For most of his career, Richard White has worked behind the scenes in the dressage world. But last year, at 63, he swapped the sidelines for centre stage, making his debut at the London International Horse Show – a clear reminder that new challenges aren’t limited by age.

“I’ve spent my career training others and supporting Kyra [Kyrklund],” says Richard. “But life has a funny way of twisting your path.”

Richard, a renowned coach and husband to Olympic medallist Kyra Kyrklund, had long prioritised training over competition. But when Kyra was forced to step back from riding in 2019 following a cancer diagnosis, it unexpectedly shifted the dynamic of their partnership.

“We had this Lusitano, Heroi Do Seixo, who was originally meant for Kyra,” Richard explains. “But when she stopped riding, I took over completely. Heroi was reaching grand prix level, and, well, I sort of got my arm twisted.

“Kyra had been asked to do a small demo at the Lusitano breed show at Windsor, and somehow I got roped in instead,” Richard recalls.

“Heroi loved it, and it was a real buzz for me too. I’d done stallion shows in Sweden but never competed beyond advanced medium – and that was a long time ago.”

That “twist” led Richard to a local show in an advanced class – his first competition in decades – in a tailcoat that hadn’t seen action for 30 years.

“As soon as I put it on, the imitation leather started crumbling everywhere,” he laughs. “I had black dandruff all over my white breeches. We were in absolute hysterics.”

What began as a light-hearted step back into the ring soon snowballed. Heroi took to competition with enthusiasm, and Richard found himself relishing the challenge of pushing towards grand prix level for the first time in his sixties.

It was a far cry from the Richard of a few years earlier, who feared he might not be able to ride at all.

“I needed two hip replacements, and I was in a lot of pain,” he explains. “Some days, I’d be out walking the dogs and suddenly couldn’t move. At home, I’d cling to the countertop just to get around.”

Even short rides were excruciating. “I’d get 10 minutes into a session and be struggling so much that Kyra would ask why I was even trying. It was terrifying.”

Determined not to give up, Richard sought out a specialist. “I found a fantastic doctor and had one hip replaced seven years ago, the other five years ago. I did all the rehab, and it’s been life-changing.”

Now, he’s back to riding two or three horses a day. “The grand prix special is still quite tough with all that extended trot,” he admits. “But I count my blessings that I can walk and ride pain-free. Competing is just the icing on the cake.”

Richard’s return to the ring has also given him a fresh perspective as a coach.

“I thought I was good at getting riders in the zone,” he says. “But I never fully appreciated how different the horse feels at a big show. I used to just say, ‘You have to get on with it.’ Now that I’ve been through it myself, I realised how tough it really is!”

His experience has reminded him that at any age, the nerves and thrill of the sport never fade.

“At my age, of course you get nerves – you don’t want to look like an idiot!” he smiles. “But I’m incredibly lucky. I have Kyra, and Heroi’s owner, Lynda Cameron, has been hugely supportive. We just go out there, do our best, and I’m amazed to have this opportunity.”

His advice? “You never stop progressing,” Richard says. “The moment you think you know everything about horses, they’ll teach you otherwise. I’ll probably never get another horse, so why not give it a go?”

To read our exclusive interview with Richard White in full, pick up this week’s issue of Horse & Hound magazine, in shops from 10 April.

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Olympic dressage stars Kyra Kyrklund and Laura Tomlinson will be giving masterclasses at Olympia this year.

Kyra will be working with an up-and-coming grand prix rider — yet to be revealed — during her demonstration in front of the crowds on 15 December.

Kyra’s career has spanned four decades and she rode for Finland at five consecutive Olympic games from 1980 to 1996.

Among her victories was her famous win at the 1991 World Cup Finals in Paris on board Matador, which the combination attended on a wildcard.

The pair also took individual silver at the 1990 World Equestrian Games in Stockholm.

Matador was recently nominated as one of the seven best horses that dressage has ever seen at the Global Dressage Forum in Holland (26-27 October).

Kyra has also claimed numerous titles at the Finnish National Championships as well as other major international competitions.

She has trained riders from across the world.

The following day (16 December), London 2012 team gold medal-winning rider Laura Tomlinson will be hosting a training session.

She will give the audience an insight into her training techniques and will particularly focus on how to deal with a difficult competition environment.

Laura retired her Olympic ride — Mistral Højris — known as “Alf” at Olympia in 2013. He will not be joining her for the demonstration.

As well as taking team gold, the combination also collected individual bronze in the freestyle.

Speaking to H&H following “Alf’s” retirement, Laura spoke of a few of her fondest memories of him.

