A summer of growth, challenges and new opportunities

It is difficult to know where to begin. Professionally, I have experienced tremendous growth, welcoming new clients while continuing to build strong and lasting relationships with those who have supported my work for many years. On a personal level, however, I suffered a significant blow whose impact still reverberates.
I recently listened to an incredibly insightful podcast that explored how every success can also have a downside. I immersed myself in my work, but that same work also enabled me to take my first three-day holiday to Ibiza in nearly ten years as a freelance journalist.

This year has brought me some truly exciting assignments. For the first time in my life, I sat on a carriage behind a four-in-hand team—and conducted the interview while we were driving. The experience brought back many memories of breeders from Holstein who, sadly, are no longer with us.
Thanks to ThirtyThree18, I was also given the opportunity to conduct an inspiring interview with Paul Hendrix. I am grateful to Equitext – Stal Hendrix for the wonderful photograph of Paul, Dinello and me. Dinello is a son of Dinken and descends from the dam line of Cardento—a pedigree that naturally makes him very special to me.

Another major highlight of the summer was attending the FEI World Championships in Aachen as one of approximately 600 accredited journalists. I had the privilege of covering the championships for HORSE TIMES Middle East. Beforehand, I was asked how I intended to distinguish my work from that of so many other journalists. My answer was simple: by focusing on breeding. That decision proved to be exactly the right one.
Breeding is certainly not the only factor that determines whether a sport horse will succeed. Many more pieces must fall into place along the way. But breeding is where it all begins: it is the first building block on the road towards future success.

I am also immensely proud of all the wonderful feedback I have received on my book about Harm Thormählen. There are still so many people who do not even know that I have written it, while readers from all over the world have expressed their interest in an English translation.

Meeting the daughter of the legendary equestrian commentator Hans-Heinrich Isenbart was a tremendous honour, especially when she told me that she wanted a copy of the book. It was equally special to personally present a copy to Peder Fredricson, who plays a part in the story, and to Olympic champion Ulrich Kirchhoff, who rode so many outstanding horses carrying Capitol’s blood.

These encounters made my time in Aachen even more memorable. They were moments that reminded me how far the stories contained in this book reach—and how strongly Harm Thormählen’s breeding legacy continues to connect people throughout the equestrian world.

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