Richard Vogel: The young rider on his way to the top

Richard Vogel is a young show jumping rider who has catapulted himself to the top of German and international show jumping within a year. He loves fast riding and winning. With a good work ethic, perseverance and dedication, he wins one ribbon after another with his nimble horses.

Richard Vogel's career - from school dropout to top 10 in the world rankings

Born on March 24, 1997 in Riedlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Richard Vogel fell in love with horses at an early age. While his mother first introduced him to horses, Vogel spent every school vacation from the age of 12 with his uncle at the Prinzenberg stud farm in Pfungstadt. There he looked over his uncle's shoulder as he worked with the horses every day, soaking up the impressions and eager to learn something new every day.

This time it made him realize that this was exactly what the young Richard Vogel had in mind for his future: training horses and showing them at competitions - preferably in the show jumping ring.

At the age of 17, he made a decision that he is no longer so proud of today, but which was nevertheless the only logical step for him: he dropped out of school a year before his A-levels and began training as a rider. He completed his apprenticeship with Bernd and Martina Herbert in Viernheim before moving to Ludger Beerbaum's yard in Riesenbeck in 2015. Employed there as a rider, he gained much experience in training horses and showing them at competitions.

After two and a half years, Richard Vogel felt ready to take the plunge into self-employment. First alone in Viernheim, then together with his long-time friend David Will. Together with Vogel's partner Sophie Hinners, the trio runs the successful GmbH VW Equestrian in Dagobertshausen and Pfungstadt.

Showjumper Richard Vogel is characterized by his strong will, his determination, and his eagerness. He sees failures as a necessity of his learning curve. This strategy is paying off when you consider that the former young rider has moved up 100 places in the international show jumping rankings within a year and is now one of the top 10 show jumpers in the world - and the young rider is not even 30 yet! At the beginning of 2024, Richard Vogel was ranked  9th in the world rankings and is considered the number one show jumper in Germany.

Today, he jets around the world with his horses and his dedicated team to take part in prestigious competitions. He strategically chooses the competitions that are best for him and his horses. He has already won prestigious competitions not only at the national level, but also in Florida, Canada, Spain, and Mexico and can already look back on 35 international victories in 12 months with 27 horses in his young years. We visited Richard Vogel and gained exciting insights into his life. You can find the whole episode on ClipMyHorse.TV: 

Successful duo with two locations: Richard Vogel and David Will

Together with his long-time friend and colleague David Will, Richard Vogel has been running a sports and sales stable under the name VW Equestrian since 2020. However, as Will revealed in an interview with ClipMyHorse.TV, Vogel did not immediately agree. Instead, Will had to do some convincing to get his buddy on board.

After his time with Ludger Beerbaum, Richard Vogel first set up his own business in Viernheim. However, he soon realized that it was no longer possible for him to maintain his independence in Viernheim as his success grew. So he gave in to years of urging from his friend and finally joined forces with Will, who was already based in Marburg at Hofgut Dagobertshausen, in 2020. The two show jumpers have a long-standing friendship that began when Vogel was just 12 years old. Although the two are separated by nine years of life experience, the chemistry is right. The two extremes complement each other well and meet in the middle: While Richard Vogel is the ambitious, determined type, David Will is more reserved. Watch the following video to find out how their story together began and continues:

The head of the team is rounded off by Sophie Hinners, Vogel's partner, who also competes successfully at international shows. While Will and Vogel look after the horses in Dagobertshausen, Hinners keeps an eye on the horses at Gestüt Prinzenberg in Pfungstadt. Vogel's top horses United Touch S, Cepano Baloubet, and Crack are based in Marburg, but he still commutes between the two stables, which are around 125 km apart. The show jumper has not had his bed in his apartment for a long time. Because when he is not training horses in his adopted home of Hesse, he is on the road at competitions around the world.

Both VW Equestrian GmbH sites have space for around 80 horses, which are cared for, groomed and trained by a team of 16 employees.

‍Richard Vogel's horses - the basis of his success

Richard Vogel has a very good feel for the horses, their personality, their strengths, and their weaknesses. As a good horse person, but also an entrepreneur, Vogel selects the horses for the respective competitions according to their experience and ability. A United Touch S with a big canter is less likely to be used at a show in a narrow arena, but a young horse like Cydello, who is just as eager and willing to work, but makes smaller canter jumps. So every horse gets its chance to shine and grow. But now a little more about Richard Vogel's horses:

United Touch S (*2012)

He will definitely not get a horse like this under the saddle again, says Vogel. The Westphalian elite premium stallion United Touch by Untouched x Lux Z has accompanied Richard Vogel since 2022. The Westphalian is characterized by a lot of ability and potential and a great canter jump. However, it was his ground-covering canter that initially made it particularly difficult for Vogel to ride the technical lines correctly. Until he decided to let the horse determine the number of canter jumps.

Although United Touch S is a stallion with a lot of blood, he takes a rather leisurely approach to life and the dressage arena. However, as soon as he gets close to a show jumping course, the fire in him is awakened. United Touch really enjoys jumping, which he shows off with a powerful jump.

