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JONGGOR’S WEYDEN

Jonggor's Weyden was the most expensive horse sold after the 1988 Hanoverian Stallion Licensing in Verden, Germany.

Weyden's most important achievement in his competition career was winning the individual bronze and team silver medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta under Sven Rothenberger. In 1997, the pair finished 2^nd in the World Cup Finals. Gonnelien Rothenberger took over the ride in 2000, when husband Sven suffered from severe back problems. Gonnelien and Weyden won the 2001 Dutch national dressage Championships and finished 14^th at the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez de la Frontera.

Sven Rothenberger talks about Weyden

Not surprisingly Sven compares his new horse with one of the all time great Olympic athletes:

"Weyden is a little bit like Carl Lewis. He is powerful, what he is doing - he is doing. You cannot say perhaps, you have to say yes or no - and that's perfect."

Where did you find Weyden?

"That's a funny story. In 1995 in August at a show in Germany there was one really spectacular horse and he was always in the training arena at the same time that Weyden was being trained by Mr Fritz Stahlecker, and five dealers thought that I was running behind the other horse. I just let them think that. No-one thought about Weyden, and I said to myself, this is a stone that has to be cut and polished. I went to Mr Stahlecker and I said please sell me the horse, or let us make a deal. I think you have a jewel but no-one sees that at the moment. No-one thought that Weyden was good - he was number eight in Stüttgart in Inter II and he was number 12 in Grand Prix."

"Mr Stahlecker is 70 years old, he runs a factory with 2000 people working for him. He is a really straight and brave man. His daughter rode Weyden. She has three children, one of her children is handicapped, so she cannot leave her home more than 100 kilometres around. She cannot go to Wiesbaden or to Atlanta because of the situation. So I said to this man 'Look, what is your dream? You are 70 years old. What can be your dream? That every one in the world sees what good work you did with this horse? Sell him to me and there is a little chance that he will go to the Olympic Games. There are only a few riders that can get on a horse and go directly into the arena with success. I always show with my horses, because I can change my way of riding to the horse, I don't say my way or no way and that's why I have had success with different horses from different trainers."

"I telephoned him two or three times and finally he said 'if you come now we will make that deal'. I drove at night to his place and at 11 o'clock in the riding hall I said, after only three times seeing this horse, I'll take him. He was not clipped, he had no shoes on, he never had a rug on and he was always trained in long reins from the ground - only once a week, Mr Stahlecker's daughter rode him.

"I cut this diamond, I polished it, and I gave him shoes, I cut his hair, I showed him how to breed, because we are breeding a lot of mares to him. To me he was like a young boy coming to the army. On with the shoes, cut the hair, and... lots of breeding."

It was an instant success with him?

"Directly. I took him to the first show, I won Grand Prix. I beat Donnerhall with 80 points... next show, I beat Isabell with Antony in Grand Prix...just Anky was in front of him...."

"He is a swinging, elastic, in the basics a totally correct, relaxed horse. A super walk, he is getting 10's for his walk. A super trot, it is very elastic. Really a good canter to make small or big - like an accordion you can go big or you can go very small. Leonardo for example is always expressive, but he doesn't find at the moment the point to relax, and that is making a problem. But Weyden is soft in the hands, he is fantastic"

"Weyden, he is like a soldier. Mr Stahlecker wrote 70 pages of how to handle Weyden. And I read that book. When you go in that box and you stand with your finger in front of Weyden and you say 'Weyden put your feet correctly together', he does."