Angelika Trabert

On a horse, everybody has four healthy legs - Pater Gottfried von Dietze, Niedermoos -

This is the story of Angelika Trabert, one of Germany's most known, accomplished, and successful handicapped riders. It is also the story of her Trakehner gelding Ghazim, and a life that holds many challenges. We hope this story encourages you to make your life, and that of others, better!

Angelika Trabert has no legs. But that doesn't mean that a little kid is not interested in horses...as a 6 year old, she sat on a horse for the first time in her life. The seed was planted! In 1985, as an exchange studend in the United States, she met Michelle Price, her host family's daughter, who had lost a leg due to cancer. She rode her horses without her prosthesis and encouraged Angelika to try the same. The feeling she had on the sensible "Prince" was a whole new experience for her, and from here on, she was determined to ride without leg aids. When she came back home, she resumed riding in a western saddle, as it provided more support. And only a few years later and with the help of Pater von Dietze, Angelika got her first custom made dressage saddle.

From here on, there was no stopping for the energetic and enthusiastic rider. In 1990, she passed the German National Riding Federation (FN) Bronze medal tests, and became what is called "Trainer C", a license in Germany to teach. She did the same for handicapped riding, and in 1999, added the FN Silver medal on her own horse Ghazim to the list of accomplishemnts. And keep in mind, this is what all riders have to do in Germany... the ones with and without legs! In 2001, she got her Trainer A license at the State Stud in Dillenburg and passed the exam for the judges program. Her first horse was Ghazim, the black Trakehner gelding she bought in 1992.

Since 1991, Angelika has been an avid international competitior. To this day, she participated at three Paralympics, three World Championships, one European Championship and her total medal count is 8 silver and 1 gold! AT the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics, Angelika was elected athlete's speeker into the board of the International Paralympic Equestrian Committee (IPEC), and was re-elected in 2000 in Sydney. Angelika does a lot more than "just" ride. In her regular life, she is anesthetist at a big university hospital in Germany, and trains young handicapped riders on horses. She is one of the ciommunities most active advocates, and still finds the time to train for top events all over the world.

Ghazim is a black gelding by EH Anduc out of Galathea by Kastilio and comes from the O177A Gundel (EH Gribaldi, Giorgio Armani, Goldschmidt, etc). Certainly bred for dressage, he never really enjoyed it, as Angelika describes. An injury as a young horse caused a stall and pasture rest of over one year and after that, as Angelika puts it, "he had a hard time to understand why now he should start working again, since he figured that being in the fields was nice too". But hard work, endless pacience, and a certain degree of stubbornness turned the gelding around and he had a stellar career with not only impressive wins at competitions, but also much acclaimed appearances in Gala shows and at big international events in Europe.

The list of achievements is very long, and highlights are:

- 1999 World Championships in Vilhelmsborg/Denmark with 3 Silver Medals (Individual, Freestyle to Music and Team)
- 2001 Trainer A license, in Dillenburg
- 2002 European Championships in Anadia/Portugal with a Team Silver Medal and three 4th places
- placings and wins at 1st and 2nd level at regular horse shows

Their show career also took them to many big events, where they rode in exhibitions, and that includes the Gala Show of the Neumünster stallion market, the CHIO Aachen, the famous CDIs at the Maimarktturnier in Mannheim, the Munich Indoors, and the Wiesbadener Pfingsturnier. All of this is possible, because according to Angelika, Ghazim loves people around him, the more the better. A real show man! Indeed, the character of the "special" Trakehner is quite amazing, also considering what his daily routine includes, from being saddled up from a wheelchair to quietly standing and waiting for his legs to be wrapped from the ground.

After an accident in 2003, Ghazim's active competition career ended. Angelika said that she wanted to find a new occupation for her 16 year old "young" Trakehner. And so since 2006, the gelding has been the "schoolmaster" at lower levels in dressage with 12 year old, and is still a test horse for Angelika's handicapped students and their gear. His most recent show event was being the king's horse at a mideval village fair in Herbstein in Germany.....

Angelika's new competition horse is the Hanoverian mare Walmorel by Wolkenstein II-Pik Bube, who after a very short time of training already started at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens. At the European Championships in Hungary in 2005 they won their first medal (Team Silver). At the same show, another Trakehner was in the team: Skandor by EH Marduc, whose rider Marion Koch is blind after an accident and won two 4th places at this big event! We will tell more of her story elsewhere on this site.

Walmorel is also showing in regular shows, and actually placed at M/A (4th) level in Germany with Michaela Brähler. The latetest news is that Angelika has sucessful shown at her very first M-level show (placing 3rd), and hopes to continue this way! Walmorel and Angelika will be part of a show case during the Freestyle at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen in Germany, doing a quadrille with 4 regular and 4 handicapped riders.

Angelika's life has held a lot of twists and turns for her. The sudden and tragic death of her fiance, agricultural pilot Marc Coumans in August 2005 (Marc was fighting forest fires in Southern France when his plane crashed) not only left a big hole in Angelika's life, but asks for her fulfilling their biggest dreams alone...we have no doubt that this incredible personality will prevail! On German television, a full length documentary about Angelika and Marc was aired this year with overwhelming response from viewers. It is a very touching film, and gives deepest insight into the life of two special people, that show everybody that you can make a difference - for yourself and others - if you just chose to do so and work for it.

Trakehners International is thankful that we were allowed to tell this story, and encourage our readers to check out coverage of Paralympics and the like, because on there, the true "Olympic spirit" can be experienced in its intended form. We would also like to thank Julia Rau for her great photos!!

To learn more about Angelika Trabert and her mission, or this fascinating sport, please check out the following links: