Peter Holler lives in Koblenz, in the southwest of Germany but he was born in Freiburg, so in the triangle Germany Switzerland and France.
He has been competing in jumping and dressage up to Grand Prix and he has been lucky enough to trained with famous German trainers such as Dr. Klimke, Harry Boldt, Manfred Bröker, Gerhard Politz, Werner Bergmann, Udo Lange.
After he obtained his Trainer degree FN, he offered his expertise to many German top riders like Susanne Lebek (European Champion YR, member of bronze winning team EC Windsor, ranked among top 20 in the world in 2010) and other successful riders as Dominik Erhart (international GP winner), Eyal Zlatin (national GP rider), Hana Vasaryova (Czech champion), Ralf Hartmann (champion of professional riders in Hessen).
How and when did you meet horses? And where and why dressage?
«I got in touch with horses at the age of 12 because a friend of mine was a rider and asked me to come to the stable! I was immediately fascinated and I started to take riding lessons. After a while my parents bought a jumping horse for me! I was involved in jumping with good success up to 1,30 classes. A few years later, I got another horse of high quality but… I really could not find the right key to compete in show jumping with him at high level. Aside poor attitude in jumping, the horse had three good paces and an obvious talent… So I started to compete in dressage and together we went up into Grand Prix within 2 years!».
When did you become a dressage judge?
«I became a judge at the age of 25. At the beginning I judged both dressage and jumping. After some years I was on GP level! Two top German judges recommended me to the FEI and I started my career as an international judge. All the way up to 5* level! The highlight in my career was judging at the Olympic Games in 2016 in Rio».
What does dressage mean to you?
«Dressage means a lot to me as rider, trainer and judge! I am fascinated by dressage.
Dressage is a unique equestrian discipline which combines harmony, elegance and aesthetic with top sports performances of horses and riders. This fascinating sport forms an important part of my activities and occupation. It is the possibility to work with a wonderful partner who always has to be treated in fair way to become a happy horse».
Do you have any worries when you are going to start judging a class?
«No, I don’t. I can see the best horses in the world while judging them. And I can give remarks and tips and let them know if they are on the right track. It is very interesting for me».
Any suggestions to FEI regarding judges?
«Yes! They should respect and support the judges more! They should inform about their work, their engagement to the public and let everybody know how difficult this job is».
