He is considered to be a calm and perfectionist, but at the same time a very multifaceted type: Frederic Wandres is not only the Olympic Team Champion, he is also the newly crowned European Champion. In the new episode of the CHIO Aachen Podcast, the successful dressage rider talks about why he gets the best ideas when sweeping up, what interests him apart from riding and how he got out of the big void after winning the gold medal in Paris.

Frederic Wandres thinks for a moment when he is asked about how he started riding without any family connection to horses. Then it just pours out of him: He started out with lunge lessons with a few school friends, he was the only one to stick with it and wanted to spend as much time as possible with the horses from that moment on. ‘If I were to tell you everything I did at a young age to get to the horse and make the best of the conditions, many would say: He was already out of his mind back then,’ he says in the new episode of the CHIO Aachen Podcast.

Among other things, little Frederic used to cycle twelve kilometres to the stables every day, in all weathers, to ensure perfect training conditions on site: ‘I used to prepare the 60-metre arena on my own with a rake – you can’t even imagine that today,’ grins the 38-year-old. Many years full of horses followed, but only on the side. His father wanted him to complete an apprenticeship outside of riding first. No sooner said than done – Frederic Wandres trained as an industrial clerk. ‘The apprenticeship was fun, but I knew for sure that I would be handing in my notice the day I graduated.’

After an internship, the native of Baden-Württemberg finally ended up at Hof Kasselmann in Hagen am Teutoburger Wald. In the equestrian ‘centre of attention’ between Münster and Bremen, as he says himself. “Here I can simply wear my riding breeches to the dentist, go shopping and walk through the town. Nobody looks at you funny, it’s completely normal. Riding simply has a different significance here,” he states.

His determination finally led him to achieve his lifelong dream last year: the Olympic Games in Paris, crowned with the team gold medal. After the joy and pride, however, everyday life quickly returned – and with it a certain emptiness. “The focus, the positive pressure, the excitement, that was all gone. We had the gold medal, but everything else was still normal. I found it difficult to get used to it again. I was a bit unmotivated until November and had to look for new goals again,” Wandres reports openly.

In the meantime, he has achieved this, both in his riding and in his private life: the dressage rider has been taking piano lessons for several months. ‘It’s not that easy and it’s a challenge for me, but it’s great fun.’

In the new episode of the CHIO Aachen Podcast, the 38-year-old reveals how he can still switch off, what his next sporting goals are and how a relationship works that is both private and professional at the same time. You can find it here and wherever podcasts are available.