Since November of last year, Nations Cup rider Hilmar Meyer has been regularly training with the Verband stallions and the Elmshorn training team. The 60-year-old can not only look back on numerous successes in the course, including around 300 victories in heavy jumping competitions. The achievements of his students on national and international competition stages are also remarkable. Alexa Stais (CYP), Nano Healy (IRL) or even Angelos Touloupis (GRE), for example, owe a lot in their careers to the Lower Saxon, who feels right at home in the land between the seas. 

You look back on intensive training days, the first successful competition starts of the Verband stallions and the stallion presentation in Elmshorn – how have you experienced the past few months at the Hengsthaltungs GmbH?
Hilmar Meyer: "The work is an abnormal amount of fun! I have always liked coming to Holstein, have a connection here through my best friend Tjark Nagel, some very well-known breeders and of course Holsteiner horses. The stallion keeping team is super motivated and wants to get the best out of the horses. And the development of riders and stallions in this short time has already been enormous."

You are known as a trainer who knows how to motivate his protégés – how do you approach that?
Hilmar Meyer: "I am firmly convinced that – and this applies to every sport – you can only deliver performance if you are mentally strong and positive. That is why it is close to my heart that my students believe in themselves, their horse and what I convey to them."

Trust in you as a trainer therefore plays a decisive role?
Hilmar Meyer: "Absolutely! And recognizing a bad day, figuring out self-doubt and fixing it. In equestrian sport, it is never the individual who wins. The entire team, and by that I don't just mean horse and rider, but also grooms, managers, farrier, veterinarian and many more, are part of the success. This foundation of success is right in the team around Sebastian Rohde. You can only be successful in the long term with consistent work, good basic training of rider and horse and, above all, sufficient time for all of this. And also very important: management and trainer must agree on this."

What do you place particular emphasis on?
Hilmar Meyer: "First of all, suitable pairings have to be found – which rider suits which horse? I think I am good at that, and here I benefit from my decades of experience. I can assess horses very quickly and that then helps enormously in building trust. You can only grow with trust."

What do you see as a particular challenge in the training and competition presentation of stallions?
Hilmar Meyer: "A young stallion is similar to a child: he is playful and can sometimes be distracted. Simultaneous sport and stud use also means a double burden. But if you have a stallion on your side, riding is fantastic. Stallions are always watched critically, but that doesn't make me nervous. I think young horses are allowed to make a mistake sometimes, too. After all, they first have to learn to assess their bodies correctly." 

You mentor students all over the world, have your own training, competition and trading stable in Lower Saxony with around 70 horses. Does weekly training with the stallion team still fit into that?
Hilmar Meyer: "When I was asked, I asked for time to think and used it not only for time reasons. Past press coverage – whether appropriate, true or false – has left its mark in equestrian circles. However, good conversations with Sebastian Rohde, Tjark Nagel and many breeders whom I greatly esteem gave me tailwind. Here I have a real opportunity to further train talented riders and stallions who enjoy the work. Even after decades as a trainer, that is still what motivates me the most. When my riders say at the end of a session that they are already looking forward to the next one, that gives me a lot. I see the Verband and its stallions as a crucial link between the breeders and the sport. The breeder base shapes its Verband. Therefore, I hope that in the long term I can seize the opportunity to take part in the development of the stallions and achieve something with the team." 

Photo: Janne Bugtrup