Four legs move my soul
In an extract from her biography, Isabell Werth, the queen of dressage, talks about her wonderhorse Bella Rose
BELLA ROSE IS a born diva. When she performs, the crowd goes quiet and everyone watches her. If the chestnut mare with three white stockings and a long, curved blaze was running across a field somewhere with 10 other horses, all eyes would be on her. She radiates the same magic as some people do — those who pursue a career on the big screen, on the catwalk, or in politics. They have this mesmerising effect, this charisma that you cannot learn and that can unleash a magnetic power of attraction for everything with eyes and ears. We do not want to exaggerate — Bella Rose is still an animal and not a Hollywood actress. But that is exactly it. Her gaze is not only captivating and confident — at the same time, it is defined by infinite gentleness, and thus, free of any vanity or arrogance. It is a loving greeting from nature, although she does not lack in personality or power. Bella Rose is my dream horse. A dream that has materialised in reality. I was allowed to enjoy it for a short time without restrictions. There were perfect moments where nothing was missing. No questions remained unanswered. There was nothing to criticise, to correct, to mould, to change. Just delight, and the feeling of what it is to finally learn what perfection feels like. She has given me pure happiness on four legs — moments that I would have loved to continue, but that were hard to hold on to, as is so often the case with happiness.
At first, Isabell did not even get to enjoy an entire international season with her “ultimate” horse. They only had eight performances on the grand stage before, in the late summer of 2014, a painful ordeal started for the then 10-year-old Bella Rose. The dream-like rides were over, almost as soon as they had begun. Searching for the problem, finding it, treating it, and rehabilitation took three and a half years — but then the chestnut mare gave Isabell a World Championship that transported her to cloud nine.
At the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon, North Carolina, the two of them won the Grand Prix team competition and the Grand Prix Special. And, if the Freestyle had not been cancelled (the FEI did not manage to organise to have the final test moved after heavy rainfalls during Hurricane Florence wreaked havoc on the venue), it is possible they would have danced through to their third gold medal. Isabell laughed with happiness during her rides, and tears of joy streamed down her face afterwards. It was yet another high point in a lifetime of career highlights — and felt all the more indulgent on the wonder-horse, Bella Rose. I saw Bella Rose for the first time when she was three years old. Finding the horse had a somewhat complicated background: My employee Anna was friends with Matthias Bouten, the individual who took care of the young horses at the facility of a family of breeders named Strunk from Bochum, Germany. Anna had seen Bella Rose there and tipped me off, and so I went to Bochum one day to look at the mare myself. I still remember what it was like when I stepped onto the Strunks’ property. I went through the gate and down the barn aisle. To the right, a little entrance opened up into the indoor. That’s where I stood, chatting with the breeders, while watching with one eye through the door of the arena, where Matthias was lungeing the young Bella Rose. The mare started to trot, and I was breathless. It was like electricity in my body. I felt like I had been zapped — it was incredible. It was a kick, an ignition, and I immediately told myself: “This is your horse.”
While I enjoyed the view of Bella Rose trotting past me, I was thinking, “Let’s hope this is not an illusion, directly followed by a fall from grace — some problem in the canter, some deal-breaker that will ruin my excitement.” But the horse went in walk, trot, and canter, and I tried to keep my facial features in check. This narrow, long-legged horse, the equine equivalent of a fashion model, had completely enchanted me. I knew that I had never met a horse like her and that I would also never find one again. And her name was Bella — the same name I was and still am called by some very close friends.
I made an effort to contain my euphoria. We left the barn as Matthias kept working the mare, and I was only capable of one thought: “How do I get this amazing horse?” All I said aloud was, “Interesting,” but Anna could read the truth in my eyes. The breeders suggested a fair price for a horse of her class that had just been started under saddle, and I called
Madeleine, who could already tell from my voice what was up. She didn’t even ask much about the mare, but only said,
“Okay, go ahead.”
It was 2007, one year after Satchmo and I won the World Championships and time to build up the next “golden horse.” Bella Rose was one of those, I was sure of it — certainly, the best horse I had ever had. Bella Rose was my horse, the culmination of everything I had experienced before... she was the perfect image, formed from the best puzzle pieces of all my top horses. She had Gigolo’s athleticism, and his commitment, willingness to move, and sportsmanship. She had Satchmo’s charm, flexibility, and his genius, but lacked his madness. And, just like Weihegold, she was not complicated at all and highly talented for passage and piaffe.
When I first sat on Bella Rose, I felt almost apprehensive. I still don’t have
words to describe the feeling. It was incredible. The freedom of movement she had in her shoulders and hindlegs — the elasticity. It was a completely new feeling. And then the canter: I could see her front legs flying. Bella didn’t only captivate you from the ground, she did so from the saddle. Her passage and piaffe — the most elevated, celebratory movements, which, simultaneously, require physical effort, balance, body control, and feeling for rhythm — well, I had never felt before how intensively these movements could go through the horse’s entire body. With this mare, the transition from passage to piaffe was hardly perceivable; it was as if her body continued to produce the rhythm like a metronome.
