THE HANOVERIAN

Sport
Top offspring Corona by Contendro/
Garibaldi II at the Bundeschampionat
in Warendorf. Photo: Luze
Young Riders in Pardubice and Blair Castle with a
bronze medal.
Shortly thereafter the new high school graduate
moved to Warendorf to start her training to pursue
an equestrian degree. She had already been accepted
into the perspective group of the German
Olympic Committee at that time. She finished her
degree with the best results of her age group and
was awarded the Stensbeck-Plaque. She continued
her training with the German Equestrian Federation.
Sandra Auffarth returned home to her parental
farm four years later in January 2011 to devote her
time to the breeding and training’s facility.
Enjoying the work
The Olympic champion defines the most important
rule regarding her training method, “My goal is to
improve something. It is also important that horses
are able to relax. The horses must clear their heads
and be on the aids securely during training. They
should enjoy the work. I love riding young horses
because they advance quickly.”
Over the past thirty years Bärbel and Karl-Heinz
Auffarth have transformed the mixed farming business
that included dairy cows into a modern boarding
and training facility. The broodmares live in a
separate stable. Father Karl-Heinz is responsible
for the young horses and the broodmares. He attends
to the pastures, the arable land and the breaking
of the young horses while horse management
master Bärbel is responsible for the organization,
the training of the horses and the office. The same
applies to Sandra. If she isn´t sitting in a saddle,
she will be sitting in front of a computer dealing
with paperwork, holding clinics or teaching. Katrin
Jansen is the good soul on the farm. She stayed on
the farm after completing her training in Ganderkesee.
A rider and a trainee complete the team.
“Elfe by Efendi/Marcio xx was born 1968 and was
my first broodmare,” Karl-Heinz Auffahrt proudly
tells, “She is a direct female ancestor of Florencio
who was a privately owned sire and former World
Champion of Young Dressage Horses.” Today three
Hanover registered mares live in the broodmare
barn: Fantasie by For Pleasure/Aldatus (breeder:
Heinz Grade, Twistringen), Lacrima by Lombard/
Akcept xx and Rivera by Rivero xx/Lordanos. Karl-
Heinz Auffahrt has high hopes for Fantasie’s twoyear
old son by Duke of Hearts xx.
He owes his greatest breeding success to the mare
Lacrima: He had the OS-Champion Stallion with
Coupe d’Or by Coupe de Coeur in 2010. “We have
always tried to incorporate good Thoroughbred
stallions or mares in our breeding program. The
success however often sets in a generation later,
Bärbel Auffahrt explains.
Every now and again Sandra Auffarth looks into
the mare barn. “We have quite a few young horses
at the moment. I would love to continue breeding
with the interesting mares but have to learn a lot
more from my dad first, though!” She loves going
down memory lane and thinking about the time
when she participated in the Young Breeder’s Program.
She attended to the offspring in the horsebreeding
club Oldenburg with her mom Bärbel. “I
always enjoyed the Young Breeders’ activities,” so
Bärbel Auffarth. She clearly remembers one special
Young Breeders’ Day in Verden. Sandra was there
with her two-year older brother. “Once Jan realized
his little sister was the better rider, he stopped
riding altogether,” Bärbel Auffarth comments
with a smirk. He cannot however refrain completely
from the family’s passion. He entered into a partnership
with his father on one mare.
The training of event horses is very diversified and
exciting. The management is very important. “Only
horses in top condition are content and willing to
perform and still enjoy life. It is not easy to bring all
of it under one heading. It is an art to not demand
too much. We must always listen to our horses,”
says Sandra Auffarth. “I have learnt a lot from my
parents but I have also always tried to watch and
copy others.” The attitude of a horse towards a
sport especially towards eventing is of utmost importance.
“They must join in and at the same time
be brave and have good nerves.”
“Wolle” is the star
Without question Opgun Louvo or “Wolle”, as he
is lovingly called, is the all-time star in Bergedorf.
The Selle-Francais chestnut came to Sandra Auffarth
for training in 2007. “He did not attract any
attention; he was small, almost homely and his
movement appeared to be limited. But he had a
super attitude towards work,“ his rider explains
with glowing eyes. The first success set in in 2009:
Third place at the World Championships for Young
Event Horses in Lion d’Angers!
Two years later the pair became members of the
German Championship cadre. They won gold with
the team at the European Championships in
Luhmühlen and individual silver the same year – a
sensational success! When it was time to distribute
tickets for London it was obvious that Sandra
Auffarth was not going to be left behind! In London
a dream came true that she had not dared
dreaming of four years earlier. There was not much
time for relaxation after the Olympic Games. The
barn in Bergedorf is filled with great talents. Lea-
4 The Hanoverian 04|2013