Christoph Hess

Who is Christoph Hess?

Christoph Hess was an international dressage and eventing judge for 30 years. Today he is a national judge up to Grand Prix, trainer and training ambassador of the FN. The older generation certainly still knows the horse man from his active time at the FN. In 1978, the graduate pedagogue started as a consultant for training in the area of "Sport" and headed the department of "Training" in the FN until 2012. The Federal Training Center for Riding in Warendorf was also managed by Christoph Hess from 1986 - 2004, as well as the FN division ,,Personal Members" was under his leadership from 1994 until his retirement in 2016. For his services, he received the German Rider's Cross in Gold in 2019 and was appointed as a training ambassador by the FN. 

The younger generation probably knows Christoph Hess from social media. Since 2022, Christoph Hess has been active on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, answering a wide variety of questions from his community. Anyone can ask him questions via message or simply via a question form on his website.

The Warendorfer is also known internationally, in Western and Eastern Europe there is hardly a country where he has not been active as an instructor or judge. Christoph Hess was frequently in the USA, in Brazil, in Canada, in South Africa and very often in Australia. 

How do you manage to meet all the teaching and training requests? 

This is a big challenge for me because I don't want to make anyone sad either. I have chosen the system so that all the courses and events that I lead for the FN & the DOKR have priority. Then I also work relatively often abroad with Federations. When I look at these dates, the year is already relatively well populated. If there is then still time left, I try to offer more courses and lessons.

His course dates are regularly published on his website.
If there are still dates available, you can find out here.

Did you already know? Christoph Hess offers lessons for all riders, every level.
Find out more here.

In 2023, Hess would like to continue as he did this year. In 2022, he discovered social media for himself and is pleasantly surprised at how many people now follow him and watch his content. What drives him to pass on his knowledge to so many people?

The love for horses and riders. I want to bring riders into harmony with their horses. I want to explain what good riding looks like - not only to those who ride themselves, but also to those who look at equestrian sport from the outside.

In critiquing, Christoph Hess tries to put himself in the shoes of those who interact with his content. He asks himself what is going on in the minds and hearts of these individuals, he tries to understand the motivations and is self-reflective. He then considers how he can better communicate his content so that his equestrian approach is more understandable.

It is admirable with how much passion the soon to be 72 year old plays on his Instagram and Tiktok channel and answers the questions of many riders in Reels almost daily. Christoph Hess celebrates his birthday and Christmas where he likes to be most: with riders and horses at the Bettenrode riding facility, which is run by his son Philipp H ess. 

How Did Christoph Hess Get Into Equestrian Sports?

Christoph Hess did not have direct contact with horses through his family environment like other riders. When Christoph Hess was 8 years old, a neighbor from the apartment building in Cuxhaven, where he grew up, took him to his carriage horse.

Then it "went bang" for me, I fell in love with equestrian sports from the very first second and this passion has not left me until today.

What is Important to Christoph Hess When Training Horses and Riders?

If you know Christoph Hess, you know that working with young horses is one of his hobbies. It is not without reason that he is a training ambassador for the FN. It is especially important to him that horses have trust in the rider and their environment. At the same time, Christoph Hess appeals to us not to anthropomorphize horses. Horses are flight and herd animals that should be kept and worked according to their needs.

"Some horses are shy. If I am able to empathize with my horse, then I can train young horses wonderfully. That's what happens to our children when they have a good teacher in elementary school. That's a pledge they can grow with for the rest of their lives."

It is very important to him to be able to give horses a good basic training in which horses can fully develop and set a solid foundation for future life.

Which Horse Do You Remember in Your Career?

One horse in particular that has remained in the Warendorfer's memory was named Suse. Suse was the horse of a farmer that he was allowed to ride and that laid the foundation for his career as a judge, trainer and FN - training ambassador. Suse was a Hanoverian mare, a work horse that was also used in front of the harrow. The farmer provided him with the horse.

"A farmer gave me the horse and said: You can ride her. I learned a lot from her."

The mare was different than the horses we know today, today the horses are light in the contact, light in the hand, partly already too light. Suse, on the other hand, had a strong neck, she didn't go in a lean at all. Since Hess had no family riding background, he often rode alone and no one was there to help or correct him.

"I tried everything to get the horse's head down. I also pulled on the reins because they fell out of my hand. And sometimes I sat down in front of Suse's box and apologized: Suse I rode you badly today, forgive me, sorry. I often thought that, I even sat in front of the box and cried because I couldn't do better."

But Christoph Hess learned a lot from it. He learned to adapt to horses and has ridden with different trainers time and time again. He soaked up tips so that he would never get into a situation like that again. His goal was to ride in a horse-friendly manner, but he had to realize that it is a lengthy process and that you never stop learning with horses. Later, he also achieved quite good results with Suse at regional level. This may not seem like a great thing from the outside, but for Christoph Hess it was a personal success because he and his Suse came together.

This is also what he wants to pass on to his community, his students and horse enthusiasts:

"Once you're on the wrong track with your horse, you won't be able to get away from it on your own. What you need are trainers who teach you regularly. Without good instruction, no rider will make progress and no rider will be able to ride their horse in a truly equine manner. That's also what I learned from Suse, for which I'm still grateful to her today and hope that I didn't treat her too badly."

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What Was the Most Beautiful Moment in His Career?

Like many riders, Christoph Hess also wanted to ride at the Olympic Games one day, but he was far away from that because he lacked the final feeling. Nevertheless, he describes the most beautiful moment of his career differently than one might think, for him it is not the successes or, for example, the German Rider's Cross in gold that he defines as the most beautiful moment of his career. For Christoph Hess, there are many beautiful moments that he has had in his career and still has today: 

"For example, I learned a lot from instructors and then had this feeling of happiness when I realized, 'You're learning something here!'
The second thing that always triggered nice feelings in me is when I take the horses out into the countryside and realize that we are just as much a unit in the countryside as we are in the outdoor arena or in the indoor arena. [...] There were many great moments I was able to share with my horses and I think many riders feel the same way I do, we enjoy many moments in the saddle."

Why did Christoph Hess Become a Judge?

Hess had the desire to understand riding from the ground up, whereupon he had taken the then riding warden exam (Trainer C), then the amateur riding instructor (Trainer A) and then the professional riding instructor exam (FN) - today Pferdewirt Ausbildung klassische Reitausbildung. He wanted to learn more, so he took the judge's exam at the beginning of his Warendorf career. Instructor, rider and then judge, then he passed the junior judge exam, acquired the qualification M, S/Grand Prix, focusing on dressage. Then came the eventing and the judging of young horses also still to it

I am grateful to have been able to learn from outstanding instructors and from fellow judges.

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Hopefully, I have been able to pass on what I have learned to the next generation through my judging and commenting. Commenting on rides is especially important to me, because I believe that we judges have to explain our scores to riders, horse owners, breeders and the public. 

"It is especially important to me that we ride and train horses in a way that is appropriate for them. For me, the welfare of the horses comes first. I believe our society rightly expects this. And if we don't take this into account and exemplify it in our daily practice and at shows, it will be difficult for our sport, which I love so much, to still be practiced in the long term. Every single rider has a great responsibility for their horse. Every rider must make this clear to himself again and again. I feel the need to keep influencing this process in a positive way."

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