The End of a Golden Era
A Personal Tribute to Dr Reiner Klimke
by Sue Wingate
by Sue Wingate
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A pat for 'Alherich'.....Reiner Klimke's greatest
horse
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Reiner Klimke trained all his horses himself and six horses were required to secure such a grand medal tally, namely Scipio, Arcadius, Dax, Mehmed, Pascal and his truly great horse, Alherich.
To put these achievements in proper perspective it must be pointed out that he was not even a professional rider! Unlike the riders currently topping the dressage bill, for whom training and competing is a full-time occupation, Dr Klimke was, in fact, a lawyer from Münster. Admittedly virtually all of his spare time was dedicated to riding, but it was spare time. That he was an outstanding horseman is beyond question and, like all true horsemen, he was not limited in his accomplishments and interests. He did not believe in wrapping his horses in ‘cotton wool’, restricting their activities to sand schools. On the contrary, all his horses learned to jump - and to gallop! No doubt this was a legacy of his days as a member of Germany’s Three Day Event team. In fact, it was as a member of the Eventing team that he won his first Gold Medal at the European Championships in 1959. The following year he was a member of the same team at the Olympics. How many riders win Gold Medals in more than one discipline? From golden success with the Eventing team in the 1950s Reiner Klimke went on to become a pivotal member of Germany’s Dressage team for more than 20 years. So much so that, with the exception of 1972, he was a member of every Olympic Gold Medal winning team between 1964 and 1988 - interspersed with European and World Gold Medals, both with the team and as an individual. Riding Alherich he won both World and Olympic Gold Medals - the pinnacle of his ambition was achieved when he won double Gold at Los Angeles in 1984. His was an extraordinary record.
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Reiner Klimke - displaying quietness and correctness
on 'Alherich'
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Apparently not only was he a great rider, but he was also an extremely articulate and logical teacher who applied these qualities in equal measure to his training methods, regardless of the experience and ability of his pupils. Evidently Dr Klimke did believe the whole process to be profoundly simple since that is the way he made it appear. No doubt, like many highly talented people, his talent was such an innate part of his being that he never fully recognised it and therefore assumed that other mortals were similarly gifted. How many of us would dearly love this to be true?
Despite having retired from competitive dressage, Dr Klimke’s administrative capabilities would have made him invaluable to the equestrian world in other ways but, sadly, he was a member of the FEI Dressage Committee for only a year. If you never had the opportunity to see him riding Alherich then I urge you to find a video showing them at their peak. You will see one of the greatest exponents of the art of equitation in the 20th Century - truly something to savour.
Dr Reiner Klimke
1936 - 1999
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