Latest from Horse & Hound in Ulla-salzgeber

Olympic dressage horse Rusty dies

Flora Watkins — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 11:00:06 +0000

Ulla Salzgeber’s Olympic dressage horse, Rusty — the Valegro of his day — has been put to sleep at the age of 25.

The pair were one of Germany’s most successful and popular combinations, winning Olympic team gold and indiviual bronze in Sydney 2000 (pictured) and team gold and individual silver in Athens in 2004.

They were European champions in 2001 and 2003.

The Latvian warmblood, by Rebuss, was retired after the Athens Olympics and had been enjoying life on a retirement yard in Hungary. But the decision to euthanase him was taken last week, after he lay down in his field and was unable to get up.

Ulla Salzgeber paid tribute to her “best and most loyal friend and partner”.

She added: “He spent his retirement in the best care, together with his best pony friend, Motte.

“It’s good to know that he had many lovely years… after the showring.”

Among their many achievements were World Cup titles in 2001 and 2002 and team gold and individual bronze at the World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Rome in 2000 — placings they repeated at WEG 2002, in Jerez, Spain.

But they hit a low point the following year, when Rusty tested positive for higher-than-permitted levels of testosterone at the 2003 World Cup final.

Ulla suffered a heart-stopping moment at the Sydney Olympics, when her music stopped playing during the freestyle finals, but they carried on to take individual bronze.

Rusty’s dramatic freestyle music — from Carmina Burana, the music used in the film The Omen —was never changed and his kur became known for its immaculate pirouettes and tempi changes.

Earlier this year, two clones of Rusty were unveiled. The yearlings — one in the USA and one in France — are being raised by the cloning specialist Cryozootech to become stallions. But is unlikely the exact feeling he gave will ever be replicated.

“I still think about this unique feeling that Rusty has given me in so many tests,” said Ulla.

“He will always be special to me.”

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Two clones of top dressage gelding Rusty

Horse & Hound — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 11:00:55 +0000

Two yearling clones of Ulla Salzgeber’s brilliant dressage horse Rusty have been unveiled, one in France, one in the US.

Dressage is a new area for the cloning specialist Cryozootech, which has already cloned several show jumpers.

Rusty Clone 1 and Rusty Clone 2 — which are owned by Cryozootech — will be raised as stallions. They will be considered for partnership with top breeders or dressage riders, or they may be sold. The FEI lifted its restriction on competing clones last summer.

Both yearlings are chestnut with one white sock, like Rusty — though on different hindlegs.

Rusty, a Latvian warmblood gelding by Rebus out of Akra, won two team Olympic golds, as well as individual silver and bronze. He was also a dual team gold and individual bronze medallist at the World Equestrian Games, and triple European Champion.

Ulla Salzgeber to train Australian team

Horse & Hound — Thu, 24 Mar 2005 11:49:51 +0000

The Equestrian Federation of Australia has appointed multi-Olympic medallist and World Cup champion Ulla Salzgeber as its new dressage training advisor.

The German dressage rider started working with the Australian team in January, when she held clinics in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. The EFA hinted at the time that Salzgeber’s involvement could become permanent and has now formalised this arrangement.

“Now that the Athens Olympic Games has come and gone, it is time to focus firmly on the major objectives in 2006, the World Equestrian Games in Aachen,” they wrote in a statement. “The recruitment of an internationally-recognized trainer is a key part of the overall high performance strategy for the Equestrian Federation of Australia.”

In her new role, Salzgeber will approve the training programme for each team rider, as well as holding regular camps for them throughout the year. She will also be instrumental in choosing team members, after feedback from her January clinics led the EFA to rethink the squads’ structure and selection criteria.

Australia will now have three national teams. The A squad will only include combinations with grand prix experience who have preferably achieved an average of 65% or more at a CDI-W or CDI three-star. The B1, or transitional, squad will include pairs who are moving from small tour to grand prix, and the B2 squad will have combinations that have competed at advanced level and show international grand prix potential.

