Marion Koch

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Marion Koch (* 1958 ) is a German dressage rider who went blind after being kicked by her horse. She is an ambassador for the Christoffel Mission for the Blind .

Life

Marion Koch learned to ride as a child. In 1992, she bought her first horse, the Trakehner - mold Skandor (born 1990, from Marduc), with up to her blindness denied successful competitions.

After graduating from high school, Koch studied fashion design.

Koch lost her eyesight due to an optic nerve bruise after her horse Goldstück was kicked in the face on August 29, 2001. Then an elaborate rehabilitation process began. Since 2003 Koch has been riding at national and international tournaments. She has been riding the gelding Sir Charles since 2006 . Her greatest sporting successes include the bronze medal in the individual Para dressage ( Grade 3 ) and the gold medal with the team at the Para-Pan-American Games in Mar del Plata (Argentina) as well as second place at the German championships 2005.

Koch is married and has three sons. Your guide dog has been the Labrador Retriever Bernie since December 2002 . Koch rides for the RFV Hoisdorf.

Equestrian sport for the blind

In addition to her horse, Koch is also dependent on four other so-called callers when practicing equestrianism . These stand outside the dressage arena and call out the position of the horse to the rider. Marion Koch takes part in tournaments with disability level III (as of 2008). In tournaments, the accompanying music proves to be a problem if the volume is too high, as it can drown out the voices of the callers. When riding, an increased sense of hearing, smell, touch and balance must compensate for the lack of visual performance. When riding as a competitive sport, a constant companion is required to accompany the cook to the tournaments.

Awards and sporting successes

  • 2005 - FN badge of honor in silver
  • 2005 - Fourth place at the European Para Dressage Championships
  • 2005 - Second place at the German championships behind Bettina Eistel
  • 2004 - Replacement rider at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens
  • 2003 - Argentina, bronze in the individual Para dressage (Grade 3) and gold with the team at the Para-Pan-American Games
  • 2003 - Nominations for the national team as a substitute rider for the 2003 World Championships in Belgium

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Marion Koch is looking forward to EM , Manfred Bode, Hamburger Abendblatt, July 19, 2005
personal data
SURNAME Cook, Marion
BRIEF DESCRIPTION blind German dressage rider
DATE OF BIRTH 1958