"Hobby: Horses "
- The Beginning -

Heike Kemmer
* 24. April 1962 in Berlin  
MBA
Hobby: Horses

Heike Kemmer's career as a horsewoman actually started in front of the saddle, namely that of her horse-mad father. He put 4-year-old Heike on a blanket in front of himself one day and took her riding through the forest. This first ride was not without consequences –Heike had also caught the horse virus.

 

In fact a Berlin resident, Joachim Kemmer and his wife Inge purchased land in Walle in Lower Saxony  in the latter sixties. Step by step the stud farm "Amselhof Walle" arose. His love for horses focussed mainly on breeding at the time. Heike and her younger sister Edda shared this enthusiasm and soon engaged in tournaments.

After first riding attempts on school horses and on Polly, the first pony of her own – "a rather cheeky thing", Heike remembers – everything started with the black mare "Waidfee". The mare had been sired by "Waidmannsdank" xx and belonged to Dr. Karl-Friedrich Vogel who schooled her together with trainer Helmut Helmig in Berlin to M-dressage standard. Her interesting pedigree made Joachim Kemmer aware of her. It showed the interesting genes of the thoroughbred Waidmannsdank xx. Hence she seemed to match well with the breeding line of Amselhof. He bought her and took her to Walle. When Heike came to visit on weekends she used to ride the mare and took care of her – and got used to her more and more. "Waidfee" was unsuited to a career as a brood mare as she was never in heat.

So it was decided to let her travel back to Berlin – as a “teacher”  for Heike. Many successful competitions under the guidance of the then regional trainer of Berlin Wilfried Wels supported this decision. In 1978 16-year-old Heike came 5. with "Waidfee" at the German Youth-Championships in Darmstadt Kranichstein. "I never expected this" Heike said afterwards. And the equestrian community in Berlin was equally pleased about this success of the young sportswoman.

 

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