Anyone who knows anything about the modern world of horse sport will recognize the name Klimke. There was Dr. Reiner, of course, team and individual Olympic gold medallist in dressage, and at the time of his death in 1999, Germany’s most celebrated sportsman. Now there is Ingrid, his daughter, a regular fixture on Germany’s eventing teams for the last 15 years. Together, the Klimke dynasty has amassed eight Olympic gold medals in two disciplines.
Like her father and her mother, Ruth, Ingrid is all about classical style and an empathetic approach to the human-equine relationship. She once said, “Horses do tell you a lot, you just have to listen to them.” And that’s what she does, drawing on her own natural bond with horses as well as the knowledge and experience accrued throughout the years from her parents, her trusted advisor Major Paul Steken, and such notables as Kurt Gravemeir, Anne Kursinski, Ian Millar, and Hans Melzer. Her own ability as a trainer was recognized formally in Germany with the Riding Master title in 2012, only the second woman ever to earn it.
There is no other modern-day international eventer who has managed to combine parallel careers in eventing and dressage to the degree that Ingrid has. In 2002, she placed 7th at the FEI Dressage World Cup Final with Nector VH Carelshof; won the first of two World Championships for Young Dressage Horses in 2005 with Damon Hill; and in 2006 came second at the CCI4* Badminton with Sleep Late (the best result ever for a German) and won eventing team gold at the World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Aachen. In 2008, she won her first Olympic gold medal with the “pony” Butts Abraxxas at the Beijing Olympics, and was runner-up in the hugely competitive Nürnberger Burg-Pokal final with Damon Hill.
Last August there was another team gold medal at the WEG in Normandy, this time riding FRH Escada, and in October she won the four-star event in Pau on Horseware Hale Bob. This summer Ingrid won her second four-star at Luhmuhlen, riding Escada. As runner-up at Badminton (with Bob), she secured the FEI Classics, making her the first German rider to win since the four-star series began in 2008.
A week after receiving her winner’s cheque for $40,000, the Klimke trophy cabinet expanded by one with the European Championship team gold medal won at Blair Castle, where Ingrid finished fifth with Bob. Meanwhile, Ingrid launched the gelding Dresden Mann’s grand prix dressage career, recording top-three placings at several four-star CDIs.
Ingrid, 47, is married to Andreas, mother to Greta,13, and Phillipa, 5, and is happily settled at her farm Schulze Bruening in her home town of Münster.
What is your typical day like?
Sometimes it is hard to get the balance right, but luckily I can decide for myself what I will do each day and then it is just a matter of being organized and setting priorities. So I spend half the day riding and then half a day with my family. To do this, I have to have an excellent team with me; people I just supervise so I can keep my mind free when I am away from the horses.
What are your earliest childhood memories of horses?
Sitting on a horse in front of my mother, Ruth; but horses and my mother and father are in all my memories.
Having such an influential person such as your father to teach you was a blessing, but also perhaps a burden in some ways?
Not so much for me, but I think maybe other people may have thought so by what they expected of me.
Can you identify a turning point in your career?
I got a horse called FHR Butts Abraxxas who was brilliant on the dressage and on the cross-country, but he could not show jump so well. I tried many ways without changing much and finally after we went to Rolex, I realized this was something I had to accept, that he would be a great team horse, but I would never win individually with him. I realized that I must improve myself and what I can do, that certain horses have limits, and that I must trust not only my skill as a trainer, but also my heart’s intuition, and then one day it will all come together.
Were there sacrifices made along the way?
The usual ones for horse people, like not so many holidays or days off, but I love what I do, so that is not so bad, and a championship is almost like a holiday, compared to being at home. Perhaps I am luckier than many people!
Besides horsepower and an ultra-competitive nature, is there another ingredient that gives you an edge?
I learned from my father to never give up and that you can make things happen yourself. I am also very calm in competitions – not nervous at all – and whatever happens, I look forward to the next one.
If you had to choose one discipline, what would it be – eventing or pure dressage?
I love both and there are advantages in each, but the cross-country is really exciting.
How would your friends and family describe your character/personality?
I have never dared to ask!
Where is your favorite place in the world?
My home town of Munster, especially the market, because it is where I grew up and to me it is the most wonderful city in the world. I love going home.
When and where did you last go on holiday?
I love the beach and the warm and as a family we do try to go away once a year. Going away means I can relax and then look at my business a little from the outside and when I come back, perhaps make changes, but also I am ready for another season.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Sweets! And ice cream. I do love them and with the children about it is easier to indulge. Luckily I ride so much it does not seem to make me fat!
How are you going to spend all the prize money you won this year?
I am putting in a new dressage arena and I am hoping to find a new horse. And sweets, lots of those!