The teams will be reviewed at regular intervals and Salzgeber, together with the EFA dressage selectors, will choose who makes each squad.

Riders will need the experience and stamina required to cope with a “rigorous training programme.” Suitable combinations must also have the potential to represent Australia at international level and must have competed at major events, such as National Championships and CDI***. And if “they are unable to maintain the rigours of competition and training during a reasonable period,” they will lose their place on the squad.

The first teams will be selected in April and, by then, EFA and Salzgeber will finalise the dates for the first national camp.

Perfect your basics, says Salzgeber

Horse & Hound — Thu, 09 Dec 2004 13:55:18 +0000

“As 50% of marks in a test are for transitions, you must practice them at home and always ride them for eight.”

This was just the sort of advice double team gold Olympian Ulla Salzgeber meted out to guinea pigs and spectators at the recent BEIB British Dressage National Convention at Addington Manor EC.

With a meticulous eye for detail, she frequently returned to “foundation” topics such as the importance of riding every corner correctly — they are a quarter of a circle and should be preceded by a half-halt. The half-halt itself is always “up”, never pull back on the reins.

Ulla was also rider-focused and encouraged her guinea pigs to improve their position to achieve their horse’s best possible performance.

Back to basics

The horse must be responsive
The riders must use more leg
Don’t lose the outside rein when riding movements
The hands should be quiet
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that the horse is working well, when in fact the rein is too loose and there is not quality or impulsion

Training tips

It’s vital to retain the rhythm as you move from trot on a straight line to trot half-pass. Use transitions to walk, then straight into half-pass. Also, as an intermediate help use sideways steps (without the half-pass bend or a leg yield bend) to keep the quality of the trot. If you lose the quality in the half-pass, go into straight trot until the quality has improved, then re-ride the half-pass.

Don’t teach horses to canter with the outside leg aid — this will just create confusion once you introduce lateral work.

Rhythm of the canter is important in pirouettes. Always teach pirouettes from shoulder-fore rather than travers. Start and finish the pirouette in shoulder-fore.

The horse must be gently flexed through the neck, but never with a backwards pulling movement.

If a young horse changes late behind in the flying change, it is likely that the canter is not really balanced. Go back to simple changes on a circle — canter, walk, canter and control the horse’s neck.

For every 5cm a rider shortens the horse’s neck, he will shorten 20cm in stride length

If a horse locks his back legs in the halt, improve him by training a half-step forward as he halts.

Read Horse & Hound’s full report on the BEIB British Dressage National Convention in the current issue (9 December, 04)

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Salzgeber to train Australian team

Horse & Hound — Wed, 08 Dec 2004 12:35:57 +0000

German team gold medallist and individual silver medallist Ulla Salzgeber will hold three clinics for the Australian team in January.

The Equestrian Federation of Australia (EFA) invited Salzgeber to hold an initial series of clinics, with a view to turning this into a permanent coaching arrangement.

Salzgeber will travel to Australia late next month and will hold training sessions in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, coaching the Elite team and up-and-coming dressage riders. She will also assist riders’ personal coaches and examine the Australian team’s future potential.

The Australians intend to improve their dressage performance to “a level that provides a chance to place in the top eight countries in international Team competition,” according to EFA. Salzgeber’s clinics could be the first step towards achieving this goal, especially if the German rider will then train the Australian team on an ongoing basis.

“The first series of clinics will give both parties a chance to assess whether the program should be expanded to two or three visits a year and other coaching assistance overseas,” says EFA.

Salzgeber’s clinics will take place from 21 to 23 January in Melbourne, from 25 to 27 January in Sydney and from 29 to 31 January in Brisbane.

Find out what information Ulla Salzgeber shared with the audience at the British Dressage Convention in tomorrow’s Horse & Hound (9 December, ’04)

Salzgeber to miss World Cup final

Carol Phillips — Tue, 24 Feb 2004 14:22:16 +0000

Former World Cup champion Ulla Salzgeber will not be invited to compete in the 2004 World Cup dressage final in Düsseldorf (1-4 April).

