Profile of U25 dressage rider Katharina Schuster

With an extremely precise performance—though one might have wished for a slightly lighter contact—Katharina Schuster rode her 12-year-old Hanoverian mare Qence L by Quantensprung to third place in the Intermédiaire II at the U25 German Championships in Balve. At this tournament, the Intermédiaire II served as the qualifying round for the championship finals. But when the European Dressage Champions in the U25 (and U21) age groups are crowned from July 6–12 in Pilisjászfalu, Hungary, the Intermédiaire II will be the class that decides the team medals. That’s why the white ribbon in Balve was one of the most important in the career of Katharina Schuster and Qence L. so far. Together with their previous results, they have earned their place on the European Championship team and are now looking forward to their first competition for Germany. A development that still amazes Katharina Schuster herself. No wonder, given the story that connects her and her mare.

Young rider, old horse? Not a chance!

While Schuster’s teammates on the European Championship team (Lucie-Anouk Baumgürtel/First Vienna, Pia-Carlotta Gagel/Riccio, Rose Oatley/Alive and Kicking) grew up in equestrian families and were prepared step by step for moments like these, Katharina Schuster first had to face the question of whether she would even get a horse of her own. By the time her parents finally agreed, Katharina was 15 years old and could probably have written a book about her experiences with shared ownership arrangements.

But one fine day in 2017, the time had finally come. The Schuster family set out to find a horse. Anyone who has ever tried to buy (or sell) a horse knows just how nerve-wracking that can be. Not so for the Schuster family.

The Limbecker family’s Adelsried estate in Bernried on Lake Starnberg is located just five minutes from where the Schusters used to live. “We drove there and asked if they had anything that might be a good fit for us. And there she was—barely six months under saddle, just before Christmas, with a plush coat,” recalls Katharina Schuster of her first encounter with Qence L.

It was love at first sight. But as is often the case with early romantic attachments, they rarely have anything to do with reason. This case was no different. After all, the object of 15-year-old Kathi’s affection was just three years old and had only been under saddle for a few months. Still, she was the one! “She was cuddly, and I was in love with her. Then I said, ‘Okay, I’ve got to give this a try.’”

No sooner said than done. A walk, trot, and canter around the arena—just what you do with a three-year-old horse that’s just been broken in. “It wasn’t a breathtaking feeling like it is today, but everything went smoothly. And she had an absolutely amazing personality!”

One almost gets the impression that Katharina Schuster still feels compelled to justify that gut decision she made back then. Yet it wasn’t as unreasonable as it seems at first glance, because the deal came with a condition.

“The condition was: We stay, and we’ll receive ongoing care. That was the prerequisite—otherwise we wouldn’t have done it,” said Schuster. That’s how Qence L came into her possession and she ended up at the Adelsried estate, which would become her second home in the years to come. The decision proved to be a turning point for Katharina’s entire life, not just because she was now a horse owner.

Many first times

Qence L (nicknamed “Quanti” after her sire, Quantensprung) was first ridden by Nikolas Eichelsbacher, who was working as a rider at Gut Adelsried at the time. He knew the mare well and helped Katharina with her further training. He still does so today. He is Katharina Schuster’s personal trainer. Otherwise, she benefits from the national team training courses and the training sessions with the national coaches in connection with competition starts. And from watching other riders. “I spend a lot of time at the warm-up arena. Everyone has a different technique. I pick up bits and pieces from everyone and then think at home: Maybe that could work for me too. It’s like a puzzle.”

She’s come a long way since she first broke Qence L in at the age of three. “Looking back, it’s crazy: we competed in our first tournament season when she was four—A-level dressage, then later L-level, all together. With Quanti, we experienced everything for the first time: the first M, the first S. Until we gradually worked our way up to the U21 circuit.”