“The end of my freestyle at the Olympics when I felt he had put absolutely everything on the line and given me absolutely 110% — he could not have given me any more. That was extraordinarily emotional and an extremely satisfying feeling to get,” she said.

“For him to have really just tried his hardest for me on that day was pretty overwhelming and that’s a moment I will never forget and still chokes me a bit when I see it on film.”

Olympia, The London International Horse Show runs from 15-21 December and hosts a leg of the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage series on 15-16 December.

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https://youtu.be/D-m_y4O9HeM

At the recent Global Dressage Forum held at the Bartels Academy in Holland (26-27 October), seven horses were put forward as the best the sport has ever seen. Here are some lesser-known facts about Matador, one of the nominated greats of the sport

Rider: Kyra Kyrklund

Breed: Danish warmblood

Breeding: May Sherif x Wersal

Sex: stallion

Career: 1979-2002

Great dressage horses: Matador

Matador was a very successful grand prix horse, but in the early years Kyra struggled to teach him how to “hang in the air” in the extended trot. Her solution?

“I took him outside and ran him in trot into the deepest part of the sand. He brought his legs high up in the air, and I said, ‘Good boy!’. As soon as he understood what I wanted, he could do it.”

Their inventiveness didn’t end there. Kyra made up moves never before seen in the dressage arena, namely turning piaffe pirouettes into canter and back again, smooth as silk. She often rode chunks of her freestyle with one hand, too.

Continued below…

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Matador survived a colic operation and went back to competing at the highest level. He won the World Cup final in Paris in 1991, which he attended on a wildcard. However, this was in the days of the cassette tape and Kyra discovered just days before the show that the music was 15 seconds too long. The first time she ever rode to the new cut of the music was in the competition arena. She admits to improvising at the end, unsure of how much longer the music would run for.

“I just kept piaffing until the music stopped,” she recalls. “But it was OK because Matador could do it all day.

The horse had a 3000-strong fan-club; quite something considering this was in the days before Facebook and smartphones. There were two full-time members of staff who administered Matador’s fan-club.

Once, the fans all knitted a square of wool, which the staff sewed together and Matador and Kya wore. It wound many times around the horse’s neck and the rider’s body.

Eventually, the horse was sold to a Japanese rider and Kyra said she was happy to help the new rider, but that message was never passed on, and the new rider thought she was furious about the sale. What a wasted training opportunity!

When Matador retired, he went to stand at the same yard as his sire, but the two hated each other with a passion and a new stable had to be built for Matador further away from May Sheriff. He is buried in Denmark under a birch tree, which is the Finnish national tree.

He was “a real athlete but a cuddly teddy bear”.

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In the days before the show, I was amazed by how many new countries had nice horses and

good riding, so I already knew the overall standard would be a lot better than it ever has been before.

The top 11 teams all averaged over 70% — that hasn’t happened before. It used to be that medals came for teams with two average horses and one really good one. Now you need two really special ones to be in the shake-up.

My Swedish riders all had a few mistakes and finished sixth, but they all went for it, which you have to do at a championship. The more risks you take the closer to the mistakes you flirt, but when the standard is this high, you can’t just go for a safe clear round. That’s nothing but good for the sport.

On paper it was clear Germany would win. Isabell Werth’s Bella Rose was brilliant, but I could already see a question mark over the mare’s soundness; she was uneven in her trot extensions and I was not at all surprised when she withdrew.

I was also impressed by the young American Laura Graves. I thought the judges were mean in marking her [74.871%], but that can happen with a new horse on the scene.

It was good to see some of the more experienced judges awarding over 70% to some other unknown horses from unknown countries. Those who haven’t judged so many championships were sometimes on 65%, but hopefully they will grow in confidence to award higher marks when deserved. If they are cautious and consistently mark half a point lower, you get a 5% difference.

The arenas have not been up to championship standard. All the warm-up arenas were badly sloping and the main arena surface was not ideal for dressage — it’s really jumping footing. Of course it didn’t help having so much rain, but that’s not the organisers’ fault.

It was also disappointing to have no trade stands around the main arena and very limited food choices.

I normally buy a few things, but I’m not prepared to walk two miles to the village for the privilege!

Originally published in H&H magazine on Thursday 4 September

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More than 70 readers joined Horse & Hound at a Reader Evening at our London offices last week to hear the Olympic predictions of an expert panel and fire questions at them about riders, formats and more.

After drinks on the terrace against the backdrop of the City, readers listened as our expert panel of H&H showjumping columnist Graham Fletcher, contributor and six-times Badminton winner Lucinda Green and dressage legend Kyra Kyrklund (chaired by H&H Editor Lucy Higginson), discussed their own extensive Olympic experience and explored our medal hopes at the coming Games, why the world has suddenly become so good at dressage, and why Olympic event riders appear to be getting older.

