Also financial worries
Chaos and intrigue plague the riding association
September 23, 2024, 4:23 p.m
At the Olympics, the German riders are still guaranteed medals, but at home the gray everyday life is catching up with them. The association is in crisis and the search for a new president is turning into a “mud battle”. And there is also the economic situation.
The Olympic gold medals outshone everything else for a few days. But everyday life has long since returned to Germany’s most successful sports association – and at the German Equestrian Association (FN) it is characterized by serious financial problems, the urgent search for new management personnel and the associated intrigues.
Unimpressed by the chaos in the association, the team celebrated four gold and one silver medals in front of the dream backdrop of the Palace of Versailles. The previous year’s deficit of 976,000 euros was already known back then, the financial director had been fired and the president and a member of the executive board had resigned. But the turbulence continued after the Olympics. In the meantime, there was, among other things, a “mud battle” in the search for a new president, as the trade magazines “Reiterjournal” and “St. Georg” unanimously judged. There was also another resignation from the executive committee.
After ex-manager Martin Richenhagen (AGCO) initially expressed his interest in the presidency, there was another interested party in mid-August, former top banker Stefan Unterlandstättner (DKB). But then “a photo was released in equestrian circles,” as the “Equestrian Journal” reported, showing the amateur show jumper Unterlandstättner in an unfavorable position on a horse.
“Campaign against a candidate”
In frustration, Unterlandstättner withdrew his candidacy before it even became official. And another member of the executive committee, Holger Wulschner, resigned because of the intrigue. “I’m leaving because there is currently a campaign against one of my proposed candidates for the office of president,” explained the Nations Cup rider. “I was very concerned about how things were done here.”
After all: Since then, the association’s search committee has found two other candidates in addition to Richenhagen: Heinrich Bottermann and Hans-Jürgen Meyer. Almost two weeks ago, the trio introduced themselves to the delegates at the general meeting. In October, the Sports Advisory Board will decide who can stand for election in November. A lot of work awaits the winner, because Richenhagen is not the only one who sees the FN as a “case of restructuring”, as he wrote as editor in the magazine “Reiterrevue”.
“Mr. Lauterbach definitely has to go”
The search for two managing directors is probably much more important than the election of a volunteer president. In addition to a new financial director, the economically struggling association will soon also need a new general secretary to replace Soenke Lauterbach. The full-time boss described himself as a “burden for the FN”, but wants to stay in office until September 2025. Presidential candidate Richenhagen recently said in the “Reiterjournal”: “Mr. Lauterbach definitely has to go.”
Isabell Werth is one of the association’s most prominent critics. The eight-time Olympic champion recently expressed her concerns on the ARD “Sportschau” that the financial problems would have a negative impact on future success. “The youth sector in particular needs the association,” said Werth.
Sports managing director Dennis Peiler said: “Thanks to the support of the federal and state governments as well as our association partners, we are well positioned in youth competitive and top-class sports.” Despite the necessary savings, he is “very confident that we will continue to be able to remain internationally competitive at the highest level.” The managing director responsible for sports does not want to comment on the association’s other problems.
