Birte Ostwald -Women’s power from Bochum
She is a multi-layered personality without airs and graces. Pictures that captivate through beauty and purism are created through your view of things and horses. She knows how to capture movements with her camera and set them in scene. She also brings this sense of aesthetics and geomancy to her riding. With perseverance and patience she has been contesting her tournaments for years and reaps successes with them.
WEN wishes her every success for 2018 and is thankful for the interview with her.
What is your Name?
Birte Ostwald.
When were you born?
1986
What is a perfect daily routine to you?
I call a day perfect, when I reached all aims at the End of a day, that i have set myself in the morning.
To whom would you like to say THANK YOU?
I thank those who have enabled me to do what I have achieved so far. These are first and foremost, my parents. Without their support, I would never have had a chance to learn how to ride on horseback, let alone have had my own horse at school. In addition, I would like to thank Uta Gräf and Stefan Schneider, who not only discovered my talent many years ago, but also promoted me to the point of view that I now stand for. Furthermore, I would probably not ride working equitation competitions without Stefan Schneider’s influence 10 years ago. Another big thank goes to our current national coach Nuno Avelar, who has done a great job within a few months and has taken both me and Dilúvio out of our comfort zones with great empathy for human being and horse.
What do you consider to be your best skill?
I always like to take on new tasks. These I go with perseverance, conscientiousness and a, never to lose sight of, great respect for the horse as my partner.
What is your most negative trait?
My vanity.
What do you absolutely dislike?
Insincerity, underhandness, lies and bad behavior
Name of your Horse?
Dilúvio
Its breed?
Lusitano
Some words about its character, Advantages, bad habits?
Dilúvio will be 10 years old this year. I bought him as a five year old stallion in Portugal from the breeder with a good basic education. Even then I noticed his great character. He is a very sympathetic, solid horse with three good gaits, who has a great attitude to work and always wants to please. Dilúvio has a thoroughly sensitive character and selects his people very carefully. I think we searched and found each other. He is a very sweet horse who does not have great bad habits. The only bad thing I know, which he brought back from his days as a stallion and which I have never consciously used up, is that he likes to chew on the chain if I guide him with this.
What is your professional career / educational level?
Dipl.-Betriebswirtin (FH) specializing in taxation
Freelance photojournalist and editor
Judge Candidate Working Equitation
Self-employed personnel consultant
Your Philosophie in Horse riding?
Horse riding should be fun … sometimes less is more!
Your thoughts about your Training with Nuno Avelar?
Nuno Avelar was a member of the World Cup Team Portugal 2014. Within a few years, he has managed to train the then 8-year-old Lusitano stallion Bogotá up to the Masterclass and become a team member with this world champion. He passes on this knowledge and his wealth of experience as a professional rider and instructor to us. He deals individually with each horse-rider pair and manages to promote and challenge every rider within a short time with his great knowledge and tremendous motivation. It is a great honor for me and my very young horse to be a member of this team and to learn from Nuno Avelar.
Do you have any actual Projects or Plans for the near future?
In addition to horse riding and competing I plan to expand my judicial work in the working equitation and continue to train myself here.
Why makes the German National Team the winning team?
We’ll see!!!
