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“I have been very lucky in the past few years,” the 2025 European Champion Richard Vogel (28) tells World of Showjumping as he reflects on the last five years that have seen him build a business with David Will and Sophie Hinners, break into the Top 10 in the world and take his first championship title at the 2025 Europeans in A Coruña, Spain. “I have gotten to know and partnered up with great people. Starting V & W Equestrian with David was a big step, and then Sophie joined us – she has been a tremendous support. She has brought great value to our team, not only as a rider, but also behind the scenes.”

“Over the last couple of years, David has focused more on training, as well as on the business, which has been a big advantage for me,” the current world number five explains. “I have to be very thankful for that, because it has given me a lot of time and space to focus on my riding and on my horses.”

To World of Showjumping, Richard tells about the journey to become European Champion, the team effort behind his success, the courage it has taken to create the support system he has today and why dealing well with failures is essential – not only in sport but in life in general.

Based in Pfungstadt, Germany, V & W Equestrian is not a small operation. “We probably have more than a hundred horses under the saddle that are part of V & W Equestrian,” Richard explains. “That includes a lot of young horses. For us it's very important to always think about the future – and we also really enjoy working with young horses."

Working with young horses keeps you positive about the future

"For all three of us, it is kind of a hobby to have young horses, build them up and see how they develop. Obviously not all of them go on to be superstars, but I believe that there is a right role for every horse – it is our job to figure that out, and it is a lot of fun. We try to hold on to the ones we believe are special and aim to give them the best chance to make it to the top sport.”

“Working with young horses keeps you positive about the future,” Richard continues. “When you don’t have the results you were hoping for at a show, coming back home and riding nice young horses on a Monday keeps the motivation up. It might take five years, but eventually, the young horses will be ready to step up. It's always nice to see the future developing, and that's a big part of our business.”

During the past four years, Richard has spent his winters in the U.S. “The whole idea of David and I putting our businesses together, and Sophie joining us, was that we understand each other well, can benefit from each other's know-how and can support each other,” Richard begins. “Also, we can be a bit more spread out and develop a closer contact to clients, get to know them better and help them more. David's main circuit has been the Middle East; he's currently training the Saudi Olympic team and they've been quite successful with him, while I have focused on the American market.”

I am very thankful to Veronica that she opened that door for me

“I originally went to the U.S. with Veronica Tracy, who I used to train and ride horses for,” Richard explains. “I am very thankful to Veronica that she opened that door for me. I would probably never have made that decision on my own, because I didn't really know anyone, and it all seemed very far away – and very expensive. Most likely I would have never taken that step, but she really wanted to go and made me join her as her trainer.”

“Every year, I bring some sales horses with me and some other horses to develop,” he continues. “The horses we brought to the States have gone on to be very successful. Cepano Baloubet learned a lot and did his first five-star Grand Prix there, and Cydello also stepped up while in Wellington. Every year, we usually have a few horses that really grow into the top sport there.”

While spending time in the States, Richard has built a close relationship with six-time Olympian McLain Ward. “I was always inspired by the American way of riding, and I think one that is almost picture perfect is McLain Ward,” Richard continues. “During the first circuit that I spent in Wellington, it took quite a few weeks before I dared to talk to him. I have a lot of respect for him, obviously, and he is very busy. Especially in Wellington, he goes from ring to ring and has a lot of horses to show himself and a lot of people to train. I didn't want to annoy him or steal the time he anyway doesn't really have. However, I wanted to build some sort of relationship with him. So finally, I jumped over my shadow, went up to him at the show and asked if I could maybe send him some videos so he could give me some advice – or if I could come by with a horse to get a lesson. Surprisingly, to me, he was very positive, very open, very straightforward. It was on a Saturday, and he said to be at his barn the next Tuesday at 12 – and that was it.”

I was always inspired by the American way of riding, and I think one that is almost picture perfect is McLain Ward

“After a nervous few days, I drove to his place on Tuesday, 12 o'clock – and tried to be there in time, which is not easy for me. I'm always late, but I managed to be in time, at least for the first lesson we had,” Richard laughs. “And it was great. He actually didn't say much, but the things he said were very valuable and helped me a lot. That is how it started, and now I wouldn't call it a trainer-student relationship. We are good friends, and he is a great advisor whenever I need guidance. I know he is just a call away whenever I need help.”