Graham Fletcher revealed how close the battle for showjumping selection had been – and explained why Germany’s showjumpers could be mistaken for track and field athletes these days.

Readers then asked questions on topics ranging from rider fitness to Paralympic chances before catching a final chance to chat with their equestrian heroes.

Read more stories from H&H about Lucinda:

Charlotte Dujardin and Lucinda Green win equestrian safety awards:

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One of the UK’s most experienced mounted policemen got a leaving present to remember when his colleagues arranged for him to have a lesson with dressage star Kyra Kyrklund last month.

PC Dave Allen said he can retire “a happy man” following his lesson with the six-times Olympian, which included the chance to ride her former top horse, Max.

“Kyra has been such an inspiration to me for so many years,” he said. “I have used her books and videos in training sessions for the mounted section for such a long time.

“To have a one-to-one lesson with Kyra was a genuine privilege and something I will never forget.”

PC Allen joined the mounted section of Nottinghamshire police in 1980. During his career he rode many of the force’s horses and trained at least seven to become fully operational police horses.

This news story was first published in the current issue of Horse & Hound (5 May, 2011)

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Dressage stallion Lillenmarkens Arkibal (Archie) — ridden by Kyra Kyrklund and Emma Hindle — has been put to sleep aged 20.

Archie died yesterday, Monday 17 January, at his retirement home.

Archie was one of the Brookhouse Stud’s foundation stallions and qualified with Kyra for the Sydney Olympics in 2000, but was injured.

He then joined stable-mate Wie Weltmeyer in Germany in the autumn of 2000, where the ride was taken over by Emma.

She had many wins and placings with him at grands prix before he was retired to her aunt and uncle’s farm in 2006.

Emma said: “He was not only an amazing horse but such a source of comfort, the kindest, most loving of all the boys.

“He loved his cuddles but hated other male horses.

“His career was blighted by injury but he was and always will remain one of the most talented and wonderful horses I ever had the pleasure to meet.

“He had such a wonderful retirement and was loved and cherished daily. My aunt has taken such good care of him — I am eternally grateful. Yesterday was a terribly sad day for us all.”

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Rumours that Finnish Olympian Kyra Kyrklund has been appointed as the Swedish dressage team trainer are untrue, she told H&H.

The online news site Eurodressage posted a story saying that Kyra Kyrklund would be taking over the role from German trainer Hubertus Schmidt, following his resignation.

However, Kyra, who was on holiday when the article came out, denied that she had any contract to train the Swedish team.

“I am not going to be the Swedish team trainer,” Kyra, who will continue to live in West Sussex, told H&H. “I will help with training the riders in Sweden, but this is not an official appointment.”

Kyra does have a history of working in the Scandinavian country.

In the 1990s, she was head trainer at Sweden’s Flyinge Stud, working alongside current Swedish chef d’equipe, Bo Jena.

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Finnish dressage rider Kyra Kyrklund has been elected as the new president of the International Dressage Riders Club.

The six-time Olympian was voted in on 18 August by IDRC members and follows in the footsteps of Margit Otto-Crepin, who was president for 12 years.

British-based Kyra will have a four-year term before the next election.

The IDRC represents the interests of dressage riders around the world — particularly those who compete in FEI competitions.

“I was vice president before [since April] and have also been on the board for a while, so will not be implementing any huge differences,” Kyra told H&H.

“Wayne Channon remains the secretary general so we will continue to work together and co-operate with the FEI dressage committee.”

‘It’s going to be quite a lot of work but someone has to do it, and this time it is me. It’s time I pulled my carriage and I’m looking forward to it.

“I hope to work closely with national federations, trainers and competition organisers as well the new board members [who will be voted in after the FEI General Assembly in Taipai in November]. It’s an exciting time.”

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Portugal’s dressage team will head to the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games under the experience eye of their trainer, Kyra Kurklund (pictured right).

The team will comprise:

• Mafalda Galiza Mendes riding D’Artagnan
• Gonçalo Carvalho on Rubi
• Maria Moura Caetano with Util
• Daniel Pinto and Galopin de la Font

The reserve combination is Nuno Palma e Santos on Sal.

Three of the four team riders are mounted on Lusitano stallions, while Mafala Galiza Mendes rides a Westfalian gelding.

• Read the latest World Equestrian Games news

For Scandinavian-born dressage rider and trainer Kyra Kyrklund, the recent bad weather has been little more than a walk in the park.

