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With the now 10-year-old Oeli R (Denzel van’T Meulenhof x Andiamo, bred by Harrie Reijnen), Alessandra Reich was part of the Austrian team that won a historical bronze medal at the 2023 FEI Jumping European Championships in Milan, Italy, simultaneously securing a qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games. As if competing for a spot on the Austrian team that will be heading to Paris this summer wasn’t challenging enough, the 28-year-old took a huge step as 2024 got underway when starting her own business – going from riding alongside her studies to making a living through her passion for horses. 

On the 1st of January 2024, Alessandra took over an equestrian facility with 42 boxes in Salgen – an hour west of Munich. Moving in with her current string of eight horses, sixteen of the former clients renting boxes at the facility have remained at the yard. “It's been a big change, and I’m still getting used to everything,” Alessandra tells WoSJ. “There has been so much hassle with all the paperwork and so on, but when I sit on my horses, I feel like it was the right step and that somehow everything will fall into place. While I have studied, my parents and individual owners have supported me, and it has been more of a cost-only situation. Now, I'm trying to make it a little more cost efficient. My mum has worked 24/7 for me to live my dream and I wanted to take the weight off of her. I'm passionate about training and riding other people's horses, so I think there will be opportunities to make it go around.” 

Stepping into the Olympic year as an equestrian entrepreneur is not something Alessandra had planned for a long time. “If you would have asked me a year ago if I wanted to earn my living with riding, I would have answered absolutely not,” Alessandra says. “When my parents supported me, all they cared about was that I'm happy and safe; I never went to a show thinking I have to win two classes otherwise I can't pay the bill. I believe we are a very close-knit industry, but it is easy to feel that everyone competes with each other when there’s so many that have to fight for their survival in the economic sense and being desperate can affect your ethics. I never wanted to put myself in that position; I didn’t want to carry the financial responsibilities – but here we are. However, the foundation of our new stable concept at Big Stride Equestrian is trust, transparency and being open when dealing with our customers, and, most importantly, putting animal welfare above all in every decision we make.” 

I just need to make sure that I keep my love for the horses and for the sport as my core

“I guess it took so long to take this final step to really turn into a professional because I was afraid that taking full responsibility would change my attitude and that I wouldn’t be such a happy rider,” Alessandra continues. “It took me a while to admit that horses are what makes me truly happy. I just love horses too much; I'm the happiest with them. If I can, I would just sit in every horse's box for hours simply to enjoy their company. I love their different personalities and how much they give back to us and I think I'm in the right place now. I just need to make sure that I keep my love for the horses and for the sport as my core.”

“I want anyone who brings their horse here to know that it will be taken care of 100%. Every horse is the same and gets the same treatment – the same love. Someone once told me that every horse is a superstar; one for an old lady to go out hacking, one for someone to brush and hand-walk, one for jumping 1.60m and going to the Olympics. In their own way, every individual horse is a superstar and that's how you have to view them. This has stuck with me and it’s something I live by.” 

I was afraid that taking full responsibility would change my attitude and that I wouldn’t be such a happy rider

“As long as I have food on the table in the evening, I'm good and if I can make the sport a little better, make one horse or one student happy – that’s enough for me,” Alessandra says. “And if I ever feel like I’m losing my core beliefs, I have my studies to fall back on. For sure the business side of our sport is getting more and more challenging, but it's not just us; it’s all over the world, in every industry. You always have to work hard.”  

Introduced to horses during a family holiday when she was four, Alessandra found her passion early on and kept competing while getting a university degree – training with some of the best in the business; Thomas Fuchs, Willi Melliger and Rolf-Göran Bengtsson. “My dad skied, my mom played golf internationally, and my brother was a tennis player, and they all wanted to do their own thing,” she recalls about the very beginning. “There was a small barn in the holiday resort we were staying at and as they went out to do their sports, I was left there to brush ponies – what a huge mistake,” she laughs. 

To this day, my mum says that it was the most expensive holiday of her life

“To this day, my mum says that it was the most expensive holiday of her life. On the last day of the holidays, the woman from the resort barn lifted me in front of her saddle, trotted and cantered around with me and that was my first experience of riding. When we came home, I told my parents I wanted to ride – and they weren’t impressed. One day, I fell off from a pony six times and my dad thought that solved the problem – he was sure I’ll never want to see a horse again. However, I had walked over to him and said: ‘I think for today it's enough, but tomorrow I want to come again’.” 