“It's interesting to see different ways of riding,” Richard says about the differences between Europe and North-America. “The Americans are in my opinion riding lighter, more modern, with a light seat and shorter reins than most Europeans – or especially Germans. The French are maybe also a bit like that, but especially in Germany you can often see a bit old-fashioned riding; sitting deep in the saddle, almost a bit behind the horse, trying to have the horse very round. However, I would say my ideal horse enjoys having the head up, is intelligent and wants to look for the fence – we basically just have to sit on, find a good rhythm and stay out of the way. At least that's the goal of riding, in my opinion; that it should look as easy as possible and that we as riders can really trust the quality of the horse and not try to lift them over the jumps or hold them off.”

Richard’s biggest success has come with the now 13-year-old stallion United Touch S (Untouched x Lux Z, bred and owned by Julius Sinnack), while the likes of Cloudio (Casall Ask x San Patrignano Cassini) and Phenyo van het Keysersbos (Corydon van T&L x Heartbreaker) have also taken their share of big wins. “I have had a great string of horses in the last couple of years – and still have,” Richard points out.

I am happy that I have never had the pressure to over-jump United, use him too much and bring him to the shows too often

“Obviously United Touch S has probably made the biggest change for me and is the horse we have to thank the most for everything that has happened. However, even horses like United need to have other horses that support them, to either qualify for the big classes or fill some gaps in between. Overall, I am happy that I have never had the pressure to over-jump United, use him too much and bring him to the shows too often – thanks to the great horses we have and have had in our team.”

“I think United is the type of horse that can do everything and anything,” Richard continues. “Since he has such a huge stride and tremendous scope, technical lines where he needs to collect himself are a big ask. The more motivated he is, the easier it goes and the more successful we can be. Therefore, we always have to stay far away from the line where he might find it all too much. He should enjoy what he does and be happy to do it. I think that's a big secret – with any horse – in staying competitive; your horse has to feel fresh and happy.”

With United Touch S, Richard was crowned the 2025 European Champion in A Coruña back in July. “The story about how I got the ride on United is another example of how lucky I have been,” Richard begins to tell about his journey with the stunning stallion that was produced by Willem Greve and Bart Bles before arriving at V & W Equestrian. “United's owner and breeder Julius Sinnack contacted us, as he wanted to bring three horses for Sophie to ride. He really likes Sophie's way of riding and he thought they would suit her.”

“When United arrived, Sophie rode him for the first two or three days,” Richard continues. “I remember the first time I saw her riding United and I was like ‘oh my God – he has such a big stride’. It was impossible for Sophie to ride him. He did five canter strides in our outdoor arena and he was on the other side of it – and while he did these five strides, he was cantering in slow motion. I was on the ground, and I tried to help Sophie – we did canter poles and some small jumps to somehow collect the stride and make him more efficient, a bit quicker. However, whenever Sophie tried to get him quicker, the stride just got bigger and the lines got too short. You couldn't say that it was a match made in heaven with the two of them.”

I have never experienced a horse that changed as much as United

“To figure something out, we decided that I would ride him for a few days,” Richard tells. “After I had jumped him for the first time, I remember going back to the stables and telling my groom Felicia that whenever I would not be there, she should lunge him or go on a trail ride – whatever else than let David jump him! United gave me such an incredible feeling, and I was afraid that if David felt the same, he would try to put him on his list.”

“When we suggested to Julius that I could ride United instead of Sophie, he was right away on the same page – even though his first option would absolutely have been Sophie. From there on, United was on my list,” Richard smiles.

“I have never experienced a horse that changed as much as United – and he is happy to do the work, every day,” Richard tells about how the stallion has developed over the past three years. “Our first show was at the Bundeschampionat in Warendorf, and I can still remember it like it was yesterday. We took him there for a national Grand Prix and he won. His second show was a two-star, where I jumped a 1.35m class and I tried to be quick and efficient – and people came up to me afterwards and asked why I was trying to win a 1.35m with such an incredibly talented horse. However, there was a bigger plan behind it; all his life, United had picked up time faults. We wanted to make him quicker, and you cannot start with that at 1.60m.”

Another building block in Richard’s success has been his long-time groom Felicia Wallin. “Felicia has been with us almost right from the start of V & W Equestrian,” Richard tells. “She started as a very young and ambitious horse girl and now I would consider her as – for me personally – the best groom in the world. For sure, anyone would tell you she's one of the best. It is so important to have one person around the horses that you can trust – and this has been especially important with a horse like United.”

It's amazing to see how much love Felicia has for her job, and it's also amazing to see how much the horses are developing with her around them

“Sometimes I joke that I don't need to hear about United’s every move, but that just shows how much she cares and how much thought is going into his well-being,” Richard continues. “It's amazing to see how much love Felicia has for her job, and it's also amazing to see how much the horses are developing with her around them. As riders, we can train them as much as we want, but without the right groom, we can never get the best out of them. I think that is one of the most underestimated aspects in our sport. Success is not only down to the horses’ physical abilities, the mental state of a horse weighs just as much. Every horse is totally different and figuring out a good program for each of them to make them feel how special they are to us and that they're unique is what makes a good groom.”

