Known for its tradition of raising great Young Riders like the 1987 European Champion Regina Moldan and the 1999 bronze medallist Sissi Max-Theurer, Austria has finally launched a combination that meets up with the international Grand Prix standards.
Stefan Peter is only twenty-five years old and has already qualified himself for his first World Cup Final in 's Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands. The final is an special opportunity for him to compete against dressage goddesses Isabell Werth and Anky van Grunsven. Throughout the 1999/2000 World Cup qualifying season, Stefan had his "Good Journey" on Bon Voyage, an 11 year old Danish warmblood gelding.
Together with his trainer Fritz Gaulhofen, Stefan Peter runs a training farm in Grafendorf, Austria, where he mainly breaks young horses. Stefan is very grateful for the constant assistance his trainer is responsible for. From his last European Young Riders' Championships in 1996 to his first Grand Prix test in 1997 to his first World Cup final, Gaulhofen has always been on his side, giving him helpful tips and even assembling his musical freestyle. Achieving an Olympic berth for the Games in Sydney at the 1999 European Championships in Arnhem, Stefan Peter has not yet grown out of his boots. "I simply can not believe it," he said to Dutch equi-journalist Yana van Tienen.
Image copyrighted: Dirk Caremans