Hendrix 11 and Sir Heinrich M at Krüsterhof Hinnemann.
© McLean Reitsport
Competition success for Australian dressage rider Warwick McLean
By Equestrian Life
Australian dressage rider and trainer Warwick McLean has been based in the Rhineland region of Germany with his wife Carolina for eight years. In that time, they have developed their business, McLean Reitsport, and Warwick has built a strong reputation as a talented trainer, particularly with difficult horses.
Following the easing of coronavirus lockdown restrictions, Warwick has enjoyed a successful return to the competition arena with his team. Held 9-12 July at Krüsterhof Hinnemann in the Ruhr region, North Rhine-Westphalia — an area known for its high standard of dressage competition — the national event included young horse classes through to Big Tour.
On the Thursday, Warwick rode F-Type OLD (Franziskus x Chico’s Boy) in the six-year-old young horse class, finishing equal second on 8.1. The striking young horse belongs to one of Warwick’s students, and made the final of the Bundeschampionate in his age group last year. His score at Krüsterhof was a second qualification for this year’s Bundeschampionate, where his owner plans to ride him in September. Looking further ahead, Warwick is hopeful that the horse could possibly qualify for the World Young Horse Championships in December, allowing him to ride on the Australian team.
Warwick McLean adnd F-Type OLD.
© McLean Reitsport
“He was awarded really good points… eights all the way through; 8.5 for walk and 8 for the contact and the overall outlook of the horse. The changes are becoming good and he really has great movement. We could have even scored a little higher, but I rode a safe round…. there’s more in there, that’s for sure!”
Warwick also took two Big Tour horses to Krüsterhof: Sir Heinrich M and Hendrix 11. Sir Heinrich M is a 2008 chestnut gelding (Sir Donnerhall I x Ferragamo) owned by Johannes Wolff and Kerstin Kamkem, while Hendrix 11 is a 2009 black gelding (Blue Hors Hotline x Donnerhall), owned by Warwick and his business McLean Reitsport GmbH.
On the Saturday, he rode both horses in the S*** Intermediate II — a big class with 34 combinations, and so the placings were split. In division one, Warwick finished in third place with Sir Heinrich M on 70%, and in division two he finished fourth with Hendrix 11 on 68.202%.
“We got our first 70%, in the Inter II with Heinrich. It was the first time I really rode my best in the test. Hendrix could have been 70% as well, but we actually had one mistake in a transition back to trot. I finished the ones and relaxed a little bit, and missed the transition!”
Both horses easily finished in the top 15 overall and therefore qualified for the Big Tour class on the final day, the S*** Short Grand Prix. The event only allowed riders to have one horse in this test, and Warwick chose the older of the two, Sir Heinrich — finishing eighth on a score of 66.202%.
“I actually made one error of course…. I missed the very last half pass. I just lost my focus a little bit after a big weekend of competition. So we finished in eighth place, but actually could have been a lot higher.”
Warwick explains that Sir Heinrich was a little green at Grand Prix level last year, but now it’s starting to come together. “This year, we have just focused on really riding the test without mistakes, really being able to just execute all the movements accurately.”
Warwick was thrilled with how his horses performed at their first competition back after the break — in particular Hendrix 11 who hasn’t been the easiest horse.
Warwick came across both Sir Heinrich and Hendrix when looking at horses for clients; Sir Heinrich was five and Hendrix was four at the time.
“Sir Heinrich was already quite rideable; he wasn’t good to ride, but he had some quality,” explains Warwick. The horse was subsequently purchased, then sold on at seven, and went elsewhere for training — before ultimately ending up back in Warwick’s stable where he was trained to Grand Prix level.
Hendrix found his way to Warwick via a different path. When they were on that trip scouting for young horses, Hendrix caught his eye. “We saw this black one, trotting with side reins on and super short in the neck and nervous… kind of scared for his life. But he was such a typey horse, he really caught our attention,” recalls Warwick. “He was completely nervous. I was not really sure whether I should get on him…. I had a little ride and he wasn’t amazing to ride, but he was a really amazing type.
“We wanted to buy both, but my dad (Australian Equine Behaviour Centre founder Andrew McLean) wasn’t sure about his feet as they were a little small, so we decided not to buy him, and then he was actually bought by someone else.”
However, fate eventually bought Warwick and Hendrix together. He had riders off too many times, and was returned to the original owner. Warwick jumped at the chance to purchase the horse a second time around at a reduced price. “We bought him very cheap. It’s been a big, big process actually getting him confident in the arena, as he was pretty spooky. But now he’s good, and he’s a really fantastic horse! I think he’s actually one of the best horses I’ve ever had. He’s not been the easiest one, but he’s really quite a spectacular horse; I think he’s really international quality. And I think also good enough for teams when we can really get everything working right.”
Competitions aside, Warwick has spent much of the lockdown time completing an almost year long renovation project on a property he and Carolina purchased in the Rhineland region. “We’ve been at the same place here for the last eight years and in September last year, we bought our own stable, 10 minutes away. It’s a really beautiful place… we move in two weeks. Lockdown was busy; we put in 40 new boxes (at the new property) as well as running the business here, training and keeping competition horses going, kids entertained…. that was a little bit hectic, but now it’s starting to get back to normal. So yeah, pretty excited actually to move into the new stables!”
Warwick, who trained with Kyra Kyrklund when he first travelled to Europe and more recently has been coached by Morten Thompson, feels that it’s taken a while for him to find his feet in the German competition arena — however the hard work is now starting to pay off. “Morton Thompson trains a lot of very top riders over here. He’s really given me the confidence and changed a little bit my way of riding, as well as my wife mentoring me! It’s not so easy to come into Germany to be honest. To move here and directly go into competition…. it takes a bit of time for the judges to get to know you.”
Looking to the year ahead, Warwick has international competitions in his sights. “I will do some internationals towards the end of the year, probably starting in September. This month, in July and August, it’ll be focusing on moving into the new stable, maybe a couple of national shows at the end of August. And then we will kick off the year and I’ll do some international shows on Hendrix 11 in the Grand Prix.”
For Warwick and the team, recent success in the competition area is well deserved. “We don’t really have a sponsor, so to speak. We have a couple of people that have a horse in training here, but mostly we do it a lot with our own horses in the big classes. It takes a little bit of time to find the talented horses that are young, develop them, and actually train them through to the Grand Prix — but it’s a nice feeling to know that you’ve done it all yourself.”
EQ Life wishes Warwick and Carolina all the best moving into their new stables, and we look forward to following the team at future competitions!
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