«I love travelling and I love judging. It is fantastic to be able to combine these two passions». Elke Ebert often sits on international juries around the world, where she is always highly appreciated. «Then, when my competition commitments are over, I add another two or three days and see the country and the people while I’m there. Wonderful!».
The enthusiastic German judge boasts the personal record of being the youngest to have made it to the juries in her country. Where there is certainly no shortage of competition and where the quality, consequently, is always very high.
Elke passed the dressage judge exam at only 23 years of age. A record, we say. Matched only by her passion.
Elke Ebert was born in a family of producers and repairers of special technical footwear, especially riding boots. Her grandfather Erich Ebert produced leather boots for the cavalry and founded the Ebert shoemaking and repair workshop in 1928. It was thanks to him and Elke’s father that at the age of only 9, the little girl started taking riding lessons in Berlin.
In addition, spending time in the family workshop she had the chance to get in touch with many equestrian sporting icons: an excellent way to cultivate the passion of a lifetime. At the age of 12, Elke got her first horse: a Polish Trakehner named ‘Ali’. Then she started to compete, up to advanced level.
In the meantime – when you talk about fate or being in the right place at the right moment… – the famous businessman and patron Otto Schulte-Frohlinde (”Schufro”) decided to have shoes made in the Ebert workshop and for Elke it was the opportunity to take lessons from the famous trainer Herbert Rehbein at Schufro’s Grönwohldhof estate.
Later, her trainers were Holger Schmezer and Jürgen Koschel. For a long time, Elke also rode with Dietrich Schulze and Madeleine Winter-Schulze.
Having given up riding, Elke now puts her experience at the service of the most prestigious juries. Since 2019 she has been a five-star judge for both Dressage and Para-Dressage and has been ‘on duty’ at Paradressage World Championships and European Dressage Championships. The highest point in her judging career so far was judging Valero at Hartpury at the last test before the 2016 Olympic Games.
Elke’s focus in judging is on good horsemanship. «When I see something inaccurate in the arena, for me it is important to understand whether it is the result of bad training or whether the ‘moment’ was corrected by good horsemanship. For me, good horsemanship must always play a major role. And you can understand this better if you feel it first-hand, as if you were riding the test».
What is the biggest challenge in judging? «Producing harmony between the quality of movement and the riding».