As it had been with all the other horses with which I had followed a path to great success, my most important task with Bella was to channel her temperament in the right direction. Bella tended to overdo her forwardness and to go out of her way when it came to keenness. I had difficulty achieving mental relaxation with her. That was the only challenge with this mare, and it has remained the only one until today. Bella Rose had such reserves of energy that she didn’t tire easily. Working her for an hour to “let out the steam” — that was pretty much a waste of time with her. She also never got distracted by her surroundings or succumbed to hysteria. She could cope on her own and was not interested in flowerpots or umbrellas. She fed on excitement from her own self. She learned all the movements easily. The question really was, how was I to get her to perform them in the arena without incident? Sadly, Bella Rose was just starting to learn the sport when she injured herself. Isabell did not get to keep going with Bella and her training; she didn’t get to develop the “fireworks” and to fire them when she wanted them. The mare’s training and development would only continue, eventually, after years of delay. I don’t even want to imagine what could have happened had I been able to focus totally on Bella Rose’s progress. The mare had learned quickly what was important, had gained more and more experience, and had become quite comfortable with the competition business. I can imagine that we would have rocked the scene.
Even British star Carl Hester, rider and, of course, trainer of the then dominating pair that was Charlotte Dujardin with Valegro, believed that there was only one horse out there who would have made their life difficult: Bella Rose.
Charlotte Dujardin on Valegro became World Champion, European Champion, and Olympic Champion. But Hester was deeply impressed by Bella Rose. Their first remarkable performance: the qualifier for the World Equestrian Games 2014 in Normandy. She easily cracked the 80% mark with her score in the Grand Prix — the invisible borderline where “good” becomes “world class.” It was a particularly important result, since this was the test that decided the team ranking at a World Championship, and that was what the German Equestrian Federation was most interested in. Individual medals were a bonus.
It was a time when Isabell’s seasoned fighting spirit had a break. The “old Isabell,” who took pleasure in climbing into the ring with each of her unruly horses, was not needed in Bella Rose’s saddle. The new Isabell did not have to fight for control or for
“Isabell, already prone to crying with emotion, did not wait until the prize-giving… the tears started streaming down her cheeks during the Freestyle”
answers for the first time; she could just enjoy. First came Aachen. This was the first CHIO with Bella Rose in a setting that seemed made more for her than any other horse. Totilas also competed — the glossy black who attracted so much attention because he seemed to perhaps be finally ready for his first big Championships, the World Games, without the usual health problems. Bella Rose played the second main role at the show, confirming everything that she had promised Isabell. A world-class horse, on her way to an international career. When Totilas was withdrawn before the final day, because, again, he was not fit to compete, Bella Rose’s star finally rose.
The Freestyle to the sounds of “Ode to Joy” was the best and most beautiful thing that Isabell had yet achieved with her dream horse. It really seemed to be surreal for all involved. Nobody was looking for faults any more, as dressage spectators usually like to do. Instead, everyone enjoyed the mare’s talent, her impulsion, her grace, and her power. Isabell, already prone to crying when things become emotional, did not wait until the prize-giving ceremony this time. The tears started streaming down her cheeks during the Freestyle performance.
Oh, Bella Rose! On this day, in front of a full dressage stadium in Aachen, Isabell cried, as if she already knew that what she was experiencing would be the emotional highlight of her own Hollywood movie with this superstar main actress, and that she would have to fight tenaciously for a repeat of the event. This international judges’ panel at Aachen was one of those that is extremely slow to catch on, and tends to follow the mainstream rather than scoring what’s actually happening in front of them. They put Isabell and Bella Rose in third place. But, in this case, Isabell couldn’t care less. The audience rose from their seats and gave her a roaring ovation, and she just kept crying. Forget the other star of the show, thought many people who stood there, clapping. That stallion in a black suit. Here comes a supermodel in a ginger fur coat. Totilas and Bella Rose — we have two completely different horses there. The mare naturally had extraordinary freedom of movement and talent. Of course, Totilas also had talent, but he was also very much “produced.” I never had to go there with Bella, since she already offered so much herself. I think that was the big difference between the two. Both horses had lots of charisma and expression, but with the mare, the movement was part of a naturally supple flow of her body. To ride trot half-pass as expressively on Totilas, you had to really grip him between your aids. You had to hold him, keep him in the air. It all came naturally to Bella. Bella Rose won her first big title, the Team World Championship, at the World Equestrian Games in Caen, Normandy. But on the morning of the Grand Prix, I was brought back to reality with a jolt. I was the first rider in the ring at eight in the morning. Bella Rose had been really hot the day before, had felt good, and had signalled with every fibre of her body that it was high time to start the competition. But it was impossible to prepare her as I would have liked that morning. I couldn’t ride her again before the test — I would have had to ride at four in the morning to give the mare a sufficient breather before all the stress in the ring started. It was raining that morning — August in Normandy — and it was cold, dark, and uncomfortable when we left the barn. The morning made for a bad mood. And then, the arena: When I was already on my horse, because the schedule was tight, tractors were still