Jürgen Koschel Receives Rider Cross in Gold from German Equestrian Federation

Dressage

Germany

Jürgen Koschel (Hagen aTW) has become the recipient of the "Rider Cross in Gold" by the German Equestrian Federation (FN) at the 2023 German Dressage Championships in Balve on 11 June 2023.

The award, bestowed upon Koschel for his outstanding services as a trainer, was presented by a trio of officials: Hans-Joachim Erbel, President of the German Equestrian Federation, hostess Countess Rosalie von Landsberg-Velen and Klaus Roeser, Chairman of the Dressage Committee of the German Olympic Committee for Equestrianism (DOKR).

Achievements in Riding and Training

The 76-year old Koschel is world wide renowned as a dressage trainer and rider. During his 25-year career in the saddle, he presented over a hundred horses in competition sport and collected over 900 victories and placings - from young horse tests to Grand Prix. He is one of the few riders who showed performance class 1 in both jumping and dressage. He rode his last competition in 1997 aboard Christine von Oldershausen's Amica Farina.

Koschel and the Dutch team win silver in Sydney

After his career in the saddle, he has dedicated himself fully to coaching. He has been a coach at eight Olympic Games, most recently at the Tokyo Games. Riders from an array of countries benefit from his expertise: in 1984 he accompanied Finnish Kyra Kyrklund, in 1988 he led the Finnish team to the Olympic Games in Los Angeles and later in Seoul. In 1994 he took over the training of the Spanish dressage riders, who qualified for the Olympic Games for the first time in 1996. He then slipped into the role of Team Trainer for the Netherlands and in 2000 the Dutch won team silver and individual gold in Sydney. In 2002 he supervised the Swiss whom he accompanied to the 2004 Athens Olympics. Two years later it was the South Koreans who Jürgen Koschel helped to win team and individual gold at the Asian Games. For the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, the team from Japan benefit from his knowledge and experience. His son Christoph has taken over the Japanese team trainer role.

Imprint in Germany

Jürgen Koschel brought his knowledge and experience to Germany: In 2007 he took over the dressage training of the riders at the federal training center of the German Olympic Committee for Equestrianism (DOKR) and was also responsible for the soldiers of the Bundeswehr sports promotion group.

Until 2016 he was discipline trainer for the Under 25 age group, the Piaff-Förderpreis and the perspective group dressage and in 2012 traveled to the Olympic Games in London as home trainer for Kristina Sprehe.

In 2016, alongside Hans Melzer, Koschel became the specialised dressage trainer for the national team in eventing – in this function he also traveled to his eighth Olympic Games.

Lifetime Achievement

For his life's work as a trainer and trainer, he received the Rider's Cross in silver in 2016. Now the highest award followed at the German Championships in Balve: the German Rider's Cross in Gold.

Klaus Roeser not only presented him with the award in Balve, but also brought a golden broom to the award ceremony. He said, "You symbolize the saying, 'You only learn to ride a horse by sweeping. You are the first in the morning and the last in the evening in the stable corridor, always making sure that the horses are fine and that everything is in order."