Youth World Games Team Austria

Nina Leiner At the age of 9 Nina discovered her love to horses, with 13 she began her career in the show arena. She started to work hard on her training and attended severel clinics, learns and works for great trainers.

In 2005 Nina decided to start her own training business in Austria. For expanding her skills, she travels to the United States every year for about 6 weeks to improve her ability in the all-round division.

Show Records: European Champion, European Reserve Champion, Austrian Champion, Futurity and Maturity Champion

Belinda Fritsch My name is Belinda, I’m 16 and live in Weiz, a small town in Styria, Austria. I made my first acquaintance with horses when I was a baby, ‘cause of my mom, who was a riding instructor. Soon I got my own shettland pony with which I participate in small tournaments and after I “grew out” of it, I continued riding with my german riding pony, a sorrel mare. In 2004 I made the Western Riding Certificate to participate in “real” western tournaments. One year after, on my 11th birthday, I got my first painthorse, Deltas Eternal Storm, a solid brown stallion, who was a foal at that time and now is a 5 years old gelding. My parents knew that I’ll also grow out of my pony mare and understood that I want to participate professionally in western shows, so they decided to make me that gift. I’ll always be thankful for that. “Stormy”, that’s how I call him, and I learned really much from each other and have been a great team from the very first. When Stormy was 3 years old, old enough for breaking him to ride, he suffered a leg injury before. That’s why we basically compete in Halter class during our first show season in 2008, although we became Grandchampion in Halter class for geldings. Last year I passed the Western Riding Certificate Bronze with Stormy. Now, after the winter break, we continue our training and look forward to a good and successful show season this year.

Sophie Muhr I am Sophie Muhr, 14 years old. I live with my parents and my sister near Vienna on the country. My father owns agriculture farm who includs a horse stable. We have 9 own horses and 20 horses from other people. I become my first pony, a shetland pony, when I was 5 years old. With 9 year i start my first show with my pony. Since 2006 I could ride fahters horse- the paint-gelding „Smart Bandit“. My first show with „Smarty“ was May 2006. And the work with him gets better and better from year to year. So my show record with „Smart Bandit“ : Austrian Champion Trail, APHAEuropean Champion Youth Trail and Horsemanship, APHA European Vize-Champion Youth Pleasure and Horsemanship.

Xenia Hackler My name is Xenia Hackler. I am born on June 6th 1995, have German nationality but since 3 years I live in Austria. Since September 2009 I go to a new school in Neusiedl/See.

With the age of 3 years I started horseback riding. Two years ago I changed from English style riding to Westernriding and since one and a half years I have my own Horse its called A Sudden Fantasy. My horse has got a double registration, as well as QH as also as a PH. I am twice Austrian vice Champion in Halter Mares 3 and over Youth and Western Pleasure Youth.

My Horse is European Champion Western Pleasure SPB Open and European Reserve Champion Trail SPB with my Trainer Nina Leiner who also is the Trainer of the Austrian Team.

Florian Larch Hy, my name is Florian Larch, I’m seventeen years old and live in a little farmhouse in the West of Austria. I have started riding Island-Ponys and Race-Ponys, when I was four years old.

In these early years I had lots of hard work to handle these bullheads. I always got the worst ones in the stable, where we had our horses, because the girls were afraid of these ponys and I didn’t matter. In these early years I was riding english and when I was eight, I won my first local dressage competition in all age classes. But after a while I’ve thought, that this way of riding a horse isn’t the one I prefere to do, so my whole family and I switched to western, which I practise now for 6 years. At the first stage we just took a ride in the country most of the time, and that became very boring to me, so I asked me the question, whether I practise this sport seriously or quit it. Now I’m glad, that I decided the serious sport. So since 3 years I’m training regularly. In the beginning I made an internship at Jean Claude-Dysli, but then I switched to my current trainer Angelika Larcher, who is a really good equestrienne. I’m very thankfull that she brought me to the level where I’m now. Angelika Larcher was also the one, who gave me the chance to go on painthorseshows, because she gave me her painthorse gelding Emphis Bando. With him I had lots of succes during the last two years. I also started at the European Paint Horse Championships two times. Last year I could reach the bronze medal at the European Championships in the youth hunter under saddle, beside a lot of placements in pleasure, trail, horsemanship, showmanship and hunt seat equitation.

I made also lots of clinics and internships with Peter Vaterl, another great horseman, who gave me lots of usefull tipps in showing and training a horse.

I couldn’t believe it, when the message reached me, in which the local painthorse breeding club asked me, if I would like to be in the youth team for the youth world games, in Fort Worth, Texas. The answer wasn’t difficult, because to take part in such a contest was my biggest tream ever, and to get the chance to make it real is unbelievable.

I’m not just looking forward to the competition itself, no, I’m also thrilled to meet lots of other youth riders from all over the world, having lots of fun.

It isn’t usual or naturally that a association takes so much attention on his youth members and so I’m very thankful that the APHA organise us such events to get together, having a unforgettable and hopefully funny week.