In World of Showjumping’s series ‘That Special Bond’ we talk with some of the top names of the sport, to discuss the horses that have shaped their careers, fulfilled their dreams – and sometimes even broke their hearts.
This time around we speak with German rider Marcus Ehning, who has a hard time choosing with all his super stars worthy to be named.
The Special One
”I can’t really name just one horse as the special one. It all started with For Pleasure, who really was an exceptional horse. Then I had Sandro Boy, Noltes Küchengirl, Plot Blue – horses that all have influenced my career over the years. And now I have Cornado NRW and Pret A Tout. I had the luck to be able to ride several ‘one of a kind’ horses. I really can’t say whom I loved the most, since I loved them all in different ways.
For Pleasure influenced me a lot, and was the first horse I rode at this level with. But there are for sure four or five other horses that I still will be talking about in twenty years.
For Pleasure was unbelievably clever and very simple and nice to handle for being a stallion. He had an amazing character, and was always very relaxed. In the ring, he always had 20 hp more than everyone else, which was not a problem, but I always had to hold him and never push him.
I got For Pleasure when he was 12 and he was competing with me until he was 19. In 2011 – at the age of 25 years – he died at home on the field in my arms. I think he had a nice life, also after his career. He got a quick end, which was a bit surprising since he never showed any signs of not being well. So in that way I think he also had a nice good bye.”
The Money Maker
“I really don’t know which of my horses to choose. For Pleasure won a lot at his time, Noltes Küchengirl, Sandro Boy and Plot Blue as well. They are all horses that won more than 1 million Euro.”
The One That Got Away
“I didn’t have any horse that got away, instead I had the difficult decision to find the right time to retire my horses.
Noltes Küchengirl and Sandro Boy competed until they were 17, Plot Blue until 18, For Pleasure until 19 – except for For Pleasure, it was more a decision that had to be made by the owners and me when the right time would be to retire them. I always tried to retire the horses at a time when I still had the feeling they could have done some more shows with great results. I didn’t wait until I had the feeling I needed to ride smaller classes with the horses. And to be honest, I’m lacking the motivation to do that. I mean, in the end with Plot Blue it was hard for me to get motivated to win a 1,50 class with him, because we always had had our eyes on the Grand Prix."
Text and pictures © World of Showjumping by Jenny Abrahamsson
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