And she never stopped returning to the stables. When Alessandra was 11-year-old, her family moved to Switzerland and at this point her passion for horses was clear for her family. “My mum – who was scared and basically just wanted to make sure I didn’t die – asked around to find a place where she could send me so I would not hurt myself and would learn to ride, and Thomas Fuchs was recommended.” 

With Fuchs, Alessandra transitioned from ponies to horses and got a solid base in how to treat them. “With Thomas, horses are really horses,” she says. “They go out every day, for a hack, to the paddock, to the fields – the first aim is for the horses to be happy, in their natural environment.” 

I think riding so many different horses has really helped me later on in my career

After two years with Thomas, Alessandra moved to the late Willi Melliger. “He is the trainer closest to my heart,” she says. “He was so kind and he really believed in me. We didn't have the funds to buy a second horse and he gave me sales horses to ride. I think riding so many different horses has really helped me later on in my career. I'm so thankful for his support and faith in me. What I loved most about him is that he was so positive; every time when I went into the ring, whatever the class, he would always wish me good luck and tell me I could do it.” 

Even though Alessandra’s studies took her to Italy, she decided to finish her degree remotely, as she felt it was the best for her horses. “Even if I was studying, I still wanted to improve as a rider and not put my riding career completely on hold,” she explains. “This was not possible in Italy.” 

During an internship in Hamburg, Alessandra was based with Rolf-Göran Bengtsson – another horseman that has had a big impact on her. “It was fascinating to see him work his horses every day and how much feeling and thought he put in each individual. He never rode just to ride; he rode every horse with a goal in mind. Thomas and Rolf really showed me that it's possible to combine top sport and nature. When I look at our sport today, I feel like we're kind of losing this closeness to nature – the essence of our sport. For a horse to perform well, it needs to be happy and a horse that's in the box for 23 hours a day is not a happy horse.” 

For a horse to perform well, it needs to be happy and a horse that's in the box for 23 hours a day is not a happy horse

Today, Alessandra trains with Markus Beutel. “The new facilities are only 15 minutes from his stable, so we get to work much closer together now, which is exciting. He always sees the horse for what it is and we just try to make each horse better. He doesn't pressure the horses into any set norm, they're all individuals and we do different exercises with different horses, depending on what they need. He's very detail oriented, but outside the ring, he's fun, which is important for me since I like to talk and joke around.”

“He's so special, he’s such a character, a goofball,” Alessandra tells about the now 10-year-old gelding Oerli, her ride for the Europeans in Milan and hope for Paris 2024. “When I tried him for the first time, he gave me such an amazing feeling. Even if he was super green and spooky, I knew in that moment that I wanted to see where I could take him. I fell off so many times in the beginning, because he is very spooky, and at our first show together – in a 1.10m at Sentower Park – he had three down. So, it hasn’t been easy, but the feeling on him now is that it does not matter what they build, he can jump whatever you put in front of him."

He’s such a character, a goofball

"I am so excited to see what the future holds with him. I have always said that if he had a rider like Marcus Ehning, Harrie Smolders or Ben Maher in the saddle, I believe he could be the next King Edward – that’s how good he is. However, unfortunately, he has me on his back! We'll see where I can take him. Now that all my horses have grown up a little bit, I have more horses to jump the bigger classes so I'm excited to see what the what this year brings.”

“It looked like a building site,” Alessandra recalls about her first impressions when arriving at the venue for the 2023 FEI Jumping European Championships in Milan last summer where the Austrian team ended on the podium. “The difficulty with my horse is that he loves peace and quiet, so it was very challenging for me when during the first days there was still so much building going on and tractors driving around."

I was mad at myself, mostly for not having my own nerves under control 

"On the first day of competition, my nerves kicked in, especially because I was riding as first for the team. Because the class wasn’t running yet, there was even more people around the warm-up than usual, and as I was riding to the first vertical Oerli spooked in the corner and wouldn't go anywhere near the fence. Throughout the warm-up, I could not get him to calm down because I was so nervous myself. Not being so experienced on this level, we kind of triggered each other and our first round in Milan was more about running than jumping – it was quite wild.” 

