When one is riding at championships for medals, winning the blue ribbon in Germany does not mean victory but the "unthankful" fourth place. Young gun Sophie Holkenbrink doesn't dare to dream to be unthankful when she finished fourth individually and earned team gold at the 2010 European Junior Riders Championships in Kronberg last summer.
One year ago, Holkenbrink was only riding at national level and literally sitting on a star: the 12-year old licensed stallion Show Star (by Sandro Hit). Under Sophie's trainer Oliver Oelrich the black stallion finished second in the Nurnberger Burgpokal Finals and was ready for Grand Prix, when stallion owner Wilhelm Holkenbrink asked his daughter for the first time to "exercise" Show Star "a little."
This request was not without consequences. "It immediately clicked," reminisced Sophie, who was then focusing on novice level show jumping and a combination of running, swimming, jumping and dressage. "I still like to jump and I was sixth at the Westfalian Regional Championships with Piko Son, but I never expected what happened this summer," she admitted. "Last year the greatest feeling for me was to ride at the Westfalian or German youth riders championships and at the beginning of the season we were still making mistake after mistake in the Preis der Besten. But now I rode at the European Championships!"
At the first E.C. selection trial in Wiesbaden a team spot became in reach. In Hagen it was a reality. Her trainer Oelrich was equally pleased with the achievement. He also coached another junior rider team member, Charlott Marie Schurmann, who won triple gold at the European Championships. Oelrich is experienced at training young talents. "Sophie and Show Star are becoming more and more a combination," he explained. "My task was to train them on punctuality. Show Star has quite some experience aboard but it's her job to ride everything correctly.
Oelrich is very enthusiastic about the pair and does not hide his sympathy for them. "Sophie's ambition helps in the training. The secret to their success is that the horse is more experienced than the rider. And after the summer we can only hope that the breeders honour the rideability Show Star displays." Sophie acknowledges the qualities of her quadruped schoolmaster, who is totally relaxed to walk nose by nose with other stallions in the warm up ring. "When you do everything with quietness, there is no problem handling stallions," she stated.
Sophie's first and last year as a junior is over now and in 2011 she will make the transition to young riders' level. Her goal for the future is very clear. "We have to keep on working on riding even more precisely so that we get more experience in test-riding," she explained. Show Star has been trained at Grand Prix level and the switch to young riders should be easy. "It should work if I don't hinder him," said Sophie.
Text and Photos © Barbara Schnell
Reproduced with Kind Permission of PSI Magazine
Sophie Holkenbrink - Profile
- Current Location: Münster, Germany
- Date of Birth: 25 September 1992
- Education: educational science at Hildegardisschule Mu?nster
- Top Horse: Show Star
- Best Achievements: team gold, individual fourth at 2010 European Junior Riders Championships. twice 4th at CDI Wiesbaden, 3rd in the kur at the 2010 CDI-J Hagen, 2009 Westfalian reserve champion
- Trainer: Olivier Oelrich
- Idol: Oliver Oelrich
- Sport goal: to be successful in the young riders division in 2011
- Career goal: primary school teacher
- Hobbies: riding, meeting friends
- Favourite book: P.S. I Love You
- Favourite: movie: Beim Leben meiner Schwester
- Favourite subject: mathematics, German, physical education
- Favourite music: anything
- Describe yourself with a few keywords: organized, ambitious
- What do you like to change about yourself: I put pressure on myself and I'd like to avoid that
- How do you prepare for an important show: I search solitude so I can go over my programme in quietness and focus myself
- One wish: to stay happy and healthy (also my horse!)
Related Links
Eurodressage Photo Database: Sophie Holkenbrink
Schurmann Leads Germany to Team Gold at 2010 European Junior Riders Championships
Schurmann and Lutkemeier Win Individual Test Gold at 2010 European JR/YR Championships
Schurmann Waiting to Exhale Before Winning the Individual Test Gold Medal