C: Who is your best horse at the moment?
BM: Cortes C and Breitling LS.
C: Name Three Qualities of Cortes.
BM: Scopey, willing and careful.
C: What is Cortes’s Current Fitness Level?
BM: We are still building up the fitness level of Cortes by training him twice a day. We also try to maintain the fitness level of our other horses
C: What is your training program in the barn?
BM: It depends if we are trying to build the fitness level up or maintain, but mostly it comes to this: After a show – no jumping for a week. When getting ready for the next show: jumping once or twice the week leading up to it.
C: What are your keys to success?
BM:
- Have a good team; We have staff that has been with us for over 20 years, consistency like that is good!
- Good horses & good owners
- Good nutrition
C: What does it mean having Cavalor as a partner, and what are your favorite Cavalor Products?
BM: Cavalor is a feeding expert and available worldwide . We focus on riding, they focus on feeding and together we achieve results! Favorite products are Cavalor Perfomix and Cavalor Electrolyte Balance.
C: Who is your most memorable horse?
BM: There’s a lot of them, but if I have to choose, Authentic. I got him when he was six years old and he’s still with us, so we saw his whole journey. He has won three Olympic medals and two World Equestrian Games medals, so he will always be special to me.
C: What challenges do you foresee if you go to Rio?
BM: It’s always a challenge to get all of our equipment there! Luckily we don’t have to worry about our horse feed, thanks to Cavalor.
C: Any advice for Olympic first-timers?
BM: Don’t be overwhelmed by the differences from normal competition; It will be much more patriotic, and the feeling that you’re part of your country’s team is amazing. But when you enter the venue you just have to remember it’s the same sport you’ve done all the way along, so you just have to do what you always do!
C: Your thoughts on being teammates with competitors?
BM: It’s fun to compete together in a team. One day they might carry you through, and another day you feel good because you can help others to stay in the competition.
C: Which countries do you think will be your biggest competition in Rio?
BM: Germany and France
C: Tell us what you love about this sport.
BM: It’s unique. Men and women can compete equally, and it is the same with the horses! You’re working with an animal which adds a variable to the sport: you can’t tell your horse that this competition is more important than the previous one for example, but the best ones sense it.
C: How do you plan to spend downtime in Rio?
BM: I’d like to go and watch other sports like gymnastics, which you can sometimes get into with your athlete credentials.
C: What comes next after Rio?
BM: We’ll evaluate the horses we have and then decide with what we want to go forward with.
C: What do you do when you’re not riding?
BM: I don’t like to do it, but I work out when I have some downtime. I really do like to read but horses are all-consuming so mostly we don’t have time for other things.
C: What’s on the non-professional wish list?
BM: Skiing! We didn’t go last year because we thought it might not be the best idea one year before the Olympics. But we are seldom at home, so we also like to be home sometimes.
C: Give us some horse trivia?
BM: people talk about horses not being very intelligent but I think they have various levels of intelligence like some people. And the best ones seem to know what you want and they want to work with you. I think it doesn’t really matter how much talent they have if they fight against you.
C: If horses weren’t such a big part of your life:
BM: I’m not the best speaker, but I like to write. However, horses will always be my first choice!