Kyra’s yard is based in West Sussex, where they had 30cm of snow last week.

She says: “I’m from Finland, where we get a lot of snow in the winter. I’m completely used to this and knew what to do straight away.

“As soon as the snow began to fall we started shovelling it away and creating pathways for the horses, because once people walk on it, it becomes compact and difficult to move.”

Unfortunately once the snow struck Kyra was low on staff, with one groom ill with the flu and another stranded in Finland, unable to get back due to the closure of Gatwick Airport.

However, she remains unfazed by the weather, which has been grabbing headlines across the country, “Learning from experience, when you get weather like this you have to prioritise things, like making sure you have enough feed and shavings.”

Luckily, her yard has the benefit of an indoor school, where she has been exercising the horses in hand for half an hour each day, but she has been wary about turning them out.

“I haven’t turned them out as they are very fresh and young and would get over excited at the sight of snow. It would just be too risky.”

Six-times Olympian Kyra Kyrklund of Finland has retired her current top horse Max from international competition.

Kyra finished seventh at Windsor Europeans (25-29 August) with the 14-year-old Swedish warmblood gelding by Master, who belongs to Yvette Conn. He contested 35 internationals in his career, being placed in 33 of them.

“I like happy endings,” said Kyra. “Max has been one of my most consistent and honest horses. He has been competing at top-level international grand prix for the past six years. He is a true gentleman who always tries his best.

“I felt this was the right moment. It was a big decision and in my heart I felt sad that he was entering the international arena for the last time [at Windsor], but I knew it is the right thing to do. He has given us all so much more than we ever hoped for.

“I consider Max to be a perfect ambassador for dressage. He loves an audience so I now look forward to take him to lecture demos and gala performances.”

Kyra, who has competed at top level for 25 years, will continue to ride Max at home.

“I am not planning to retire myself quite yet,” she added. “I have a few interesting grand prix prospects at home.”

Yvette said: “I have watched Max in his daily training since he was four years old. Together with Kyra and Richard [White, Kyra’s husband and trainer] I have had so many wonderful experiences all over the world. I have reached heights in dressage that I never dreamt possible as an owner. Two World Cup Finals, three European Championships, the World Equestrian Games and the Olympics — it doesn’t get better than that.”

Visit Kyra Kurklund’s official website

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Anky van Grunsven impressed the judges when she unveiled her brand new freestyle at the Olympia Horse Show yesterday (Tuesday 18 December).

Composed by Wibi Soerjadi, the new performance is called ‘Dance of devotion’ and earnt her a score of 83.050% on IPS Salinero.

Second was British-bred Finnish rider Kyra Kyrklund with Max, who score 76.500% for their easy on the eye Cabaret Freestyle, with Denmark’s Anders Dahl in third with Afrikka on 73.550%.

Carl Hester was overjoyed with fourth position in his first competition with Ann Cory’s Dolendo since 2001. The partnership produced a nice swinging test to score 73.100%.

Anky van Grunsven admitted to feeling nervous before riding her new freestyle in front of the Olympia crowds.

“Normally I only have to take care of my horse IPS Salinero before entering such a packed arena. But now I had to take care of one my horse, two my new choreography, three my new music. It was quite a challenge!”

Chairman of the judges Dr Volker Moritz was full of praise for Anky’s performance.

“It was a very special atmosphere tonight and I was very impressed by the new freestyle of Anky van Grunsven. It fitted the horse very well and I rewarded it with very high marks.”

Judge Stephen Clarke added: “It was very subtle, very clever, very difficult. I think this Freestyle has every chance to grow as it needs a little exposure and probably practice.”

RESULTS

1. IPS SALINERO Anky van Grunsven NED 83.050%

2. MAX Kyra Kyrklund FIN 76.500%

3. AFRIKKA Anders Dahl DEN 73.550%

4. DOLENDO Carl Hester GBR 73.100%

5. MISTRAL HOJRIS Laura Bechtelsheimer GBR 72.450%

6. PAGANINI Jeroen Devroe BEL 72.200%

6. LUXFORM’S NIMBLY Alex van Silfhout NED 72.200%

8. PREMIER Aat van Essen (NED) 72.050%

9. MR PRESIDENT Stephanie Coxford GBR 71.150%

10.ZANCOR Anna-Katharina Lüttgen GER 70.650%

11. QUANTUM TYME Evi Strasser CAN 70.450%

12. CALIMUCHO Julia Chevanne FRA 70.050%

13 DREAM OF HEIDELBERG Emile Faurie GBR 68.300%

14. RANDON Michal Rapcewicz POL 67.800%

15. PROBLESK Iryna Lis BLR 66.400%

www.olympiahorseshow.co.uk

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West-Sussex based Finnish dressage rider Kyra Kyrklund is celebrating the elevation of her former grand prix ride, Master, into the world’s top 10 dressage sires.

