Vanessa Raubenheimer

About Vanessa

A few years ago, Vanessa Raubenheimer would never have believed that she would one day be a rider in the team of Richard Vogel and David Will. Horses have always played a role in the 25-year-old's life. But it was only in the last three years that it became clear that she would one day pursue this passion professionally.

Already in earliest childhood the young woman from Ludwigshafen had contact with horses. Together with her mother, she had been going to the stables all her life. Vanessa then began riding lessons at the age of 10. She gained her first competition experience under the guidance of Thomas Steiger. He provided her with some horses, with which Vanessa could then already celebrate successes up to the class 135/140cm.
Raubenheimer thinks back especially fondly to Lordanos Boy. This she trained together with Steiger and rode him for a long time. "He was really a great horse and it was tremendous fun to train him," she recalls.

After graduating from high school, the blonde initially planned to study teaching. She began her studies, but then decided to take a different path. "I then started my own business very early on, I was mobile on the road, I rode horses there and also gave lessons. It was a lot to do, but also a very nice time," Vanessa says.
Via Instagram, the Palatine then learned that the young show jumping professional Richard Vogel, with home base at the time in Viernheim, was looking for a rider for his team. "At the beginning I was a little undecided whether I should apply, but then I did. That I would then really be taken, I myself would not have expected so," she admits with a laugh. A short time later, Raubenheimer then cut her self-employment short and went to Vogel altogether. "With Richard, it was definitely an adjustment for me at first. All the work and management was much more professional and organized than before. Especially in dressage work, I was able to learn a lot from Richi." When Richard Vogel's move to Team Dagobertshausen came, or rather when the "Vogel Will Equestrian" team was founded, Raubenheimer also moved to Hofgut Dagobertshausen in Marburg. "The facility is really fantastic. Especially the training with David Will, from which I could benefit, really brought me a lot further riding-wise," she explained. "David is more of the quiet type. He explains things several times and does everything with a lot of calm. Richi is also a super trainer but a completely different way. He puts a lot of emphasis on the focus and concentration of the rider. But both still always try to build the confidence of rider and horse." Due to the rapid growth of the Vogel-Will team, the team split. Richard and David stayed in Dagobertshausen, whereas Vanessa, Sophie Hinners and Mylen Kruse settled together at Gestüt Prinzenberg in Pfungstadt.

The days in Pfungstadt start early. From 7 a.m., the team feeds and mucks together. After that, the horses are ridden. Between 10 and 12 horses are on the 25-year-old's schedule every day. "Dressage work is really important to us here. All the horses have to be very good at the aids and react on the leg," Raubenheimer elaborates. "We jump the young horses more often, but we also do a lot of gymnastics. Occasionally David or Richard come over. Then we also jump courses sometimes. Otherwise, I also train a lot with Sophie Hinners." Together with her current top horse Kyra, the passionate hobby handball player could already show successes up to 145cm. "My goal is to continue working on myself and my horses in the future. At some point I would also like to ride internationally again."