World Cup director, Joep Bartles, has confirmed that the current European Champion will not receive one of the three wild card entries to the final. Ulla told HHO she was “astonished” by the news.

A wild card was Ulla’s only hope of gaining entry to the final as her current two-month suspension from competition has prevented her from qualifying in the normal way. The suspension was imposed by the German federation after Ulla’s top ride Rusty, tested positive for a banned substance at last year’s World Cup final.

Ulla won the World Cup final in 2001 and 2002, but Rusty’s positive test brought her run of success to an end last year, as she was stripped of her title by the FEI after the event. As a result American rider Debbie McDonald and Brentina were crowned as the 2003 World Cup champions.

The finals will see 18 of the world’s top riders go head-to-head for the World Cup title, with the three wild-card riders being announced next month.

Last year’s silver medal winner, Heike Kemmer, has a comfortable lead in the FEI World Cup Dressage Western European League, with one qualifier still to be held at ‘s-Hertogenbosch in March. Britain’s Emma Hindle is well placed in equal fourth.

For more information about the final, visit: www.duesseldorf-masters.de

Two-month ban for Salzgeber

Carol Phillips — Mon, 09 Feb 2004 13:25:41 +0000

Ulla Salzgeber has been suspended from competing for two months by the German Equestrian Federation, following Rusty’s positive test for higher than permitted levels of testosterone at the 2003 World Cup final.

The top German rider has also been fined 2,000 euros and will have to pay all legal costs. She has one week in which to appeal against the German Federation’s decision.

The penalty imposed by the German disciplinary committee is in addition to that issued by the FEI, which stripped Ulla of her title and fined her 2,500 Swiss francs last year. Click here to read more.

Ulla told HHO: “I don’t think it is fair that I can be punished twice for the same offence. I don’t think the German Federation should have the jurisdiction to act on this.”

Ulla is currently considering whether to appeal and is hopeful that the German National Olympic Committee (NOK) will allow her to represent German at the Athens Olympics.

Under German National Olympic Committee (NOK) rules any candidate involved in a doping case is not normally eligible for a place on the Olympic squad, but Ulla’s case may be an exception because the FEI found that Ulla had played no part in Rusty’s positive test.

Ulla Salzgeber to host BD convention

Horse & Hound — Tue, 13 Jan 2004 11:57:22 +0000

European dressage champion Ulla Salzgeber will be passing on her expert knowledge when she takes the BEIB British Dressage National Convention at Addington Manor, Buckinghamshire on 27-28 November.

Ulla Salzgeber and Rusty swept the board at the European Dressage Championships at Hickstead in August 2003, producing an astounding performance in the grand prix freestyle. The partnership are hotly tipped for Athens in August this year, and Ulla could well appear at the convention in November as the newly-crowned Olympic Champion.

The convention is a two-day course organised by British Dressage, which has been running for several years. The two days are spent progressing through different training levels and examining a variety of training techniques. Several “guinea pig” riders of different levels help demonstrate different techniques and training methods.

Simon Mackaness, director of BEIB, which is sponsoring the event for the fifth year, says: “Ulla Salzegeber is an exceptionally talented rider and trainer who is not to be missed, and we look forward to the 2004 BEIB National Convention with great anticipation.”

Famous trainers such as Conrad Schumacher and Johann Hinnemann have given British dressage fans the benefit of their experience in the past, but this is one of the first occasions when a dressage competitor will be providing an insight into dressage at various levels.

Jo Bagnall of British Dressage says: “We are delighted to have someone of Ulla’s international standing coming over from Germany. We hope that both members and non-members will be able to take full advantage of this fantastic opportunity to learn from one of Europe’s leading dressage riders.”

Tickets cost £35 per day or £50 for both days for BD members and £40 per day or £60 for both days for non-members. Cheques should be made payable to “British Dressage” and be sent with an SAE to Ruth Tyler at the British Dressage head office.

For more information visit: www.britishdressage.co.uk