CHIO Aachen: There’s a lot going on with the horses – sport


What luck that the snow conditions in Kitzbühel were so bad that winter at the beginning of the 1980s. Otherwise Max Kühner might never have gotten into riding. No skiing on your winter holiday, instead pony rides in the hall. That was the initial spark. From then on, little Max could not be brought out of the stable, Grandma let herself be softened and gave the grandson her first pony as a present, the family moved with them – the beginning of a show jumping career that is not that unusual.

Today the 47-year-old, born in Munich, is number 20 in the world rankings, head of a show and trading stable with 65 horses near Starnberg and a leasing company with a focus on horse trucks. With Elektric Blue, Kühner won one of the most important competitions of the CHIO, the Prize of Europe, in Aachen on Wednesday and is thus qualified for the Grand Prix of Aachen. It’s about a million euros on Sunday.

The three daughters of Max Kühner and his Danish wife Liv, a dressage rider, are eleven, eight years and eight months old. “We live our sport,” says Kühner. The two older ones are already riding in jumping saddles. They are fascinated by horses. “They are born professionals,” says Kühner. How is something like that expressed in childhood? “How they deal with defeat,” he says: “You know that is part of it. You are already disappointed, but you know that without a defeat there is no next success.”

The Münchner Kühner starts for Austria: Max Kühner has not regretted the change a few years ago. There he is number one, can design his tournament plans himself, can go to all championships. “In Germany I got a lot of chances in Nations Cups, but there were always some that were clearly ahead of me.” He doesn’t complain, just states: “I was often on the longlist for championships, but never among the last four. I was always in waiting position.” Today national coach Otto Becker would be happy sometimes to have a Max Kühner on the team.

First study, then ride: In the beginning Kühner “hated” his father for it

Before he was allowed to make horse riding his profession, the father required a degree in business administration. “I hated him for it, it was terribly boring,” says Kühner. However, his knowledge of economic issues did not harm him, riding well is no longer enough for a flourishing horse business that also lives from selling perfectly trained horses presented at tournaments to wealthy customers overseas, to Eastern European oligarchs or Arab oil billionaires or their offspring .

Kühner has kept a sober look: “There is seven times as much money in circulation as before the Lehman bankruptcy,” he says. “Many investors want to invest their money in things that are also fun, luxury cars, boats or even super horses.” An entire industry has now specialized in them, from Paul Schockemöhle to Ludger Beerbaum, who runs his trading business under the umbrella of the Waterland hedge fund, to the Dutchman Jan Tops, who not only sells millions of horses, but also does his Global Champions Tour Also offers customers a stage on which they can show themselves, in attractive locations such as London, Rome, Berlin or Hamburg. Whoever wants to take part usually has to buy in or find a sponsor.

Max Kühner starts for Austria.

(Photo: Rudi Gigler / Imago)

Critics regard the Global Champions Tour as an opportunity for children of wealthy parents to get start opportunities and related points on the world rankings that are denied to the less well-off. Max Kühner does not accept that. “I have the greatest respect for riders like Jessica Springsteen, Eve Jobs or Jennifer Gates. They fell on the trap like everyone else, but they got up again. And they carry a heavier backpack than we do, namely the constant attention of the.” Media.” The daughter of rock legend Bruce Springsteen, for example, contributed to the Olympic silver in Tokyo and to the United States’ Nations Cup victory in Aachen.

After all, wealth and good riding are not mutually exclusive, says Kühner. Otherwise, the same entry system applies as for all other tournaments of the World Federation FEI: Those who are good enough can start anywhere without paying extra. The International Show Jumping Club, of which Kühner is on the board, negotiated this with the FEI. However, Tops can invite twice as many riders of his choice as other organizers, a concession by the FEI.

Only a few horses meet the highest demands of customers. The others are just plain expensive to run

The demand in this market segment is greater than the supply. Only a small percentage of the horses meet the demands of financially strong customers: powerful jumping, strong nerves, very healthy, cooperative and, if possible, also pretty to look at. Scouts go to small and medium-sized tournaments every weekend to find these horses.

Monday is mostly used to search for horses on the Internet on the various streaming channels. Ludger Beerbaum organizes tournaments every two weeks in winter to talk to breeders and owners. And Max Kühner had an employee developed an algorithm that finds out for him all five- and six-year-old horses that have completed 15 clear laps in a row. Because he knows: only the very best horses increase in value as investors hope they will. But the cost is the same for everyone. A top horse costs him 3,000 euros a month, with a vet, physiotherapist, and travel, says Kühner. “Only the very expensive horses get it back in, otherwise the costs will eat you up,” he says. The economist speaks, thanks to Father Kühner.

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