Although the pair have not been riding together for long, Richard Vogel and United Touch have already won a large number of international prizes. It is thanks to United Touch, but also Cepano Baloubet, that Vogel has climbed the world rankings of show jumpers at a rapid pace:

• 2022 Victory at CSI5* Longines Fei Jumping World Cup in Stuttgart
• 2022 Victory at the Stuttgart Grand Prix
• 2023 Victory at the Rolex Grand Prix in Geneva, Switzerland
• 2023 Victory in the Nations Cup Final in Barcelona, Spain
• 2024 Victory at the Grand Prix in Wellington, Florida

Churchill (*2012)

Before this Württemberger gelding by Cassito x Colman came to Richard Vogel, he worked as a sire at Marbach State Stud, among other things. After a fall, Churchill broke two ribs and had to take a break, but then returned to breeding. The DSP stallion passes on his rideability and uncomplicated nature to his offspring, every second one of whom is licensed. In 2022, Richard Vogel's partner Sophie Hinners finally saddled up and presented the stallion at shows. However, international success did not materialize for the time being. Vogels GmbH eventually bought the stallion, who saw his future in sport rather than breeding, before he was sold on to China. Despite the change of ownership, Hinners remained his rider until Churchchill's one-year injury break. After that, he was re-saddled and from then on Richard Vogel presented the white stallion at competitions - now also with international success.

Their first major show jumping competition was the Grand Prix at Horses and Dreams in 2023, which they won. The pair took their second international victory at the Maimarkt show in 2024.

Churchill is characterized as a clever horse that is always ready to perform and highly concentrated before the next jump.

Cepano Baloubet (*2014)

Another jumping ace that Richard Vogel has up his sleeve is the chestnut gelding Cepano by Chaman x Stakkato's Highlight. Bred by Wolfgang Seemann and trained by Tobias Schwarz, Cepano Baloubet was already successful under Sophie Hinners. Together with Richard Vogel, however, the chestnut jumped to the international top within six months in 2023. Their rapid journey to the top began in Wellington, Florida, when they won a CSI4* and their first 5* Grand Prix together. Further first placings followed, culminating in victory in the CSIO5* at the CHIO in Aachen.

As if that wasn't enough, Aachen pushed the then nine-year-old gelding into the top 10 best show jumpers in the world in 2023. He is also the only nine-year-old horse on this list. The young chestnut gelding can therefore look back on a career that many old hands in show jumping can only dream of.

Although the breeder wanted to keep Cepano and turned down several offers to buy him, the Württemberg gelding finally went into the American hands of the Tracey family. However, Richard Vogel remains the rider, so we can expect many more exciting and successful rides from the pair.

Cydello (*2014)

Another young horse in Richard Vogel's stable is Cydello by Cascadello x Forsyth FRH. The Hanoverian chestnut may be small and slender, but like United Touch S he is a real fighter with a willingness to work, eagerness, and a large portion of cleverness. Despite his young age, Cydello has already had a few international starts under his belt and has steadily improved. If he were a pop star, Cydello's victory under Richard Vogel at the Longines Global Champions Tour 2024 in Mexico could be celebrated as his international breakthrough. Here, 13 of the world's best show jumpers competed against each other in the showdown, but Cydello and Richard Vogel rode away from them all. It was a similar picture at the Badenia Grand Prix in Mannheim 2024 when the pair saw off the competition in the jump-off course.

Richard Vogel's greatest successes

Richard Vogel's list of successes goes on and on. Despite his young age, the native of Baden-Württemberg can look back on numerous national and international victories. Until the German Masters in Stuttgart in 2022, hardly anyone paid attention to the nimble rider at first. He was seen less as a favorite and more as a young rider looking to gain experience. However, this was to change drastically with his victory in Geneva in 2023. From then on, the entire equestrian scene looked to the shooting star Richard Vogel and his top horses.

His ambition and dedication have now taken Vogel all the way to the Olympic squad. His next goal: is the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Whether his mentality of always giving his best will pay off for his big Olympic dream remains to be seen.

Richard Vogel's greatest victories include the following:

• 2018: Victory in the U25 Jumping Cup in Aachen with Solitär
• 2019: Victory in the U25 Jumping Cup in Aachen with Lesson Peak
• 2021: Victory in the U25 Jumping Cup in Aachen with Caramba
• 2022: Victory at CSI5* Longines Fei Jumping World Cup in Stuttgart with United Touch S
• 2022: Victory at the Stuttgart Grand Prix with United Touch S
• 2023: Second place at CSI5* FEI Longines Jumping World Cup in Leipzig with Looping Luna
• 2023: Victory with the German national team at the Nations Cup final in Geneva
• 2023: Victory at the Rolex Grand Prix in Geneva, Switzerland with United Touch S
• 2023: Victory in the Nations Cup final in Barcelona, Spain with United Touch S
• 2023: Victory in the Grand Prix of Horses and Dreams in Hagen with Churchill 
• 2023: Victory in the CSIO5* at the CHIO in Aachen with Cepano Baloubet
• 2024: Longines Global Champions Tour in Mexico with Cydello
• 2024: Victory at the Grand Prix in Wellington, Florida with United Touch S
• 2024: Victory at the Badenia Grand Prix in Mannheim with Cydello‍

You can find all of Richard Vogel's rides and videos in the media library from ClipMyHorse.TV