The 19-year-old Swedish Warmblood, by Ceylon out of an Iran mare, has been extremely successful as a stallion, with four approved stallion sons in Sweden and one in the US. He will now stand in Britain for his first full season at West Kington Stud in Wiltshire.

Among Master’s successful offspring is Max, the horse with whom Kyra competed at last weekend’s dressage World Cup final. Another son, Tip Top, was in the American team at last year’s World Equestrian Games and was also a World Cup finalist for Leslie Morse.

“As well as his elastic movement, Master had an exceptional talent for collection and I’m always on the lookout for new horses by him to join my string,” said Kyra.

Visit: www.westkingtonstud.co.uk

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Isabell Werth has regained her world cup title, 15 years on from her previous triumph.

Riding Warum Nicht, she impressed judges and spectators alike with an outstanding freestyle performance for 84.25%. Werth was awarded 10 for music and interpretation from Dieter Schule, president of the ground jury.

“I didn’t expect ‘Hannes’ to be so good today as he was!” Isabell explained. “He was not spooky at all like in the grand prix and I could take all risks, any second. This really was our day!”

Imke Schellekens-Bartels was runner up with her talented mare Sunrise, ahead of the home crowd’s favourite, Steffen Peters and Floriano.

Britain’s Wayne Channon and Lorenzo CH missed out on qualification for the world cup final, but finished second in the Las Vegas B-final behind Portugal’s Daniel Pinto on Galopin de la Font.

Read Horse & Hound’s full report on all the dressage action from Las Vegas, including fantastic photographs and Wayne Channon’s thoughts on his first World Cup final, in this week’s magazine (26 April, ’06)

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Kyra Kyrklund and Max came out top of a large grand prix field at the College EC Premier League in Bedfordshire, scoring 71.39% in only the horse’s fourth grand prix.

Max, a 10-year-old Swedish gelding by Kyra’s former prospective Olympic ride, Master, is jointly owned by his rider and Yvette Conn.

“He’s really progressing well,” said the Sussex-based international trainer. “I wanted to bring him here before we go abroad, so the win makes me feel that we’re on track.

“We’ve been working on the canter at home, so although we had a mistake in the one-times, the two-time changes were much better today. His piaffe was very good, too.”

Kyra and Max will next compete at the CDI Wiesbaden in Germany.

Athens Olympic team members Nicola McGivern and Active Walero came a close second on 71.25%, and Henriette Andersen and her stallion Astonish were third on just under 70%.

German judge Dr Dieter Schüle, who presided over the class of 25, found the standard good.

“The first six or seven were of international standard,” he said. “And the top three were very good. Max demonstrates good passage and Kyra is an experienced and clever rider who produces a good trot.”

Sadly, not many of the grand prix riders stayed on over the weekend to take part in the freestyle and special.

“I think it’s a pity,” said Dr Schüle, “because freestyle is so very good for the horses. It would have been nice to have seen more of these horses tackle that, too.”

This left the way clear for Maria Eilberg and her father Ferdi’s Two Sox to win both the freestyle and the special by a good margin. The pair was also fourth in the grand prix.

Read the full report on all the action from The College EC Premier League show in today’s Horse & Hound (28 April, 05)

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Kyra Kyrklund, the top Finnish international dressage rider, has decided to stay in Britain, despite being offered “the opportunity of a lifetime” to build her own training centre from scratch in Sweden.

Kyra, who has been based in Britain for five years with her British partner Richard White, had planned to move back to Sweden, where she was previously chief trainer at the Swedish national stud.

However, Kyra and Richard have now changed their plans and purchased Snowhill Farm in Sussex, which has 22 boxes and 36 acres, as a new training base.

“We were looking in both Britain and Sweden. The Swedish property didn’t work out and we found a perfect opportunity in Sussex,” says Kyra, who is hoping to represent Finland at the Athens Olympics on her American-owned ride, Andiamo Tyme.

Meanwhile, Wayne Channon, a recent addition to the British dressage squad with his top horse Lorenzo, who is trained by Kyra, is set to move to Belgium.

“Being based on the continent takes a day off travelling time to the major European shows,” says Wayne, who will continue to train regularly with Kyra.

Wayne and wife Deborah have accepted an offer on their Sussex property and are planning to move in about six weeks.

This story was originally published in Horse & Hound (26 February 04)

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