roaring across the ring, preparing the footing. This was a disaster. My already sensitive horse, who had not had the chance to get rid of her excess energy, had to go into the ring at once, following these tractors. I started off carefully, and at first, I thought, it wasn’t even going that badly. Bella Rose went forward, if not as freely and enthusiastically as two days before. Something was different — annoying to both her and to me. The footing was very hard. While I kept on riding, I thought to myself, “Maybe she doesn’t like it much.” She wasn’t completely through... Bella Rose, of all things! The boisterous one, the disciple of readily available obedience! Despite everything, she delivered an outstanding performance, cantering with impulsion very beautifully, and if I hadn’t counted my strides wrong in one of the half-passes, it would have been very good. It gave me hope that maybe I was only imagining her stiffness... but that is usually not how it works. Even if you only have the thought as a rider, “Oh, is there something there?” you have to take it seriously. Pushing it to the back of your mind doesn’t usually make it go away, but, of course, everyone still tries. During Bella’s last extended trot, which should have been an impulsion-filled, blissful, floating dream, I knew it no longer felt as it should. The test went well, yes, but not as well as expected. Isabell still received the highest score on the German team, and the World Championship title was safe. But in the afternoon, Bella Rose was taken out of the barn for a walk and doubt quickly turned into certainty. There was a problem. At first, the mare moved stiffly, like an older person who has just got out of bed. When the team looked at her more closely, it was obvious: She was lame in one of her front legs. It was a shock and an emotional crash for all involved. Isabell’s grooms, Steffi and Anna, who weep even more easily than their boss, cried. They did not want to abandon their dream of watching Bella Rose enchant Normandy. After a few days’ rest, Bella Rose trotted soundly again. After a thorough examination under anaesthesia, the doctor gave her the all-clear. Nothing stood in the way of a start at the show in Stuttgart in November, where Bella Rose moved as effortlessly as before her injury and turned on her charm to captivate the southwest of Germany. I was perfectly pleased that I was able to experience a happy ending with her in Stuttgart at the end of show season. But then one day, during winter, Bella did not feel as good as before again. It was not a
dramatic lameness, but she was not 100%. A painful process began. She was checked, but we didn’t find clear answers. There was nothing tangible. I worked her less over the winter, and there were no changes in the leg. Spring 2015 came round; the mare was brought back into work, now 11 years old. The world should have been on hand for her. This was the time when things should have got underway. But nothing got going.
Bella Rose was lame.
A long time of uncertainty followed for Bella Rose, Isabell, and her entire team. Again and again, they experienced hope that they finally had a handle on the problem. Many treatments were undertaken, without anyone getting to the root of the problem. Many examinations yielded different interpretations. Another transport to a different clinic; another anaesthesia for the horse. The X-rays still did not show anything serious. But the pain always came back. It took a long time until it was eventually certain what was actually wrong with Bella Rose. Evidently she had been troubled by a problem that had existed for a while, and it had only happened to come out in Normandy. More than two years after the World Equestrian Games, the truth was revealed through the comparison of three pictures taken with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at greater intervals. They confirmed a dramatic diagnosis.
The problem was in the bone. The mare had a bone oedema, caused by a lack of nourishment. In the spring of 2016, it was clear: Bella would not be sound in time to compete at the Olympic Games in Rio. The prognosis was favourable, as the newest check-ups showed that the treatment was working, and the bone in her foot was again filled. But nobody in Rheinberg dared to be joyful. Isabell announced that she expected to return Bella Rose to competition in the fall of 2017... but, then she also had to let this date go by. Bella Rose seemed to know that she had to rest. She stopped herself, put herself into a new mode where she stoically endured anything happening around and to her. In the wild, a horse, which is born an animal of flight, would not survive a leg injury like hers for very long. As a domesticated animal, she turned into a tolerant patient. She crept around, at the walk only, for 12 months. And yet, all the while, she remained the queen.
Her old impatience started to pipe up again when she was back in work. It felt as if she knew she had been given the go-ahead. She wanted to get going. To move forward, to move thoroughly, to open her heart, fill her lungs, feel her body, and enjoy who she was. She wanted to jump around, buck, turn, and twist in mid-air. I have never been squeamish, but our entire team cringed when Bella
Rose moved too fast.
Isabell is a dressage rider by profession. One could also say: she is a problem solver. Whatever difficulties her horses may have, she will work on them. The FEI had awarded her Rider of the Year.
The number of her annual wins was close to 40, her prize money was past half a million Euros. She led the world rankings with Weihegold and was in the top 10 with Johnny and Emilio, who had matured into another leading horse. An exemplary year of success lay behind Isabell. The signs seemed to indicate that her hard work over the years was finally paying off and the time of harvest had come.
With these great gifts in her heart, Isabell has always turned back to Bella Rose, the unfinished one. She still talks fondly of the way the mare carries herself and her look and gracefulness, which the horse never lost during her long time of suffering. Everything had gone to plan for Isabell in this year that was now slowly coming to an end.
Isabell always knew this story would continue. The year 2018 came around. Bella Rose was back. And Isabell danced with her into the skies, crying with happiness.