Nickel

Due to the changes to the show calendar caused by the pandemic, the CHIO Aachen 2021 did not take place in the summer as usual, but in September. Nevertheless, the Saturday jump-and-round fun competition could not be missed. The most prominent participant was the newly crowned Olympic eventing champion Julia Krajewski, not with superstar Mandy, but with a youngster, a seven-year-old Holsteiner called Nickel. And because he did so well, Krajewski saddled him up again on Saturday evening in 2022. Horses that are not usually expected to start at the Olympics do not usually compete in this test. At this point, there was nothing to suggest that Nickel would be the exception to the rule.

Out of the course and into the bush

The Numero Uno son, bred by Hindrick Stüvel, was originally destined for a career in show jumping. It was the Schleswig-Holstein breeder, trainer, dealer and stallion owner Dirk Ahlmann with whom Nickel completed his first tests for young show jumpers at the age of five and six. With him and with riders from his stable.

At the time, the gelding was owned by Gestüt Fohlenhof, which is backed by the Heicke family. They are long-standing partners and sponsors of both the Ahlmann stables, where Fohlenhof’s flagship Cascadello is stationed, and Julia Krajewski.

Nickel did very well on the show jumping course. At the end of the 2020 season, he scored 9.0 in medium (M) level tests for young show jumpers. But does he have what it takes for a career in show jumping? The Ahlmann stable had doubts. So they came up with the idea of asking Julia Krajewski to see how Nickel would do in the bush. She agreed and at the age of six she got Nickel under the saddle.

The two got to know each other over the winter and competed in their first cross-country tests in the spring. And lo and behold – every start was a ribbon. Their first appearances in eventing competitions were also very promising. Nevertheless, Julia Krajewski was also unsure whether Nickel had the final talent for top-class sport. He always did as he was told and was eager to get down to business. But unlike Mandy, whose strength and energy were so outstanding even as a young horse that her potential was always beyond question, Nickel did not stand out in any way at first glance. Perhaps you could say he was a solid 3+ all round. So what to do?

From junior horse to Olympic qualification

At the time, Julia Krajewski had a talented junior in training, Sophia Rössel. Julia thought that the cooperative and motivated Nickel could be just the right partner for the young rider. Their successes confirmed this assessment. They won their very first novice event and at the end of the 2021 season they won the two-star junior competition in Strzegom.

Then Rössel was due to spend a year abroad. But what was to happen to Nickel? Julia Krajewski took him back into training and also showed him at competitions. As before, Nickel proved to be an extremely reliable, docile elephant. He won his first three-star endurance test at the age of eight. A year later, Krajewski ventured into the four-star arena. They didn’t just try, they excelled. Even though Nickel may not appear as spectacular at first glance as Chipmunk once did, there was not a single show at which the pair did not finish in the top ten.

After winning the Nations Cup in Arville, Belgium, Krajewski ventured to England with Nickel. A four-star competition for eight and nine-year-old young eventing horses is held there every year in Blenheim, where the British bush greats regularly compete with their best youngsters. And Julia Krajewski with Nickel. The result: a great ninth place with only 6.8 time faults in the cross-country.

What the pair lacked was the championship qualification. Nickel needed a CCI4*-L result for this. The Nations Cup in Boekelo is a four-star long-distance competition and traditionally one of the last highlights of the season. Julia Krajewski and Nickel took part and went into the cross-country as the leaders after the dressage with 23.6 minus points. It was quite a challenge this weekend. A total of 116 starters wanted to go into the winter break of the pre-Olympic season with a good feeling. But only 79 finished the test. Nickel and Julia Krajewski were not among them. The pair had completed two thirds of the course in glorious style. Then Nickel stumbled when landing in the water at obstacle 20 and fell along with his rider. So no qualifying result.

Four weeks later, the pair were given another chance in Montelibretti, Italy. This time it worked out. They came second and Nickel was formally eligible to compete in Paris 2024.

Suddenly Aachen winner

Then the new season began. 2024. Olympic year. There are always special vibes in the air. Nickel demonstrated his fitness at the CCI3*-S in Baborowko. At the German Championships in Luhmühlen, he jumped to fifth place in the DM rankings with just a few time faults in the cross-country and one down in the course and finished ninth in the CCI4*-S. He thus recommended himself for a start at the CHIO Aachen – this time not in the fun competition as a relay horse, but in the big eventing competition. In the CHIO Aachen Podcast, Julia Krajewski honestly admitted that she didn’t actually think he was capable of doing this.

When expectations are low, it’s easy to exceed them. But Nickel not only exceeded expectations, he also taught everyone who doubted him a lesson. At just ten years old, he won the big eventing competition at the CHIO – for many eventers, not just the Germans, this is right up there with a championship. In addition to the 23.9 penalty points in the dressage, there were only 6.4 time faults in the cross-country – only two pairs finished the cross-country with a clean sheet on this day. As the cross-country is the last part of the short test in Aachen, Nickel and Julia Krajewski were the winners. It was almost like winning a championship – Julia was beaming, Nickel’s owners, the Rössel family, were crying with joy and emotion. Little Nickel was now one of the greats.

Paris adventure

After Aachen, everything happened in quick succession – the Olympic Games in Paris were calling and Nickel was nominated. He and Julia Krajewski were the very first pair to take on the beautifully laid out course through the palace gardens of Versailles. Nickel showed what he was made of. With few time faults and no obstacle faults, he made the cross look absolutely doable. The fact that the course had many more obstacles than this lap suggested became clear as the day progressed. But Nickel crossed the finish line. Now he was not only the Aachen winner, but also an Olympic horse. In the end he finished eleventh. The fact that there was no team medal for Germany was not his fault, he had given his all. Just as he always does.

In an interview with Uelzener Versicherungen, to whom Nickel owes his new first name “Uelzener’s”, Julia Krajewski explained that Nickel is “extremely honest”, “motivated” and “willing to learn”. You have to be careful not to overwhelm him because he always wants to give his all. That was also the reason why she didn’t want him to compete at the European Championships in Blenheim, even though they were German champions in Luhmühlen in the summer. She says: “I make very sure that I start him in tests that suit him.” And that would not have been the case in Blenheim, as she openly admitted when she canceled the start. “He should feel comfortable. And that’s also part of responsible sport: knowing what a horse can do and what it doesn’t have to do.”

New old owner

Nickel not only has a new name, but also a new owner. Or rather his old one. The Rössel family did not want to keep the gelding, who was no longer a junior horse. In order to secure him for Julia Krajewski anyway, her long-time patron, Prof. Bernd Heicke from Gestüt Fohlenhof, stepped in. This ensures that Nickel will stay with Krajewski. The 2026 World Championships can therefore come. Nickel has already proven that Aachen suits him.