“You can't really do this sport at the level we are at without a person like Felicia in your team,” Richard points out. “I think it would not be possible. However, to say that we only have sunny days would obviously be a lie. My relationship to Felicia is almost like a marriage; there are discussions, and sometimes arguments every now and then, but I think that's the valuable part about it as well. She cares about the whole operation as much as we do, and she brings in her opinion. Felicia would never do anything just because she was told to do so; if she thinks differently, she will let me know. Sometimes we are not on the same page at first and we really have to talk things through to try to see both sides. Most of the times the best scenario is somewhere in the middle.”

Winning the 2025 European Championship on a petit penalty score of 0.01, Richard and United Touch S did not touch a fence at Casas Novas Equestrian Center. With polished performances from start to finish, they earned themselves the gold medal, after having won team bronze for Germany. “A Coruña was an incredible experience,” Richard recalls about the week in Spain. “I drove there with quite a bit of pressure because I knew my horse had all these possibilities and could do it – and we have already won quite a few good classes. However, the last championship we did at the Paris Olympics – which was also our first major championship – was actually quite a failure. I really wanted to not only prove to myself that we can do better, but also prove those people wrong who have doubted United.”

I think United really deserves that title

“We were quite happy about how we started the championship the first day, but obviously nothing was won yet,” Richard continues. “After all, we got very lucky that we took the speed class so serious. Before that class, more experienced championship riders tried to take a bit of motivation out of me and said how more people lose something the first day by trying to be too quick and getting their horses too flat. They said it would be better to play it safe and work my way up during the week. Probably at any other major championship so far that has been the case, but in A Coruña, there were so many clear rounds on the following days that the speed class really became decisive.”

“United felt in great shape every day, he was so fresh. In the warm-up, we never had the best shape because he was shooting over the fences, really eating them up and didn't take enough time over the jumps. However, in the ring, he was always focused and very much with me, which I think was one of the reasons why we could perform in such a good way all week. I'm just glad I could bring it home as a rider without making any major mistakes. I think United really deserves that title. I'm super happy, for Felicia, for United’s breeder and owner Julius, for myself, for the whole team, but especially for the horse; no one can ever take that away from him, and I am so happy that we were able to give him this title.”

Richard and United Touch S’ championship debut at the Paris Olympics in 2024 did not go as he had hoped for, which made Richard arrive extra hungry at this summer’s Europeans. “In our sport, you automatically learn to deal well with failures, because you lose way more often than you win,” Richard says.

“If you can deal well with them, failures can be your greatest teachers,” Richard points out. “It is not always easy, but as soon as you can take away the emotion – time obviously helps – and analyse what happened, why it happened, and what you need to change in order to not have it happen again, you can learn from your mistakes. I think the biggest mistake people do when dealing with failure is starting to change everything, out of emotion. As we analyse our failures, we also have to accept the fact that no matter how hard we try and how perfect we want to be, how much effort, hard work and time we put into our training, our horses, and everything around it, we will fail more often than we will win.”

I think one of the most important parts in our sport – and probably in life – is to learn from the setbacks and not let them push you down for long

“If we want to get better, we have to learn our lessons. After Paris, we tried to do that. It was not one thing that went majorly wrong there, it was a couple that added up. Another aspect in our sport is that sometimes it's just not your day, not your horse's day, or the luck just is not on your side. That maybe came on top of it in Paris, but a few different things weren't good enough, or going great, or not thought about well enough. And we really tried to work on those points afterwards.”

“That's why I had so much inner pressure before A Coruña, because I really wanted to have a better outcome and prove that we could do better and that we had learned something from Paris,” Richard says. “I hope I will experience more championships in my life. That's not for granted, but I hope so. And if I do, we fail again at some point – that's for sure. However, I think one of the most important parts in our sport – and probably in life – is to learn from the setbacks and not let them push you down for long.”

“United has played a huge role in my career and always will,” Richard says when asked what the future holds for the pair that has become one of the most iconic duos of recent times. “We obviously try to have him at his best as long as possible. The next major goal would be the 2026 World Championships in Aachen.”

“Aachen is my absolute favourite show in the world and to have the World Championships in your home country is something very special for any rider. We also have the next Olympics on our mind, especially as our first one wasn't so good. Los Angeles 2028 is still far away and United is turning 14. Everything has to go very well for us to make it to LA, but I believe there is a chance if we make a good plan for him. At the same time, we are working on the future with all our young horses.”

9.12.2025 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.