When Qence L made his debut in the advanced class, he was eight years old, and Katharina was 20. She had no expectations. “We said we’d go to our first S-level competition and see how it went.” It went exceptionally well. The pair placed directly with a solid 68 percent. That was a great foundation to build on. There were also some less successful competitions, but above all, the pair caused a sensation in their first S-level season in the Young Riders division.

“First came the preliminary tryouts for the Bavarian championship, then we became Bavarian champions, Upper Bavarian champions, and were immediately nominated for the German championship. “That was crazy!” Katharina Schuster still marvels today when she talks about that time. They placed in the middle of the pack at their DJM debut—not outstanding, but very good for their first season. A year later, they had already finished fifth, a successful conclusion to their time in the Young Riders division.

Grand Prix? Why not?

The next logical step was moving up to the S*** class. But Katharina recalls: “No one thought she would become a Grand Prix horse, let alone that I could keep up.” She was understandably sad when her U21 days came to an end. “I thought: Now we’re entering a level where everything has to click—the horse, the partnership—and they just have to enjoy it.”

But Schuster and her trainer Eichelsbacher were definitely eager to see if they could make a name for themselves in the S*** class. “We took some time over the winter and said: Let’s take a playful approach and try to build up the piaffe and passage. And she picked it up practically overnight—of course, it wasn’t as polished as it is today, but she showed every sign that she could do it. Then we said: ‘Okay, we’ll stick with it and try to build on it.’”

2025 was their first U25 season. As Schuster put it, it was “still a bit of a rollercoaster ride.” But: “We used every tournament to take our homework home with us and keep working on it. And now this year we said: Okay, let’s see what we’ve learned over the winter.”

Obviously quite a lot. The European Championship nomination speaks for itself. But for Katharina Schuster, that’s just the icing on the cake. “What makes me happiest is that everything is becoming more and more relaxed, laid-back, and natural. Up there, I’m just the pilot, and I tell her: Here, here, and here. And she just says: Yeah, yeah, I know, I’ll take care of it—I’ll just take you along. That’s a privilege. And looking back, it really is a very, very special story.”

A pipe dream

The story isn’t over yet. While horses were initially just Katharina’s thing and the rest of the family merely tolerated her passion, Qence L has managed to turn its rider’s hobby into a family project. “My horse seems to have wrapped my parents around its little finger just as much as it did me back then,” Schuster smiles. She and her trainer, Nikolas Eichelsbacher, are now a couple and have settled into the stable owned by Eichelsbacher’s parents, which he took over in 2024. “And now here we are as the team we started with eight years ago…”

Katharina Schuster doesn’t yet know whether she’ll one day make a career out of horseback riding. But she’s certain she’ll work in an educational field, whether with horses or people. She’ll complete her teacher training in the summer of 2025. She has postponed starting her two-year teaching internship for the time being in favor of her sport. Will she really trade the stable and riding arena for the teachers’ lounge and classroom once her grace period is over? She doesn’t know for sure yet.

“The plan is to wait out the next two years and see how things develop and what opportunities arise. With Nikolas, there are of course many horses I ride from time to time, but I don’t have a specific horse I’m training. It’s definitely a huge passion of mine, and I would never say no if things were to go in a certain direction. There’s a lot involved, and a lot can always happen. We’ll just wait and see for now.”

The Puzzle of Success

Right now, she’s enjoying the status quo—the chance to focus entirely on her sport and work step by step on fine-tuning her technique with Qence. “After every workout, I sit down at home and analyze it—what went well today, what didn’t?” For Nikolas and me, the number one topic at dinner is: How was training today? What’s coming up? What do we do now? How do we plan the week? I’m taking the time for that now, without having to juggle school, college, or work on the side.”

With such a “go with the flow” mentality, the question inevitably arises: Does Katharina Schuster even have any specific goals or dreams in life? She says, “I think that’s the secret to it all: You should set goals, but still keep your feet on the ground. That’s kind of my motto, and it takes a ton of pressure off me. When you go to a tournament and say, ‘My goal is to stand at the very top of the podium’—then you put way too much pressure on yourself. My goals are always: We go there, and the biggest goal is that we come home healthy. That’s the most important thing to me.”

