Text © World of Showjumping
For the last decade, Sofie Karlsson has worked alongside Germany’s Christian Kukuk who this summer was crowned 2024 Olympic Champion with Checker 47.
Sofie joined Christian’s team in 2015, initially taking on the role as a home rider. When Sofie started, Christian had mostly young horses on his list – he had joined Ludger Beerbaum’s yard in Riesenbeck in 2012 and was working his way up.
A lot has changed since then Sofie tells World of Showjumping, as she shares her journey and explains how winning Olympic gold – as exciting as it was – has also weighed heavy on her shoulders.
Originally from Sweden, Sofie was encouraged to start riding as a small girl by her grandmother Ingrid. “She more or less forced me to the stable,” Sofie laughs. “She really wanted me to ride.”
Growing up, Sofie learned the ropes at the local riding school in Söderköping, while her family also had horses at home. When still in school, Sofie would spend all weekends and holidays with the local riders who were competing on a higher, national, level. “Back then, the system was that you could bring your own horse, work all day and then get some free training,” Sofie tells.
When Sofie was nineteen, she left for the Netherlands to work as a groom, before calling up Ludger Beerbaum’s yard in 2015 and getting a job in Riesenbeck, Germany.
Welcome to Riesenbeck
“When I started, I knew nothing compared to the experienced staff that worked in Riesenbeck,” Sofie tells. “At the time I arrived, I had basically been to one international show as a groom.”
“I always wanted to ride, but I also knew that I did not have the last talent,” Sofie – who originally started as a home rider for Christian – continues. “Especially after seeing how hard these guys work for it, I understood how difficult it is to make it as a rider. However, I was happy to just ride at home; I felt that was a huge opportunity in itself. This way, I got to learn from some of the best riders in the world and be part of a successful team. I preferred that to being somewhere not as successful and working really hard as well; with horses, the amount of work never really changes no matter the level.”
It was only by coincidence that Sofie started going to shows with Christian. “For a while, there was no one else that could go so I went – and actually enjoyed it! I still enjoy being at home, but after I started doing more shows, I noticed how quiet it can get when you don’t travel every week.”
“Even if I did not have much experience in the beginning, I was allowed to continue working, and I have learned through doing,” Sofie continues. “My role has changed a lot; from being the one who had to learn everything, I can now perhaps teach someone something. As a team, we had to step up when the long-time manager was moved to another position, and all of the sudden we – and I think we were quite young still – had to keep Christian’s stable organized. With the help of great colleagues, we managed, and it taught me that if you are willing to learn, there is a way.”
Growing together
Now, Sofie and Christian have nearly a decade of working together behind them. “We have grown up, both of us,” Sofie tells. “He claims he has grey hairs because of me, but I think he would actually have more of them if it wasn't for me!”
“Our situation has changed so much, but it is not something I think about a lot. However, when I do think about it, I believe we maybe can appreciate more what we have now as we truly have started from the bottom and done the whole journey together. The success we have enjoyed is not only due to us two either, it has been a huge team effort. The credit belongs just as much to everyone that has been working with us. I have so much respect for how Christian has developed as a rider through the years to achieve the success we have had.”
“On Monday we are back riding,” she explains about the mentality in Riesenbeck following successful show weekends. “There might be more smiles on the face of the riders. We exchange congratulations, but then everyone keeps working as if nothing has happened. However, after Paris, there was a lot of celebrations! It was unbelievable what our colleagues did for us – it left me speechless how they all welcomed us back from Paris. The team in Riesenbeck is very supportive; everyone is there for each other, both on good and bad days.”
“We have been so lucky for so many years, that we all get along so well,” Sofie says about the big team in Riesenbeck. “By now, it's almost easier to travel together than travelling alone because we know each other so well. Many grooms are left alone on the highway, driving thousands of kilometres, and when you think about what can happen on the road, I believe we are lucky to always be traveling in a group. We can also win together as a team, which gives you double happiness.”
“The atmosphere in our stable is the most important thing for me. Even though we are working hard, it should still be fun for everyone to be in the stable, and everyone should feel comfortable to ask questions. Otherwise, it makes no sense to do what we are doing. Unfortunately, what I hear from many of my colleagues at shows are stories from places where the home staff and show grooms don’t get along, which I think is sad and should not happen.”
The 14-year-old gelding Checker 47 (Comme Il Faut x Come On) arrived in Riesenbeck in 2020. “What Checker has accomplished in the last year and a half has left us all speechless,” Sofie tells about the evolution the talented gelding has gone through. “He was always a good horse, but suddenly he simply went from being a really good horse to being an absolutely remarkable horse – it was as if a switch turned.”
“It is a true privilege to be around Checker, to see what Christian has created with him, and to witness what kind of joy a horse can give to people,” Sofie continues. “He is pretty simple to take care of, but I would say that is the way we work in our stable; we keep everything as simple as possible. If you ever ask something, the answer will most likely be ‘just don't make it so complicated’ – it doesn't matter if it's about feeding or about driving somewhere, the main idea has always been just to keep everything uncomplicated.”
