Jessica von Bredow-Werndl

The German dressage rider of the moment chats to Polly Bryan about her Olympic aims, going vegan and why she nearly quit the sport

- Polly Bryan

THE cancellation of the second consecutive World Cup Final was galling for many people, but perhaps none more so than Jessica von Bredow-Werndl. For two years running, the German rider has topped the rankings for the highly competitive Western European League, and each year the final has been called off, first succumbing to coronavirus and then the outbreak of equine herpes virus.

On the day we speak, Jessica should have been doing her grand prix at the final in Gothenburg, riding her 2019 European individual bronze medallist TSF Dalera BB in an attempt to deny her compatriot Isabell Werth yet another World Cup title. Instead, she is having an office day, a novelty borne from the past year of lockdowns.

“My main office is on a horse, but even when I gave my horses a day off, I wasn’t taking a day off myself. So during ‘corona’, I rethought my schedule and now I have one office day a week, and one day completely off. It’s working perfectly, but everyone assumes I’ve had so much spare time with competitions cancelled.”

Actually, Jessica has been busier than many during the first part of 2021. Having kicked off the year by winning the World Cup qualifier in Salzburg, she then travelled to Doha for the CHI5* and won everything there as well.

“As soon as the shows started again, I just drove,” she says.

Now, all her focus has been redirected towards competing at the Tokyo Olympics.

“I am optimistic the Games will take place. I am putting everything into getting there; there is no plan B for me,” says Jessica, 35.