“All anyone can do is to try their best, and some days it works, some days it doesn't,” Alessandra continues. “I was mad at myself, mostly for not having my own nerves under control so I could have calmed him. The next morning, we went for a hand-walk in the warm-up and it was mentally good for me to see that he was calm when there was no one there – and for the rest of the week, we pulled it together. I wanted to show everyone that we were capable and that they brought us in for good reason, not because they didn’t have someone else. After the first day, I just rode for myself and it worked out really well – I was super happy, especially with our last round.” 

I wanted to show everyone that we were capable and that they brought us in for good reason

For someone like Alessandra – currently ranked 319 on the Longines Ranking – it is almost impossible to get into five-star shows, which makes getting ready for a championship challenging. “If we wouldn't have the EEF series, I think it even would be difficult for me to get into a three-star,” she points out.

“Last year, I thought I could ride a few three-star shows to get ready for the Europeans but getting into them was impossible unless I would pay. Luckily, I got to ride in Falsterbo and it was such an honour. After the Europeans, I emailed the show organizers and thanked them because that show was an important steppingstone on our way to Milan. Without Falsterbo, Milan might not have gone as well as it did. Obviously, any organizer would love to sell pay cards, but it's great to see that we have some who are willing to genuinely help out. For this year, I've written about 50 emails, trying to get into shows to somehow get ready for the Olympics. First of all, to be in the best shape possible, but also to deliver the results needed to prove we would be valuable for the team. However, I will be lucky if I get to do one five-star show before Paris.”

“It was incredible,” Alessandra tells about the team final at the 2023 Europeans in Milan where the tables turned in favour of the Austrian underdogs. Alessandra was the last to ride for the team, and their Olympic qualification was already secured before she entered the arena. “I was so happy, and I hadn't even jumped yet. In the corner of my eye, I saw the scoreboard and I remember thinking that we weren’t that far from a medal; wouldn't that be crazy?”

I hope our success in Milan inspires new people to get involved in the sport

“It felt like our whole country was in shock, like we were almost more celebrated than the Swedes,” Alessandra continues to describe the atmosphere after the team bronze was a reality. “I am happy that the youth in Austria saw that it's possible. It was the best thing that could have happened to our sport. The horsepower has been quite weak for a while in Austria, as we don't have many big sponsors. And I understand; if I would have a great horse, I would also rather give it to Steve Guerdat or Marcus Ehning than to an unknown Austrian girl. I hope our success in Milan inspires new people to get involved in the sport. Hopefully the whole outlook will change a little bit and people will want to help the underdogs, support someone who doesn't already have six Grand Prix horses in their stable.”

“However, I think it is a lot easier to sell a man nowadays than it is to sell a woman. In terms of riding, obviously horses can be heavy sometimes, but on the other hand, the breeding now makes them so bloody, so sensitive, that some of them fit women better. I feel men and women have exactly the same opportunities; it is old-fashioned to think only men can ride certain horses. I feel like we have an incredible group of female riders moving up the ranking. It might take a year or two, but we’re coming.” 

The situation for Austria, however, is complicated. “We're not among the top ten ranked countries globally, so we are not allowed to compete in the four Nations Cups in the new Longines League of Nations. Hopefully we can get into the independent Nations Cups, because it is difficult to not do a big show before a major championship. How can you expect to do well when there are no opportunities to practice? You don't have to wonder why underdog teams can never do well at championship; they have no experience at that level. Luckily, we have Max who has lots of experience, but what about the rest? That's why it's so crazy that we did so well in Milan. It shows that it is possible, but we all had horses with tonnes of scope. However, without experience, going in on the first day – which is a speed class – with fences looking like the biggest Grand Prix you have ever jumped… it is not comfortable as a rider.” 

It's a long way to Paris, but obviously I want to go

“The only shows where Austria has a place for sure are the World Cups, but for me personally, that is not an option. The season will be long, so I don’t want to do any World Cups this year. I want to make sure that that my horses get a break and that they're fresh and ready to go in the outdoor season. We now have kind of a clean slate where everyone has to bring their results and I'm just trying to get mine in. It's a long way to Paris, but obviously I want to go. I believe that you always have to dream big and if you surround yourself with people you trust, then anything is possible.” 

7.2.2024 No reproduction of any of the content in this article will be accepted without a written permission, all rights reserved © World of Showjumping.com. If copyright violations occur, a penalty fee will apply.