Lata from Brandis

Maria Immaculata Countess Brandis (in Czech Brandisová, called Lata, born June 26, 1895 in Schäfferów Castle , Austria-Hungary ; † May 12, 1981 in Rehregg Castle , Austria) was a Czech racing rider. She is the only woman who has won the Pardubice steeplechase so far . She came from a noble family and had a total of eight siblings, including her twin sister Christine.

family

The Brandis family can be traced back to the 12th century. In 1641 she was raised to the rank of count. Lata's father Leopold Graf Brandis (1854–1928), Imperial Chamberlain and Lieutenant Colonel of the Hussars, was the son of the Count of Tyrol Heinrich Brandis and Barbara Kinsky. In November 1887 he married Johanna von Schäffer (1871–1927). He founded his own horse breeding company. In 1897 the family moved to a chateau in Řitka near Prague. The castle was part of Johanna Schaffer's dowry. Lata and Christine learned to drive a buggy at the age of eight . Lata admired her famous great-uncle Octavian Kinsky . In 1916, she completed her first race, which ended in a nasty fall. Horse races were a male domain at that time, so that Countess Brandisová's participation was not universally accepted.

Cooperation with Kinský

In 1926 Brandis was invited to Orlik Castle by her cousin Zdenko Radslav Kinsky (1896–1975), a nephew of Octavian , where he bred Kinsky horses for hunts and obstacle races . In 1927 she rode the great steeplechase of Pardubice for the first time with the mare Nevěsta and reached 5th place. Their participation sparked protests because the race was considered too difficult for a woman and it was against the honor of the participating officers to compete with a woman. The officers were embarrassed to be beaten by a woman. After the death of her mother, Lata Brandis devoted herself to her family in 1927 and 1928. In 1930 she reached fourth place with the stallion Norbert in Pardubice and a year later the couple came third.

Lata and Norma

In 1933 Brandis took part for the first time with the six-year-old mare Norma in Pardubice and achieved third place. A year later, the couple finished second, three lengths behind the victorious German mare Wahne. In 1935, Lata and Norma finished fifth. Since German riders had won several years in a row, the desire for a Czech winning pair was very great. Therefore, Norma started in 1936 with a male rider, D. Pogliagu, with whom she reached fifth place. Again the German Oscar Lengnikem won. Kinsky wanted to breed the mare, but Brandis convinced him to train her for another year.

The steeplechase from 1937

The 56th large steeplechase in Pardubice took place on October 14, 1937. Tensions existed between Czechoslovakia and Germany . It was therefore of national interest to end the German winning streak. The favorite was last year's German winner Oscar Lengnikem, who fell on the Taxis ditch and broke his collarbone. The damp and slippery ground proved to be an advantage for the light mare Norma, the carefully tacting Lata Brandis won in the Kinski colors white-red with a seven-length lead. To the great delight of the audience, a Czech couple won and Lata Brandis was nicknamed “Our Lady”. Lata Brandis was the first woman to win the Pardubice steeplechase. In the next nine years, the Steeplechase was not held due to the Second World War.

Second World War

During the Second World War she lived with her sisters Christine, Jane, Margaret and Gabriela at the castle in Řitka. She became a nurse and refused to speak German. A compulsory administration was imposed on the goods. Lata continued to train for obstacle races. Together with her sister Christine, she cared for wounded Red Army soldiers . In 1945 the stables burned down and their former trainer Karel Šmejda was shot.

post war period

After the Second World War, the Pardubice Steeplechase took place for the first time on October 20, 1946. Lata von Brandis rode the stallion Nurmi and broke her collarbone in a fall. The following year, she fell seriously with Othello and broke two ribs. It did not start in 1948 because the Kinski training ground was nationalized. In 1949 she competed with the mare Nina for the last time at the Steeplechase in Pardubice. She fell badly while digging the snake and suffered a fractured skull, a complicated fracture of the left leg, multiple broken ribs, a broken collarbone and injuries to the spine. She was in a coma for a week. The accident meant the end of her riding career and she had to walk with a stick all her life. Lata died in 1981 at the age of 85.

Results from the Pardubice steeplechase

1927 ( Nevěsta ) - 5
1930 ( Norbert ) - 4
1931 ( Norbert ) - 3
1933 ( Norma ) - 3
1934 ( Norma ) - 5
1937 ( Norma ) - 1
1946 ( Nurmi ) - not finished
1947 ( Othello ) - not finished
1949 ( Nina ) - not finished

literature

• Pavel Kovář: Šampaňské s příchutí pelyňku . Pardubice 2000.
• Miloš Svoboda: 100 ročníků Velké pardubické steeplechase . Prague 1990.

Web links

• Photo by Brandisová and Norma

Individual evidence

1. ↑ [Svoboda, Miloš: 100 ročníků Velké pardubické steeplechase. Prague 1990, p. 147.]