentucky.”
It was always going to be a tough cross-country course in London; tight, twisty and hilly to squeeze into the 73 hectare park. Was the team picked with that as a priority consideration?
I certainly took that into account when making my assessment to the Selectors. We all knew in advance that the cross country would not be classic 4* in terms of size and technical demands of each fence or fence complex but the terrain made the course demanding enough for the Olympics as was seen in the results. Horses that were quick, easy to ride and very fit were required for this test.
How did you attack the London course? What was the game plan?
“I had made an assessment with the riders as to which minutes were going to be gettable and which would be slow minutes. So we knew that it was necessary to attack the time from the start to give the horses a chance in the middle to do the stiff climbs but not under pressure so that they would have enough in the tank to run to the end.”
What did this German team have that the other teams in London lacked?
“That is hard to answer. I get obsessed about us staying in our own bubble so I could not really comment on what the other teams had or had not. I just knew that there were some strong teams and riders in London and that it was going to be a close run thing.”
When did the team arrive at Greenwich and what was your approach from then until the event?
“We arrived on the Monday morning as soon as the stables were open. We wanted to be there as soon as possible for the sake of both horses and riders. We knew they were fit enough and so a few days without a gallop did not worry us. So we concentrated on achieving the relaxation, concentration and suppleness required for the dressage. Each horse is an individual so they did not all follow the same program of work. In fact, Sam and Michael had a cross country school the day before their dressage as he finds that is a great way to relax him for the dressage test the next day.”
I understand you used a bit of mental imagery to motivate the riders when you first arrived at Greenwich?
“I do believe strongly in the effect of mental imagery. It can be both positive and negative. So itʼs important to work on the positive side. I asked them all at the first team get-together in Greenwich to shut their eyes and dream that they were on the podium with medals around their necks and the national anthem playing. I wanted them to believe that it was possible. But after that I asked them to concentrate their dreams on the very next phase of the event and not on the end result.”
How does it compare to the team gold in Hong Kong?
“Funnily enough it feels even better. Firstly because as a British trainer achieving so much with the team in London, I felt proud to be British. It also felt special because the advice I received after Hong Kong from more than one expert was that having won double Gold and then lost it in the courts in Athens, then winning double Gold in Hong Kong, I should quit while I was ahead, the result could not be repeated.”
Did you prepare the team in the same way?
“The principles remain the same through out. I love attention to detail. The team motto I chose for the team comes from the Roman Philosopher Seneca – Luck is where Preparation meets Opportunity.”
Nice birthday present for Michael Jung?
“Unbelievable to do that on your 30th birthday!”
Ingrid Klimkeʼs been in every one of your Olympic teams?
“Ingrid is a chip off the old block of her father Reiner Klimke. Every inch a championship rider. Always delivers the goods and such a great team player.”
What was behind the decision to pull Abraxxas from the final round of showjumping?
“I went to Ingrid after the first round of showjumping where her result had been a counting score for the team and suggested, in fact told her, that she should not ask him to go again. He had given her everything and it would be hard on both of them to go into the final round with little chance of an individual medal and a likely worse performance than he had just delivered for the team. Happily she agreed with me.”
Sandra Auffarthʼs horse did its first cross country jump at your training facility in Yorkshire?
Thatʼs right. Sandra, along with all the members of the Eventing Perspektiv Gruppe in Germany, got a chance in her third year in the Gruppe to come and base with me to train and compete in the UK. So Opgun Louvo was just six at the time and just starting his career. Sandra is such an amazingly cool and talented rider. Everyone talks rightly about Michaelʼs talent and skill but Sandra is in her own way just as good.
Dirk Schrade’s ‘previous life’ as a banker and soldier must be a huge benefit mentally!?
“I had not realised that Dirk had been a banker! Given the reputation of Bankers now perhaps it was a good thing that he switched to eventing.”
Someone said that the German riders rode a little dressage quadrille in their training sessions and really freaked the other riders out. Is this true?
“Well you’re right!! All the teams had a chance to ride in the main arena before the start of the Games in order to familiarise their horses with it. Our riders, mainly encouraged by Ingrid Klimke decided to have a bit of fun and enter the dressage arena and ride the first couple of minutes as a quadrille. It looked great. If it freaked the others out then the cunning plan worked!”
“It was a real joke to shock the other nations,” said Ingrid Klimke. “We had only 15 minutes in the dressage ring and decided to come in as a quadrille and saluted as if we wanted to do a whole test together and then separated. Yes indeed it is typical for the Klimkes, but I could not persuade all the others to do the whole test together.”
So have you signed up for another turn with the German team?
“Time will tell! But I do enjoy working with class riders who love being trained.”