Just being able to ride in the competitions she’s now competing in is a privilege. Improving her performance is a process. “I always tell myself: a little more, one step further, take it up a notch—but stay true to yourself and listen to your own instincts. That you walk out after the test and say: It was fun. The horse enjoyed it. Sometimes regardless of the score—that you walk out and say: Okay, the score might not have been what I’d hoped for, but we’ve taken another step forward.”

Schuster knows that this progress is often not visible to outsiders. “Outsiders don’t know what we’re working on. They don’t know what daily life is like here. That’s why it’s important to see the big picture, listen to your gut, and say: We’ve taken a step forward here. Then you can make adjustments and know: We’re heading in the right direction. It’s like a puzzle.”

She has realized that having expectations that are too high is counterproductive. “I noticed that during my time with the U21 team. When you get swept up in it, it’s very overwhelming. I went through a phase where I was really tense. That didn’t do me any good—and it really rubs off on the horse. She can tell the moment I walk into the stable how I’m feeling. Then the training doesn’t go well. That’s why I’ve completely taken the pressure off myself.”

Instead, she makes sure she and her horse have a change of pace. She goes running, hikes in the mountains, skis, and hangs out with friends. Her mare goes cross-country, does jumping, and so on. “We try to keep everything as relaxed as possible. And I’m going to keep doing exactly that.”

Katharina Schuster: 10 Facts About the U25 Dressage Rider and Qence L

• Third Place in Inter II and a Spot on the European Championship Team in Balve – By finishing third in the Intermédiaire II class at the U25 German Championships in Balve, Katharina Schuster and Qence L have earned a spot on the German European Championship team. From July 6 to 12, 2026, the team will compete for medals in Pilisjászfalu, Hungary.


• Love at first sight – 2017 at Lake Starnberg – Schuster purchased Qence L in 2017 at the age of 15 from the Limbecker family’s Adelsried estate in Bernried on Lake Starnberg. The mare was three years old at the time and had been under saddle for barely six months.


• A team from the very beginning – the pair competed together in every class: from the aptitude test through Dressage Horse A and L to M, S, and finally Grand Prix. “We experienced everything for the first time”—said Schuster about their career together. In between, the mare was also occasionally ridden by her trainer and partner Nikolas Eichelsbacher.


• Immediate success in her S-level debut – Qence L was eight years old when she made her debut in the advanced class. The pair immediately scored over 68 percent – and caused a sensation during the Young Riders season: Bavarian Champion, Upper Bavarian Champion, and participant in the German Young Riders Championships.


• No one believed in the Grand Prix horse —but Qence L mastered the piaffe and passage “practically overnight.” The pair has been competing on the U25 circuit since 2025.


• Eiben Stables in Münchberg, the new home – Qence L is now based at the Eiben competition and training stables in Münchberg, Upper Franconia. Nikolas Eichelsbacher took over the Eichelsbacher family’s stable—an established dressage center in the foothills of the Fichtelgebirge—in 2024.


• Trainer & Life Partner: Nikolas Eichelsbacher – He first rode Qence L at Gut Adelsried, has been the duo’s home trainer ever since, and is now Schuster’s partner. “Now we’re standing here as the team we started with eight years ago.”


• Teacher training on hold – Schuster completed her teacher training program in the summer of 2025 but postponed her two-year teaching internship in favor of sports. Whether it’s the stable or the classroom—the decision is still up in the air.


• No equestrian background —Schuster didn’t grow up in the world of horseback riding. For a long time, it was unclear whether she would ever get a horse of her own. Today, she is a member of the national team.


• Mental strength as the secret to success – “My goal is always to come home safe and sound.” Schuster’s “no-pressure” philosophy—running, skiing, hiking, horseback riding—also applies to Qence L: “We try to keep everything as relaxed as possible.”