Pictures: Rebecca Ashton, Roslyn Neave, Jacques Toffi
On the podium at the WEG in Tryon in 2018: German dressage team: Chef d’Equipe Klaus Roeser, Isabell Werth, Dorothee Schneider, Sonke Rothenberger, Jessica Von Bredow-Werndl
Photo FEI/MARTIN DOKOUPIL
Horses have been part of Jessica’s life from the very beginning, riding in her first big championships, the Bundeschampionate at age 12. At age 16 she rode in her first Europeans and has never looked back. She’s won six gold at Junior and YR Europeans as well as being three times German Junior/YR Champion. As a senior, she’s been on the podium at the World Cup Finals, Aachen CHIO, the Europeans and World Equestrian Games both as a German team member and individually.
Her most successful senior partners have been the stallion, Unee BB – pictured above. And her mare, Dalera BB.
Jessica von Bredow Werndl – TSF Dalera BB, FEI World Equestrian Games Tryon 2018
© DigiShots
Jessica trained with Isabell Werth in the past, and the German now works with her brother Benjamin, also a successful rider, as well as Jonny Hilberath, and Andreas Hausberger from The Spanish Riding School.
I interviewed Jessica at the Europeans in Rotterdam where she had a rollercoaster of a show with Dalera. From a uncharacteristic miscommunication in the Grand Prix, which brought tears of shock to the rider, she stormed back for a glorious Special, and a Personal Best freestyle, which saw her with a team gold and individual bronze, beaten only by her team mates, also with PBs.
The softly spoken petite rider hides a real competitiveness and passion for bringing out the very best in her “highly intelligent” four legged proteges. Balanced, open and super friendly Jessica loves sharing the loves of her life, bringing out photos and videos of her husband riding across country, her son doing yoga, and her beloved Unee free jumping.
Do you only dressage training or other work too?
Both. At home I separate between conditioning training, and technical training. We have conditioning training times, mostly one period in Autumn and one in Spring. And she has always her recuperation time.
What’s conditioning for your horses? On the track? Jumps?
Yes, on the track, but not the jumps.
What’s a normal day for Dalera?
She goes into the field for two to three hours before she comes in and has a rest in her box then I ride her. After her ride she gets lunch. The horses love it, they lay down and relax. In the afternoon, they come out for hand walking, grazing or the paddock plus the treadmill or aqua trainer. It just depends on my training programme.
So they’re busy all day?
Yes. We take Dalera out four times a day. You can switch her on or off. It’s perfect!
Bronze at Rotterdam
How did you come together?
The horse’s owner, Beatrice Bürchler-Keller, bought her almost six years ago, and she kept her at her own barn in Switzerland. She thought maybe there is more. I already had other horses from her. I went to Switzerland, and it already felt that the horse was a perfect match.
She was at M level at this time and she was a bit afraid of the flying changes, but she already showed a huge talent for piaffe/passage. We fixed the flying change issue pretty soon. The longer I have her, the more she trusts me, and the easier it gets.
Current Number one for Jessica, Dalera
Is she your favourite?
Maybe now, she really feels like the number one, because she’s the horse I’m doing the championships with, but I actually really love all the horses I’m training. I have a great partnership with them. When I come into the stable, the first thing I do is cuddle them all if they’re not in the field. She’s something special to me, but they’re all special. I like to compare the horses with highly intelligent children. They’re all different. They have completely different characters and it is so exciting for me to find an entrance to their personality and to work with them all.
Do you have a personality you prefer, or do you like the challenge of lots of different ones?
I think it’s both. On the one hand, I like the hot ones I have to calm down. Even sometimes the crazy ones. I don’t know why! I like to manage it, to help them calm down and trust me and to build a partnership. Dalera was really crazy when she was young.
I love riding the Grand Prix test. And I also like to ride the young horses, it’s fun to do it, but my real passion is to bring them up from S level to Grand Prix or really to improve the Grand Prix horse’s performance.
I think my greatest strength is that I have a very good feeling. It’s all about positive reinforcement. I don’t want to force horses to do anything. I want to give them a reason to do it, with a lot of patting, and celebrating their good work, then they want more. That’s the only way I like.
I know you also do and promote rider fitness work. What sort of exercises do you do and why? Surely five to seven horses a day is enough!
Every morning I start with sun salutations, three from the right and three from the left. That takes exactly four and a half minutes. There’s no excuse not to do it. In the morning it’s quite difficult to do more because of my son, though now he’s started to do yoga with me. He’s two. He’s just on the plane coming here now (Jessica gets the photos out….and he really is very cute!) When he’s sleeping at night, I’m doing yoga again and some strength training. I combine it. I have certain exercises.
Why yoga for you?
To connect. It’s like meditation for me. I prefer yoga to meditation, but sometimes I also meditate. But I feel it’s easier for me to focus on my breathing when I’m moving slowly. Then I combine it with things like sit ups and side planks. When I do that regularly, I sit better and I feel my body so much better and I feel my horse’s body so much better. It doesn’t need to be long. It’s about 15-20 minutes a day. You have a completely different body feeling.
That’s why we initiated ‘Dressurfit’ rider body (fitness program). It’s going to be in English very soon. It’s so easy, because there are no excuses. It’s only 10-25 minutes and you can choose how much time you have, and what level. There are tests to check how fit you are. It’s really for riders from riders.
How does your barn work with you and your brother?
We run it together. I’m more doing the internal management, like personal and staff management, and he manages the clients and training, together with one of our three riders. Altogether we have employees. You need them if you want to take the horses out so many times a day. It’s a super business because it’s our passion. When you can combine your passion with your job, it’s perfect.
Jessica and Unee at Neumünster
What’s Unee doing now?
He’s very fit. He’s doing free jumping. Not very high but he’s in perfect shape.
Unee and Jessica at home at Aubenhausen
On the podium at Rotterdam, Dorothee Schneider, Isabell Werth, and Jessica samples the champagne…
more follows below
Do you get nervous at competitions?
A little, but I need it to get focused.
When you’re coming into the stadium at a big championships, what goes through your mind?
The best thing is if nothing goes through your mind but riding the centreline! That’s what I always try, to be in the here and now. I train it. Sometimes it works, sometimes not!
What’s to like being in the German Team. It’s the best team in the world.
It has advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage is that I have to go first, and for any other team I would probably be the last to go. But the advantage is, if you can make the German Team, you have a great chance of winning gold.
What’s Dalera like as a person?
She’s a rockstar in the arena and the cutest horse in the world in the box. She loves cuddling, she’s so sweet and so clever. She knows exactly what’s going on.
You’re really big on Instagram. Do you think that’s important?
The reason I started with it was to show that my horses go out in the field so other people would put their horses in the field. I never expected it to get so big, but now it’s also cool for my sponsors, and also for my friends so they know what I’m doing. They say they feel like they’re with me and share the experience. It has more advantages than disadvantages. I also think it helps the sport.