“As Checker has become older, I think he has become a bit more spoiled,” Sofie says. “However, he is mostly still taken care of as every other horse. I believe that horses don’t choose fame and success; it’s the people around that create this hype about them, add to their value. I try to approach each horse the same, because it's not their choice that they became valuable and extremely talked about. All I want for any horse is for them to have a happy life, and that is what I try to give Checker and all our other horses.”
From the lowest low to the highest high
For Sofie, Paris 2024 was her first Olympics and the week in Versailles was surreal – from the disappointment with the German team that missed out on a medal to the overwhelming feelings on the final day when Christian and Checker jumped home the individual gold. “It felt strange, arriving in Versailles,” Sofie tells about the week at the beautiful venue. “The Olympic Games is something most people probably only dream about and it felt unrealistic to be there. I felt thankful to get to experience something like that at least once in my life.”
“With the grooms and all the people around, we had such a good team and we had so much fun,” Sofie tells about the German team spirit.
“The boys rode good, and the horses were jumping super, which made it hard to deal with,” Sofie says about the team competition where the Germans finished fifth. “It was really hard. However, this is sport. You have one shot when you finally make it to the Olympics. We even missed Snoop Dogg being in the stable area the day after, because we were all miserable – sitting together in the stables.”
However, on the final day, the tables turned. “I remember the boys coming back from the course walk, saying that there are not going to be many clear rounds,” Sofie tells. “Therefore, my hopes were not high. Actually, I thought that we were going to be in the truck on the way home by the time of the prize giving ceremony – I believed we had no chance. I was almost not nervous, because I thought a clear was never going to happen. However, when Christian and Checker had three fences left in the first round and I was filming, I realized that actually, we are still here; there is a small chance – it was a crazy feeling. I was lucky I had sunglasses on because there were a lot of tears!”
“For the jump-off, it felt like there were no nerves left anymore, not for me, not for Otto, not for Christian. And after they jumped clear, everything went so fast. The congratulations, the prize giving ceremony… There was no time to celebrate, because we had to pack and leave, and two hours later we were on the road home. This is always the case when you win anything big on the last day; you pack everything and go, and even if you're happy, you have no time to celebrate. You should really enjoy these moments, but everything goes so fast it is nearly impossible.”
The aftermath
Now, the celebrations are done and life is back to normal for Sofie. “When you come home after a win like this, you feel joy, but you also feel completely empty,” she tells about her feelings in the Paris aftermath. “When you have worked for something for a long time, and then you actually achieve it; that leaves you really confused. However, in this sport, reality brings you down rather quickly; the week after there is a new show, new goals.”
“It was an unreal experience and I am so thankful for everyone around me,” she continues. “This is something I will be remember all my life. However, I think for any kind of athlete, whatever sport it is, sooner or later – if you want to keep on going on the top – you have to get back to work and focus on the next goal.”
Even though the German team was there to share the joy of winning an Olympic gold, Sofie found it hard to be the one that got it in the end. “Especially with the German team, with the girls there, who all worked so hard, it left me with mixed feelings. They all worked just as hard, and they never got a medal – and they would have deserved this just as much as we did. Even though this is sport – everyone cannot be the winner – it was still hard. It felt heavy, because I know the amount of work everyone puts in, and they all would have deserved a medal.”
A dying breed
Sofie cannot see herself without horses, but in general she worries about the future of grooms. “There is something about this job; it's a little bit like a drug and you just keep coming back for it,” she says. “I can’t even point out what I enjoy the most. In general, it's a combination of everything; the horses themselves, the things we get to experience with them, the people we get to meet and the places we get to see. And to think that twenty years ago, I was sitting on the tribune somewhere admiring these people – and now I can see them every week behind the scenes.”
“It is a delicate subject, and in many ways, it has improved,” Sofie says when the topic turns to the grooms and their working conditions. “However, it will always be a complicated issue because in the end all the grooms work for someone else's success. They never work for their own success. It's something you have to accept when you do this job. Many shows are trying to show more appreciation, but giving the grooms goodie bags with hoof oil and horse shampoo and telling them how amazing they are will not make a difference. If you think about what these horses are worth and the costs involved, the grooms are still a cheap part of it all – and that is wild. In many ways, we are a small cost for the riders compared to a lot of other expenses – especially considering the number of hours of work we put in.”
“The first thing I would want to see change are the late-night classes. As an example, in Barcelona, the jump-off started after 11PM two nights in a row. If you take into account the fact that most of us are driving home straight after the competition finishes on Sunday, and that the value of the horses in our trucks more often than not is more than what most working-class people earn in a lifetime, how can this be considered normal?”
“Not one of us does it only for the money,” Sofie concludes with the grooms’ point of view. “Sadly, I believe that good grooms are a dying breed. If you look at how many shows there are, one groom is not enough for a rider. They need two or three grooms, which means the amount of people needed has tripled. It's impossible that the number of new grooms coming into the sport can increase as fast as the need for them, which is why there is somehow a crisis when it comes to finding good, qualified staff.”
31.10.2024 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.