Sacrifice and hard work have brought Lisa Wilcox to the top

Originally from Colorado, Wilcox grew up with horses, but her initial passion lay with eventing. It wasn't until she participated in a dressage clinic with German trainer Jan Ebeling (her now ex-husband) that she made the switch. Jan brought her through Grand Prix on his horse Funny Boy and in 1994 Wilcox took the horse to Europe for four months to train with the late Herbert Rehbein. She went home briefly, but something inside her told her to go back to Germany.

But re-locating to Germany meant she had to find a job. Because of her qualifications, she was only able to find a position at a breeding facility in Denmark. She worked there for six months until Rehbein gave her a tip for a farm in Germany. Wilcox got the position and stayed for two year and a half years. Because of differences of opinions, Wilcox decided to leave the farm and take a break for a few months. She hoped that she would be able to find just the right place when she returned to work.

"I was helping a friend in Hamburg and we were at the European Championships and Gundula Vorwerk came up to me and asked if I might be interested in a job," she said. "It was my luck that she was looking for a particular figure. It was very important that the person who rode her stallions fit the stallions. They aren't all that big and she needed someone who would make them look large, and I'm similar in build to her previous rider. I thought 'this has got to be a dream.'"

Wilcox has been based at Gestut Vorwerk, the top Oldenburg stallion station in Cappein, Germany, for five years. It was here that she was given the training responsibilities for two Rubenstein sons, Relevant and Rhodiamant-now her two top dressage rides. She also found a trainer and a partner in Ernst Hoyos, one of the top Spanish Riding School riders. Hoyos has now left the school to be in Germany with Wilcox full-time.

Wilcox takes her success philosophically. "I have had a dream inside me as long as I've been riding horses. I wanted to ride at a high level and to be as good as I could and see where it could bring me. It's been a lot of work and it didn't happen overnight.

"When I read about myself sometimes I think 'no kidding,'" she continued. "But at this point it's everyday life - riding working, competing and having the good things and bad things happen along the way."

This has been especially true in 2002, as Wilcox has experienced what she calls both her best moment and biggest setback. Her best moment came at the 2002 Aachen CHIO aboard Relevant. "I did all the wrong things on Thursday and I really put the screws in. I had him too short in the neck and he wasn't playing. On Friday I rode him like I always do at home and he went very well."

Wilcox ended the competition with the best freestyle test she has ever ridden. "It was a success for me to pull out such a good performance out of such a bad start. I was really proud of that."

But her worst moment came at an equally big show, the 2002 World Cup in Holland. "I was invited to compete but Rhodiamant was already getting involved with breeding and I was saving Relevant for another competition."

There wasn't a lot of time to get the stallion's focus changed back to the dressage arena and it showed. "He wasn't willing to do anything," she remembered. "I was really disappointed in myself. I should have said 'thanks for the invitation, but I can't come.' As a result, I put the horse in a bad situation. I asked him to do a high quality performance and give as much as he could in breeding. It's no wonder he reacted like he did. But you live and learn. So now during breeding seasons he only concentrates on breeding."

But even when things aren't going perfectly, Wilcox always falls back on the advice her partner Hoyos has given her. "[He always says] 'we have time and we are going to take it. Breathe slow, relax and don't put yourself or your horse under pressure.'".

Wilcox's's main competition horses at present are the Oldenburg stallions Rhodiamant and Relevant and her up and coming potential Olympic mount Royal Diamond, full brother to Rhodiamant. Wilcox's goals definitely include a bid for the Olympics in Athens, but the World Equestrian Games will be her first priority. She is currently vying with Christine Traurig for the final berth on the team. She also has her sights set on the future.

"I have some incredible young horses coming up," she said. "I've had Royal Diamond since he was 3 1/2 and he is certainly a consideration for Athens. The barn is just full of quality horses and it's my goal to see how far I can get them. If I can be part of a team in Athens and further on, that would be great."

Although Wilcox is very proud to ride for America she has no plans of moving back home. "I feel like I'm exploring new worlds. I'm way too nosy to go back to the same old same old. I want to see new things. I'll go back and give clinics--I do this once a year with the New England Dressage Association--but my life is here."

Although Gundula Vorwerk is very supportive of her rider's goals, as far as competing in America goes, her hands are tied. "I cannot fly to America with my stallions during the breeding season. Their first job is breeding and not competing because the breeding is what keeps the farm going. A lot of Americans can't understand this because there are no farms that breed horses on that same scale."

Wilcox feels that for young riders wanting to have success in dressage they have to understand that it is work. "It's a lot of hard work and they've got to be willing to do it. I don't see anything all day except horses and I'm happy to come home at the end of the day to my bed. There's no personal life at all. Success is all about sacrifice," concluded Wilcox.