I loved horses when I didn’t even know that these large animals with their gentle eyes and soft nostrils were called that. For me, they were “Hoppes”. And according to my parents, that was the first word I said. Not mom, not dad, but Hoppe. In the beginning was the word, then came the nerve. One strong emotion I remember from my childhood was my impotent rage when my mother started singing “Mamatschi, I wish I had a little horse”. I didn’t feel like I was being taken seriously. Because this chant was her response to my attempts to convince her that this was not just the whim of a small child, but a genuine wish from the heart.

I got my first pony, Bronco, when I was nine. He was – together with our first riding instructor Hans Gerlach, who was followed by other formative teachers, thank you for that! – a more relentless and better teacher than my parents could ever have been. Of all the horses that have accompanied me since Bronco, one stood out: Ismene. A real character who fought back vehemently when something didn’t suit her. (Only those who were accepted by her were allowed to enter her box. Everyone else only got to see her backside with her hind leg raised threateningly). I made a lot of mistakes, including some that made her suffer and for which I am ashamed to this day. She forced me to question myself more than any other horse. She showed me my limits. But she also graciously accepted me again and again when I agreed to her terms. She was the horse on which I felt for the first time what it feels like when rider and horse merge, what real permeability feels like, how to ride a jumping course rhythmically. And also how to work on all that. I got Ismene when she was just seven and I was twelve (thank you, mom and dad!). We worked our way up from not even E to M level. She got me my silver riding badge and my first county championship medals. We tried our hand (unsuccessfully) at eventing and had a winning streak in style jumping – until I put her in an oxer and from then on she stopped jumping when I was wearing white trousers. As I said, Ismene was a personality. She died in my arms at the age of 28. That horse gave me more than 95 percent of the people I’ve had to deal with to this day. I miss her.

Horse people know this. These animals take hold of you. Riding is not a hobby, it’s a way of life. And if, after the death of Ismene’s last foal, my Fame, who was at my side for 26 years, I no longer have a horse of my own, it’s precisely because I can’t live up to this claim at the moment for various reasons. But then again, my dear colleague Jan has a whole stable full of four-legged family members 😉

Nevertheless, horses have always remained my purpose in life. I made sure of that with my career choice. I studied politics, but when it came to exploring where my future career might lie during the semester break, the answer was obvious to me: I wanted to do an internship at St.GEORG. I thought about it, applied and was accepted. I could hardly believe my luck. That’s how I got to know the team around Gabriele Pochhammer and Jan. After my first day in the editorial office, it was clear to me: I had to make myself indispensable here for the next eight weeks. And that worked out. St.GEORG was my professional home for almost 20 years. For reasons that are now well known, that chapter has come to an end. But the passion for good journalism in the interests of horses has remained.

We horse lovers owe so much to these animals, and I personally owe them everything. That’s why I and this great team at EQUI PAGES are really passionate about telling the stories of people and horses. Even the uncomfortable truths. We want to do our part to ensure that these animals continue to have a place in society. And we would be delighted if you would join us!

That’s why we have created EQUI PAGES. You can look forward to thoroughly researched news, background information on riders and horses, technical classifications and comments, our Wikipferdia knowledge section and, last but not least, Don Hitmeyer again. Would you like to get to know the EQUI PAGES team? Click here for the editorial team – horse people for horse people.

Every week we put together a newsletter for you, which you can subscribe to here. We are in the process of establishing a WhatsApp push function so that you will soon be able to be notified when we upload something. Otherwise – click on us, follow us, like us and above all: let us know what you would like to see! We look forward to your feedback! Also via info@equi-pages.de.

With this in mind, have a wonderful 2026 with the horses!

Sincerely, Dominique Wehrmann