Interview with the German Eventing Rider Anna Siemer
Anna Siemer is a well-established international-level talent among the best professional exponents of the equestrian Eventing world.
The great aptitude for this sport has led her to important achievements in the most prestigious competitions, where she has always distinguished herself through her remarkable skills and a truly admirable determination.
Her strong passion for horses and for her job, is the essential engine that drives her successes, combined with the love and the motivational force she finds in her family.
It was with great pleasure that the HSJ team interviewed this talented Eventing rider, discovering the origins of her passion and the values that guide her journey as a professional athlete.
A talent inherited from parents
The passion for horses stems from the family sphere, as she told us:
“I start riding because I’m born in a riding school on a little island called Norderney, in the northern part of Germany. I start to do eventing because my parents do eventing as well, and a little bit of hunting. It was affordable for my parents because I had a young pony, that was fine in dressage and show jumping, but also good in cross country. So, my beginning, started there”
Demonstrating great skills as a rider from an early age, she managed to develop an outstanding career, thanks not only to the natural talent provided by her parents, but also to her strong determination and love for the equestrian world.
Approaching competitive eventing sport at a young age, she participated in National Championships and German Championships, reaching the European Complete Championships in 1998 too, where she earned her first silver individually, accompanying the team to the gold medal. In ’99 she ended his journey with ponies, keep going with a brilliant career with horses.
Hes sporting curriculum has been growing with a great ascent, and it continues to be enriched with numerous achievements and satisfactions, thus building today a solid and confirmed reputation in the most important international circuits dedicated to Eventing:
her participations for European and World Championships stand out, along with the most challenging and famous multi-star CCI competitios, as well her attendance at Nations Cup and for the prestigious CHIO event in Aachen.
In 2009, she opened her stable in Luhmühlen, where she still devotes herself, with passion and determination, to training and teaching, as well as, of course, taking care of all her talented horses.
The road to success: get the right mindset to achieve your goals
To achieve results and aspire to great performance, it is not enough to prepare only physically; a key part of training must also include proper mental preparation, as she explained:
“Success comes out of good ideas, a good mental health, and then it will work out. Every horse and every rider will always give their best. I always try one hundred percent, so I really, really do the best I can”
As this great rider shows, accepting challenges is crucial in this sport: without the correct mindset it really difficult to perform giving all the best, and it inevitabily affects the horse’s emotions and performance.
The bond with a special mare
“As a professional rider, I rode a lot of different horses, and that’s part of my job. But I have to say, there are always mares that comes a little bit more to my heart. I have a a seventeen year old horse, which I started when she was four, and she was successful from youngster classes up to five star in European championships. So, of course, she will be in my heart forever because she’s she’s not a princess. She’s a queen or even more, even though she’s very small.”
The mare she was telling about, is the talented Hanoverian female FRH Butt’s Avondale, a special partner that Anna has been able to full enhance, leading her to compete for important and challenging circuits.
Just to mention a few recent results, this all-female pair earned first place this year at the CCI4* in Sopot, held in May, as well as demonstrated great technique and skills at the renowned event at the CHIO in Aachen last month.
Establish a good training of an Eventer–Horse: the importance to understanding its natural aptitudes
“To become an all-arounder, it always takes a longer time than becoming a single discipline specialist, because you need your horse in every situation, well prepared. So one horse is easier on the flat works or dressage. One horse is natural, good in show jumping, or super brave in cross country. But normally in the beginning, two of three things should work out easy, and one you can work a lot on. You surely need a natural galloper, just to be sure the gallop should be easy enough and light enough. So eventing horses like to run, and then for the rest, you can make it buy training, training and training, that’s the point. Set a good program and never try to be fast to see results with and eventer”
Eventing is, in fact, is the most complete form of equestrian sports: consisting of three different disciplines (dressage, show jumping and cross country), eventing horses have to hone different skills to compete.
Thanks to her experience as a high-level rider and trainer, she manages to find the right balance to ensure a good path for their growth and performance, respecting their learning and psycho-physical development timelines.
The importance of the family and the great support of her team
A full-time professional mom and athlete, she is always ready to support her family while always managing to balance the commitments her job entail.
“A great help certainly comes from the team, without which it would not be possible to achieve these results, as she confirms: “As a mother of two kids, it’s simply impossible to do it without the best team in the world I have. They keep ripping the horses while I’m not there even though when I’m on a show or, if there’s family things. I can be one hundred percent sure they try to do it as good as possible, and I think everybody needs, somebody around to help you out. So biulding up a good team makes it much easier”
Reconciling the needs of family with job engagements, especially when you are a high-level horserider, is not an easy thing to do, but as Anna Siemer shows off herself, the family sphere is the first constant support and encouragement to improve youself and thus, achieve goals.
“I love my family being part of me most of the time. So when it’s possible, I like to take the kids and my husband with me to a show. My kids come to the stable not too many times because they also have other ideas of playing with friends and, soccer and, kung fu and whatever. They do a lot of other things as well, but they still share one pony in the moment and ride both, at least once a week. I think they’re having more fun around the pony than really riding. They play around with him, and tha’s really what I like, seeing them to have a natural feeling. I don’t want to be a pushing mom, so to push them to ride if they don’t want to.
And in the end, I have to say, I think I’m a better rider because now I’m a mom. I’m just more focused on the sport, because I don’t have so much time. Because always every single day at three, I leave the stable, and then I’m just a mom and do mom stuff. So I have less time, for playing around with my horses. I need to be more strict, and, I am much more concentrated than I was before”
Looking to the future: big ambitions and clear goals
“I want to be part of the Olympics. Maybe in L.A., that would be great. It’s, twice I made it to the, to the long list. I want to be part on the short list. This is my new idea, and so I really try to build up horses for this plan right now.”
Anna Siemer is a prominent figure in the world of Eventing, representing the dedication, passion, and excellence that distinguish top athletes. The strong bond she builds with her horses, and the involvement of the family sphere are an important motivation for her career, and for her future.
The full interview will be soon available on our Spotify profile, click here
Photo credic: Stefano Secchi
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