Instead of a rider, sponsor or organizer we took the chance to sit back in the stables and have a little chat with Marlen Shannwell.
How did you start working with Bertram?
I met Bertram four years ago, he finished the ponies and he just bought the stables from Jessica Kurten in Germany, based an hour from my place. He needed a groom for a few days or weeks and that’s how the story began. At that time he had only three horses, Wild Thing L, who we still have, Ajaccio who is now with an Irish young rider and another one who is competing in the States now.
Ito rent one to get to shows and we used a wheelbarrow as tack trunk for one saddle and two bridles. So there was this little tiny boy with his three young horses and his tack on a wheelbarrow, everybody was making fun of us. But somehow we nearly won every class to make fun of them! And meanwhile at home the neighbour girl was feeding our retired pony as we didn’t have any staff. But now we have twenty horses, a great team of grooms and riders at home, a truck and a tack trunk!
What would you say is the key to success?
I think the thing is to keep the horses happy. I think most riders forget that horses are just horses and not jumping machines. All our horses go out in the fields at home, they have their friends and have a lot of social contact, it is really important. I think it’s really essential to keep them happy and for them to have a real horse life.
Bertram is really young with already so much success, how do you explain that? And how is your relationship?
I think what makes Bertram so successful is his character. He is really quiet, and really focused. I think that he grew up like that, in Ireland you do the ponies and you also go hunting and you learn to go forward and to be with the horses. So you really learn how to work with the horses instead of making the horses like you want them to be. Bertram, being such a laid-back and relaxed person, makes it really easy to work with him. We get along really well, so it makes us a good team, I think. He trusts me with the horses and I trust him completely so we have a great relationship. And at home he is very hard working. He doesn’t just ride his horses, he brings them to the field, he cleans the stables, he drives his tractor and also do the farmers’ stuff!
Molly Malone V is an amazing mare, can you tell us more about her?
Molly has quite a personality, she’s a bit of a princess. At the beginning she was quite bitchy with the other horses and the humans. She liked to bite and kick. But now we get along very well. The more you know the horse, the more you bound with him and that’s what happened with Molly. I know her, she knows me so things are good now. After Dublin two years ago, we stopped at Bertram’s place in Ireland. There, the beach is ten kilometers long and they used to train racehorses there. We went out for a hack and Molly is always very fresh and strong and she loves to take out when you gallop her somewhere else than a riding ring. So we galloped along the beach and for sure she was in the lead as I just let her go, but after a few minutes Harry (Bertram’s younger brother) and his 1m28 pony came from the back and overtook us! I think Molly was quite depressed about that!
Romanov is already seventeen, but looks in amazing shape winning plenty of Grand Prix, can you tell us more about him too?
Romanov is so cute! We never thought he was going to win so much when we got him. Billy Twomey, who trained Bertram since the ponies, gave it to us when he was 15 years old so Bertram could have a horse he could learn of and do the 2* Grand Prix and then prepare him to retire. But then he just changed so much and started winning everything! I think Bertram just gives him a bit more freedom when he rides him. He actually never rides him at home, it’s always me or the girls who go hacking with him, or just go for a gallop to keep him happy. He loves this! And then Bertram just goes to the shows and jumps him. He also has quite a strong character, at home he is a real stallion, he knows he’s the boss. He’s totally in love with Molly and also with Tinka’s Serenade from Billy!
How are you going to prepare for the European Championships in Aachen, which are really important for the Irish team?
A championship is more pressure for everybody than a weekly show but we actually don’t try to change so much for the horses. We don’t want them to get confused. We are just going to try to get Molly a bit more fit, the next weeks she is going to go a bit more to the gallop, to get her endurance better and get her a little bit more muscles. But we have to be careful because we don’t want her to get too strong otherwise Bertram has not enough control on her in the ring. So she has to bit fit but not strong!
You have been an incredibly successful team, what has been your best memory until now?
I have plenty of amazing memories! Three years ago we won the gold medal at the European Championships for the team with Wild Thing and that was really the beginning of all Bertram’s success and it was amazing. And we still have Wild Thing going, she’s still winning like the Derby in La Baule. She’s actually going at the European Championships this year with Bertram’s little brother Harry for the children so it’s a really nice story with her! Las Vegas was also incredible as well as Verona I’d have to say. We didn’t plan to go at all at the World Cup actually. But we were invited to Verona, so we went, and finally we won! And then he won with Romanov in Bordeaux, so this winter was really nice for us.
And what has been your favorite show until now?
I think the Saut Hermes at the Grand Palais! It’s a really nice place and we have time to go and visit Paris so it’s great. We also have good memories there because Bertram was second of the under 25 Grand Prix with Alex Duffy there two years ago. I think every show which cares about making life easy for the horses and grooms with nice stables, proper wash places and all, is a nice show!
What would you say is the best part of your job?
Definitely working with the horses every day! They become your friends, you know them well so it’s fun. Going with the young horses is great also, like when you go to Lanaken and see how they are doing. We have a few great young horses like Barnike (two times world champion in Lanaken with Bertram), or Cheese that we have since he was three years old and now he is seven so it’s really nice to see how he has evolved and how he is improving. We always thought he was going to be a good horse but at the Sunshine Tour he won everything, it was amazing and we were really impressed. So it’s really nice to see the horses getting better and better every week.
