Clichés that have come true, bad training methods, bad air for the dressage riders, but finally four gold medals for Germany – St.GEORG editor Gabriele Pochhammer experienced rollercoaster rides of emotions at the equestrian Olympics in Atlanta 1996.
—
After twelve years, Olympia moved again to the USA, the main sponsors Coca Cola and McDonalds had taken care of that. And kept themselves harmless in their own way: in all competition arenas there were only drinks and fast food from the sponsor brands. I’ve never seen so many fat people at once as in the two weeks in Georgia. We were in Scarlett O’Hara Land, stately, a bit sleepy southern mansions, mostly made of wood, lined the streets.
The chaos raged in downtown Atlanta, the entire organization threatened to collapse more than once, computer and telephone networks failed and the subway had to be closed several times due to overcrowding. Every member of the “Olympic Family” was able to tell a horror story of stressed bus drivers who were desperately wandering through urban canyons because they could not find their way. A driver collapsed crying over the steering wheel. And then a maniac committed a terrorist attack in the Olympic amusement park, in which two people died and 110 were injured.
We saw little of it while riding. Besides myself, Alexandra Jahr was part of the St.GEORG team, we stayed in a hotel not far from Georgia International Horse Park, 30 minutes by car from Atlanta. Something like Klein-Aachen was created here: the arena of a similar size (with fewer grandstands, of course), familiar faces, well-versed organization of professionals and great sport. But the Olympic flame was far away.
It wasn’t as humid and hot as feared, and this time too there had been endless discussions and investigations because of the heat. At the end of the cross-country course, these huge water-spraying fans stood for the first time, which have since been almost always present at the Olympics and other major events to cool the horses after the cross.
“It’s never been so bad”
The German riders had been able to prepare themselves on luxurious riding facilities for well-heeled horse lovers, more of a vacation than a strenuous training camp for people who are used to riding more than one horse a day. Show jumpers and dressage riders went to the Merichase Farm not far from the Olympic riding facility, a little further away on the Pine Top Farm the Bushis trained.
Here, substitute rider Matthias Baumann observed and photographed an obstacle over which a smooth, thin wire was stretched, another one that was decorated with a board studded with nails, “training material” for the Argentine riders. Unfortunately, he did not give the photos to the FEI until shortly before the return flight, but to the media, so that it was too late for detailed investigations because those involved had already left.
On the Merichase Farm it was freezing cold despite summer temperatures. Mentally seen. Because it was human in a very complicated way. A husband who came later suddenly realized that he was superfluous, including the friend of a rider who had traveled afterwards and wanted to surprise her loved one. Even visitors who stayed several hours could not observe that one dressage rider exchanged a word with the other. Research with national trainer Harry Boldt revealed: “Ask me something else, I don’t like to lie.” He was quoted by friends as saying: “It’s never been so bad.”
A tear when traveling
In the end, the successes of the Germans were impressive, four gold medals, each team and individual in dressage and jumping. Only the bush riders came away empty-handed, the team gave a sad picture. The best team ride was achieved by the reservist Bodo Battenberg on Sam the Man, a half-brother of Michi Jungs Sam. On the racetrack he was half a minute under the time and almost overtook his pre-starter.
Ralf Ehrenbrink on Connection left after refusals. Jürgen Blum, the father of the reigning show jumping world champion Simone Blum, whom we met with a worried face in front of a wide Trakehner ditch while going downhill, gave up after a fall. When Bettina Overesch went into the Cross with Watermill Stream, the air was already out: the team burst or had an additional 1000 penalty points for one of the eliminated riders. Bettina naturally lacked the vigor, it was a duty to save something where there was nothing left to save. Ninth place for the team.
The Aussies repeated their Olympic victory in 1992. The best German in the individual test was Hendrik v. Paepcke on Amadeus, seventh, after a deliberate smooth ride on the terrain. Peter Thomsen had to withdraw White Girl after dressage, Herbert Blöcker on Kiwi Dream was 16. The Olympic champion was Blyth Tait from New Zealand on the eight year old chestnut Ready Teddy. Even in Atlanta, the format with two separate tests for individual and team evaluation proved to be unsuitable. Hardly any nation had enough class riders to fill both tests. It was used only once again, in Sydney four years later.
The dressage team (Isabell Werth on Gigolo, Monica Theodorescu on Grunox, Klaus Balkenhol on Goldstern and Martin Schaudt on Durgo) won the expected gold medal. The most touching moment on the dressage arena in Atlanta: How a big tear slowly rolls down the cheek of the Olympic champion Isabell Werth at the award ceremony, hanging on her chin trembling before it falls. Captured by our photographer Jaques Toffi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4e4ldtkq4A
By the way, there was also a fifth German dressage rider: Nicole Uphoff had declared her starting place as the defending champion. During the training camp she rode a lot for walks in the forest and was an outsider from the start. The 19-year-old Rembrandt, already well above the zenith and therefore not in the team, was withdrawn from the freestyle after a moderate Grand Prix and Special, each far from the medal positions, after he had not passed the constitutional examination at the first attempt. We would have wished this horse of the century a more glamorous finish.
Shadow on the gold
Dramas were to be endured in front of the medals of the show jumpers. Franke Sloothaak fell in the Nations Cup and was so injured by the stud of Joly Coeurs Eisen that he was bleeding profusely, further riding was out of the question. The other three, Ulrich Kirchhoff on Jus de Pommes, Lars Nieberg on For Pleasure and Ludger Beerbaum on Ratina Z had no jumping faults. In the second lap, only Nieberg received three drops, the others had no jumping errors, so that in the end only 1.75 time errors were recorded for the team.
Suddenly there was something like an Olympic atmosphere in the evening when the four of them pulled their national coach Herbert Meyer to join them on the podium. These are the moments when you are happy to be there. Rude awakening for Beerbaum the next day: Ratina had suffered a tendon damage and could no longer walk. Ludger shortened the research into the causes: “The mare has given 110 percent in the last few weeks, has really fought. Somehow the arch was overstretched. “
Now the individual jumping. Ulrich Kirchhoff remained the only rider in both rounds without a drop, and made a time error with the caliber chestnut stallion Jus de Pommes, but the tactic of not pressing the time worked. Seven riders had to compete for silver and bronze. I will never forget the jus de fries lap of honor. Kirchhoff waved a German flag in each hand and cheered, the reins on his neck. But the horse beneath him was visible at the end. With his ears folded back, Jus de Pommes galloped ponderously around. “He’s tired,” I thought. Much worse: the stallion was seriously ill and succumbed to multiple organ failure days after his return. The cause of how it got this far has never been fully clarified – a shadow that remains on this medal.