Holger Schmezer

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Holger Schmezer (born March 9, 1947 in Bad Rappenau ; † April 19, 2012 in 's-Hertogenbosch , Netherlands ) was a German dressage rider and trainer . Most recently he was the head trainer of the German dressage riders.

Life

Holger Schmezer grew up in Plön . Thanks to his father, a trainer at the Naval Sergeant School in Plön, he was able to try out many different sports as a teenager. His strength was athletics, here he reached the Schleswig-Holstein championship in the decathlon .

Beginning of riding life

Via the modern pentathlon , which also included show jumping , he came to equestrian sport and began to ride in the local riding club Plön-Ascheberg in 1961. After a while, Holger Schmezer concentrated exclusively on horse riding. He was initially active as a show jumping and eventing rider and took part in numerous tests from 1962. Holger Schmezer later made dressage riding more fun because, in his opinion, dressage included not only athletics, but also artistic aspects. In addition, he saw professional opportunities only in dressage, which is why he switched to dressage.

education

Holger Schmezer ignored his parents' advice to learn a “proper” profession: Schmezer got an apprenticeship in the dressage stables of Gustav Eggert and Dieter Bruhn in Aumühle near Hamburg. After dropping out of school in 1967, Holger Schmezer began training as a rider , which corresponds to today's training as a horse manager / focus on riding, and successfully completed it in 1969. After completing his training, Holger Schmezer did a four and a half year internship with the very successful and legendary dressage rider, dressage instructor and national dressage trainer Willi Schultheis from 1970 to 1974 . These years were very formative for him. He learned from Schultheis, "[...] that it is not looking back that counts, but what you can achieve next year".

Instructors and trainers

After completing his training, he stayed in his riding stable for four years before he took over the management of a riding stable in Thedinghausen . In addition, Schmezer and his first wife Inge presented Hanoverian horses for auction in Verden . In 1979 he finally opened his own stable in Verden-Borstel . In 1980 he passed the professional equestrian instructor examination, which corresponds to today's examination for master horse management . After moving to the position of national coach for juniors and young riders in 1996, Holger Schmezer wanted to continue running his tournament and training stable in Verden-Borstel on a reduced scale. However, Schmezer closed it in 1999.

In the 1990s, in addition to his professional equestrian activity, he was also active as a Lower Saxony delegate of the Federal Association of Professional Riders (BBR). In 1996, Holger Schmezer took over the position of national trainer dressage for juniors and young riders , at the same time he resigned his BBR delegate mat.

National coach

From February 1996 Holger Schmezer was also involved in the dressage supervision of the Bundeswehr sports students at the Olympic Committee for Riding / National Riding School (DOKR) near Warendorf . In support of national trainer Siegfried Peilicke, Holger Schmezer gave lessons twice a week for the dressage riders in Warendorf.

Due to "his good eye, but also his ability to deal with people", Holger Schmezer was appointed to the position of national trainer for juniors and young riders in dressage at the end of 1996. Holger Schmezer took over the management and supervision of the C-team (juniors and young riders dressage). He also continued the training of the armed forces, which he started in early 1996. Here he prepared the trainees for the transition from the youth class to the senior class of dressage. In addition, tasks such as sightings, selections and training sessions came up to him.

Both his good performance as a trainer and that of the rider paid off for him. At the turn of the year 2000/2001 he succeeded Klaus Balkenhol as head national trainer dressage at DOKR . For him, “it was […] another step. The challenge is bigger, the requirements higher ”. Holger Schmezer always worked according to the motto "You have to work for success". If Holger Schmezer had anything to criticize, this was the decision of the dressage judges. He himself was also a dressage judge, although he stopped doing that when he was the national coach. “Today most of them judge themselves and maintain their opinions. That's where the problem lies for me. ”During this time he celebrated many individual and team successes with the German dressage team. However, his term of office was also marked by change - away from the German sole dominance in dressage riding to the competition of several strong dressage nations, especially the Dutch and Great Britain.

Also in 2012 he wanted to achieve further successes with his riders. The German dressage team was in the Dutch s'Hertogenbosch to at the World Cup finals in 's-Hertogenbosch . However, the tournament was overshadowed by a serious incident. An official dinner was held on the evening of April 19th. When he did not appear here and was also unavailable, his hotel room was opened and he was found dead. The local police assume a natural death - at least the examination of the hotel room did not reveal any evidence of a crime. Relatives, friends, acquaintances, colleagues and many more were full of "shock, sadness and bewilderment [...]". Schmezer actually wanted to end his career after the 2012 Olympic Games in London so that he could have more time for his family. In addition, Schmezer wanted to remain active as a trainer and judge. He was the national coach until his death on April 19, 2012.

Schmezer was married and had a daughter born in 2005.

successes

own successes

eight times Lower Saxony master of dressage
Over 100 victories in dressage tests from S level to intermediaire and numerous placements in the Grand Prix

as a trainer for young riders and juniors

25 medals at European championships, 13 of them gold

as national trainer dressage

Olympic Games ( 2004 , 2008 )
Team: two golds
Singles: twice silver, once bronze
World Equestrian Games (2002, 2006 , 2010 )
Team: two golds, one bronze
Individual: twice gold, once bronze
European Championships (2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011 )
Team: three gold, three gold, two silver, one bronze
Individual: three times gold, twice silver, once bronze

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Holger Schmezer suddenly died , Susanne Hennig / Deutsche Reiterliche Vereinigung , April 20, 2012
  2. ↑ a b Reiterportal24.de - Interview with Holger Schmezer , accessed on June 3, 2013.
  3. ↑ a b c cf. Jasper Nissen, Horses Riders Riders Breeders, 1979, keyword “Schmezer”, p. 327
  4. ↑ a b c d e cf. Monika Schaaf: Obituary, PferdeSport International, 11/2012, p. 38
  5. ↑ a b c d Cf. Cornelia Wumkes: "Fliegender Wechsel", St. Georg, 1/2001, p. 17
  6. ↑ a b cf. Niemann: "It's nice to be a Borsteler", Verdener Aller-Zeitung
  7. ^ The Federal Association of Professional Riders (BBR) on the death of Holger Schmezer , St. Georg , April 20, 2012
  8. ↑ See: Sabine Zaborowski: "Riding for Father State", St. Georg, 9/1996, pp. 56–59
  9. ↑ See: Henriette Senden: “So macht's Schmezer”, PferdeSport International, p. 29.
  10. ↑ “It makes your stomach turn” , accessed June 17, 2013.
  11. ↑ a b Death in the hotel room: Federal dressage trainer Holger Schmezer is no longer alive , St. Georg, April 20, 2012
  12. ^ National dressage trainer Holger Schmezer († 65): Police assume natural death , Berliner Kurier , April 20, 2012
  13. ↑ Julia Martin: "Sad farewell", Der Hannoveraner, 06/2012, p. 14
personal data
SURNAME Schmezer, Holger
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German dressage rider and trainer
DATE OF BIRTH March 9, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH Bad Rappenau
DATE OF DEATH April 19, 2012
Place of death 's-Hertogenbosch , Netherlands