Bettina Kendlbacher is an Austrian based Grand Prix dressage rider. Bettina and her husband have a dressage stable with approximately fifty horses, students and clients, and a breeding stable called Broadmoar with also approximately fifty horses. Both are located South of Graz in Styria, Austria. Together, the pair breed, ride and train their horses with the goal of selling them to ambitious dressage riders. Bettina explains “We want to combine breeding and sports. At our yard we know every horse from the start and when we start working with them, we know their strengths and weaknesses. We try to raise them in a very horse friendly way, with stables where they can go in and out however they like and they always live in groups of the same ages, so that they can have an optimal social life. In our Sport stable we also have big boxes with paddocks, and they also go on the meadows, as often, as the weather allows it. My top horse Don Alfredo for example has a box with paddock and direct access to the meadow.”
How did horses come into your life and what led you to dressage?
I have always been fascinated by horses since being a little girl. From six years old onward I tried to talk my parents into booking riding lessons for me. As they do not have any background with horses it took me three years to convince them and when I was nine years old, I took my very first riding lesson. It was at the yard where we are based right now. Back then in 1997 the wife of my dad’s tax adviser was giving lessons there. Her name is Isabella Willibald, and she was riding dressage on an international level. With her and my dad being very ambitious and supportive I got my first own horse at the age of eleven. He was a 4-year-old gelding by Donnerschlag and together we did our first dressage show at the age of twelve and our first S level, when I was fifteen and he was 8 years old. He was a very sweet and clever horse and always wanted to do it right. He died at our place at the age of 25 back in 2020.
My dad always had in mind to have his own yard one day, and as for him the idea of being with animals all day felt very calm, which is why my dad, my husband Heimo and me took over, when my dad’s tax adviser decided to quit horses.
We started having our own breeding mares back in 2013 and since then we have grown. And here we are with two stables, one hundred plus horses to care for and twelve to fourteen employees to help us with all the work.
Who are the horses you ride and what is your training schedule with them?
At the moment I am riding an 11-year-old mare by Divine Étincelle x Lord Loxley. She just did her second Grand Prix. We bred her ourselves and I have been riding her since she was 5 years old. She needs to understand the technique for Passage a little bit better and needs a bit more strength for doing so. Also, we are working on the Piaffe-Passage transitions, as she still is losing her legs a little bit when going out of the Piaffe. I ride her four to five days a week-it depends on our competition plan.
I am also riding a sister from her. She is 5 years old and by San Amour. I recently started working with her and we will see where the journey will lead us. For her it is only basic and building strength for the more collective work. I ride her four to five days a week.
Also, I have a 9-year-old Escolar on my riding list. He has got lots of talent for Piaffe and Passage. I love the presence he has in the ring and honestly, I have very high hopes and am very much looking forward to everything that will for sure come. He still struggles a little bit with the canter work, especially with the flying changes. He has a very big canter and for him it is hard to stay quick behind, so we do a lot of transitions – canter walk, canter-halt, extended canter-halt, and so on and so forth, because the only thing missing for GP are the one-tempis.
And then of course my one and only Don Alfredo. He is now 13 years old. We bought him as a foal; he grew up at our yard. My Husband Heimo broke him in, and I have been riding him since he was 4 years old. As he is fully educated for him it is all about working on the details, which honestly will never stop. He also works about four to five days a week, depending on our show plan.
Plus, all our horses go into the walking machine and out on the meadows, nearly every day, depending on the weather. We also are going out for a hack every now and then although we tend to have a lot of horse flies in our region, so it can get harder during the summer months.
Who have you trained with?
Isabella Willibald, as she was my very first trainer. We are still working together side by side at our yard.
My husband Heimo, who became my trainer, when we started dating in 2010. He is a horseman through and through. I love how he can see every detail in both rider and horse and never misses the needs of the horses during work so that they can shine. I am obsessed with listening to his lessons and all his knowledge. He also was the one believing in me and Don Alfredo, so that I started believing in us as well and I will forever be grateful for having him in my life.
Falk Rosenbauer, who I have trained with since 2017. He formed and inspired my riding. He gives all of his attention to the basics and I love that. He has known Don Alfredsince he was 4 years old. Falk laughed, cheered and cried along the way with us and we became close friends. He joins us for training every 4 to 8 weeks.
Last but not least the Austrian dressage rider Christian Schumach, with whom we are training occasionally. We also are business partners and friends
What do you love about dressage?
I love that you have to reflect yourself constantly, as horses are so very sensitive to our emotions and feelings. I also love that you must trust and completely be in the moment at any time, because horses’ reactions are so much faster than our own.
Your highlights?
My highlight so far has been the World Cup qualifier in Basel, Switzerland as you feel very welcome as a rider and they do everything for the comfort of the horses as well. I also loved participating in our first major championships at Jiva Hill Stables in Crozet last year. It was a very special experience for me. And then for sure the World Cup finals in Texas this year. I loved meeting all those amazing athletes and horsemen. It was an incredible, inspiring and unforgettable journey.
What challenges have you faced?
Besides that you cannot plan as you wish, as the horses have their own character and health and are living beings with their own stories, it for sure was and is being in my own way and working on myself constantly. Sometimes it is also a little hard, that as an Austrian rider you can be an outsider in our sport. I also do not have any junior or young rider history, so I feel that it can be hard to be seen sometimes, without any background.
What does it take to reach Grand Prix and how do you build a relationship with your horses?
Consistency, trust in something you cannot yet see. And of course, the ability of the horse and rider to do such difficult movements together. I try to give every horse I ride the feeling that they are the best. I try with all my heart to make them believe in themselves by petting, reassurance, and walking breaks, if they do something right.
I believe that it needs a common thread from the rider with their aids and body language for the horse to better understand the rider. You must be readable for the horse. If you let your emotions rule you, your horse will not trust you to its fullest. To achieve this you have to be in the present, you have to focus on the now, not think about what has happened in the past or what might happen in the future and this is, why I think riding is very hard, especially in the fast moving time we are living in. We also try to let the horses be horses, as much as possible, so that they can also be their best and focus on their work.
What do you think horses have taught you?
To trust in my own abilities. To find my courage and self-confidence over and over again. To feel and reflect on my emotions, so that they can trust me.
Your Top Tip
The journey is the destination. Always believe and trust in your way, even or especially when things don’t go as planned.
What is the best piece of advice that you have ever been given?
Your decisions today define your tomorrow. I also love the saying by Henry Ford. “Whether you think you can or think you can’t- you are right.”
It takes a team to do dressage, who is in your support team?
My main supporter is my husband and trainer Heimo. I would not be where I am now without him. My parents must be mentioned at this point as well. I am very grateful that they have supported me with my riding since I was little. My grooms Kerstin and Antonia have also been by our side from the very beginning. My mental Coach Chris, my Vet Wolfi, my Physio Kira for our horses and Ladi for me. My fellow Austrian rider and friend Christian Schumach, who also helped in believing in myself a lot more, without even knowing and just by being himself. My fitness coach Anna and of course Falk Rosenbauer, who inspired and shaped my riding and still is doing so.