victory at the Greenwich Park equestrian stadium, he says that he basically learned to ride before he could walk. His father Joachim was an ambitious eventer himself who won the Baden-Württemberg state championship no less than four times. Joachim soon realized that his son Michael had “a bit of a talent” with horses and, at the age of eight, the young boy rode in his first show. As a ten-year-old, he won a stadium jumping competition over 3’6” fences against adults. As Michael matured, he underwent a three-and-a-half
year apprenticeship at his father’s barn to become a “Bereiter” (certified trainer and instructor), and then continued on to become a “Reitlehrer” which entitles him to teach young apprentices. Although his heart belongs to the eventing world, he is an accomplished dressage rider who trains with some of the world’s best instructors, including Hubertus Schmidt. At home, his barn houses event horses, dressage horses, show jumping horses and young horses in training. At the same show in Germany, one can see Michael Jung ride an FEI dressage test, compete at Grand Prix in stadium jumping, and moments later he is already back on one of his eventing horses. People who know Michael recognize many of his
Sindy, Sam’s half sister, competing at the 2006 WEG in Aachen with rider Dirk Schrade.
For Stan the Man xx, the fame of his offspring came a little
bit too late as he already died in 2000. As a result, his bloodline is harder to find today but it continues in Laurel, one of his sons that stands at stud in Marbach. When bred to Thorough- bred-type mares, he has produced horses with a great work ethic and remarkable talent. The dam sire Heraldik xx was owned by the largest private
sport horse stud in Baden-Württemberg, the Birkhof. In 1995 Heraldik xx came to the Birkhof from former Czechoslovakia. He died “in action” there in 2005, and had at that point sired numerous successful offspring including 14 approved stallions. Sam’s dam Halla was by the Hanoverian Godehard, but she is registered as a Baden-Württemberg mare. (For more information about Sam’s bloodlines, go to p. 67.) The Baden-Württemberg breed registry and its breeders had been primarily focused on producing sport horses for dressage and jumping. Due to Sam’s success in eventing, the registry started an initiative to support their breeders if they want to follow in Sam’s eventing hoof prints. For example, they provide breeding advice when matching mares and stallions as well as reduced stud fees for breeders of event horses.
The Talented Michael Jung The same day that Michael won gold at the London Olympics was also his birthday. Born exactly 30 years before he rode to double
Right: Three photos of Michael in his early years. Top right he jumps with his father, Joachim.
34 November/December 2012
attributes that have brought him success. He never loses his cool, he always stays focused and he gives confidence to even the most difficult horse. According to Horse & Hound magazine’s website, “He is known for his ‘fresh approach’ to training and believes that from the beginning a horse should never be brought wrong to a fence, so he never receives a fright. He does not start to jump his youngsters until they can collect and extend their stride.” (
horse-andhound.co.uk, 07 Jul 2011) Despite
Michael’s well- deserved fame, he never forgets his roots. He is still a hard working barn manager and instructor in
Photos courtesy of Reiterjournal Magazine
Hogrebe
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