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5
Friday, September 13 2019 / Published in Weekly Feature

Christian Rogge: From the Top of the Sport to Fatherhood

Christian Rogge

By Kathryn McMackin

Portraits by Kristie Nichols

For Christian Rogge, 2019 has been a year of new adventures. In January, Christian and his wife, grand prix rider Hailey Henderson-Rogge, welcomed their baby son, Hans, into the world.

“I’m pretty sure Hailey already has a pony for him,” Christian laughed. “Hopefully the kid likes horses.”

Science can’t quite back up a horse-loving gene, but one can guess it may be hard to keep the child of two professional horsemen out of the irons. And while he doesn’t hail from an equestrian family himself, Christian certainly understands the allure of the saddle. For 24 years, since moving to the U.S., Christian has been at the helm of Top Line Sporthorse International LLC (TSP), based out of Hidden Lane Farm in Spring, Texas. With the help of Hailey, he dabbles in riding, sales, training, showing, coaching and breeding, from short-stirrup through to FEI-level grand prix.

But even before making his home under the Texas sun, there wasn’t much that could keep Christian away from a horse.

The Wonder Pony

Ponies were hard to come by in Christian’s native Hamburg, Germany, but once or twice a year his family would venture into the German countryside where Christian and his sisters could ride Shetland ponies. It wasn’t until his family moved away from the city — when Christian was in elementary school — that Christian became a regular at his local Pony Club.

Soon he was taking lessons twice a week and spending all day at the stable on weekends. He was feeding, sweeping aisles, bathing and brushing the horses — all so he could take more lessons and ride more ponies.

Christian and Hailey enjoy a moment with Hans.

“I just loved the horses and loved caring for them,” he said. “And I loved the atmosphere in the stable. I was always eager to learn more.”

Christian got his first show pony when he was 10 years old. The pony, named Page, carried the budding show jumper to numerous local and national championship tournaments, as well as the European championships.

“He was a medium pony that I rode in the jumpers,” Christian said of his 13.1-hand wonder pony. “When we went to the European Championships, we had to jump 1.35 meters — the pony was only about that size. He was a good pony, but I outgrew him within a few years.”

As Christian climbed the junior jumper ranks, he began to consider a professional career in horses.

“My dad wasn’t happy with that idea; he wanted me to have a college education,” he said. “I had to sell my junior jumper to pay for college.” Christian later used his savings to buy a young horse, and worked two or three jobs to support his pursuit of riding, as well as his pursuit of a business management degree from Hamburg’s Academy of Economic Science.

“I’m so glad my dad encouraged me to go to college,” Christian said. “It’s helped me so much over the course of my career and in running my own business.”

With a dad and mom involved in the horse world, Hans shows he’s already interested in horses.

Welcome to America

After graduating from college, Christian continued to work with horses, supplementing his riding and training with business gigs. He first traveled to the U.S. in 1991, before making a permanent return in 1994.

“My goal was to open a farm and start a business,” he said. “I wanted to travel all over the U.S. with my horses, going to horse shows. That was my dream.” He established TSP in 1995 with his now-ex-wife and his two stepchildren.

But achieving this dream wasn’t without its challenges. Christian faced a steep learning curve when first establishing himself as a professional in America.

“There’s a huge industry here, but more than half of the competitors are showing in hunter and equitation classes,” he remarked. “There’s no competition in Germany, or any of the European countries, that’s comparable to the hunter sport in the U.S.

“The first time I went into a hunter class, I didn’t get judged because I didn’t have the correct equipment,” he added with a laugh. “I didn’t know you weren’t allowed a square saddle pad or protective boots. Eventually I noticed the judge wasn’t even looking at me — he was reading the newspaper.”

Christian quickly learned that adapting to the North American hunter sport would open a lot of business opportunities. He started at square one: refining his technique.

“I had to change my riding style, as well as the way I trained horses,” Christian said. “At that time, in the mid-90s, the classical German style was more physical, with an upright position, deeper seat and firmer aids. I began to ride with a lighter seat and not so collected. And I learned to look for horses that would suit this way of riding.”

Christian, Hailey and Hans make their home at Christian’s Top Line Sporthorse International LLC, based out of Hidden Lane Farm in Spring, Texas. The family is standing with Flame van de Dassenloop, Hailey’s FEI Grand Prix horse, a 9-year old Dutch Warmblood mare.

Armed with his business acumen, Christian realized it was less risky for his budding business to diversify. With his home base located outside of Houston, Texas, TSP lived through the Enron scandal, stock market crashes and oil crises — the kind of economic problems where people wouldn’t buy high-dollar horses, Christian explained. Today, TSP offers a complete program that includes sales, training, lessons, competition and breeding.

It was Christian’s keen business sense, mixed with his horsemanship skills, that initially caught the attention of his wife, Hailey. They married in 2016.

“As a professional, Christian is totally unique,” Hailey said. “It’s something that I still respect him for and find intriguing. It’s beyond training and riding style; it’s his personality. He’s super tough, but he’s super fair. He has high expectations of people and wants them to live up to those expectations for themselves. And when they do, he’s so supportive.”

Level Up

With a hand securely in several aspects of the hunter-jumper scene, Christian is most excited to delve deeper into international show jumping. Prior to her pregnancy, Hailey was a regular competitor in FEI classes, as was his good friend and colleague, Andy Kocher.

“I enjoy traveling to those events,” Christian said. “I love the atmosphere in the stabling area and the warm-up area. I love the professionalism of the riders and, of course, I admire all the horses that are competing. These are the creme de la creme of our sport.”

Andy took over the reins of the TSP-owned Kahlua in 2017 at the request of Christian, who had been competing the mare at the national level. Andy was in the irons for the mare’s FEI debut in September 2017, and rode her to many impressive performances internationally, including a five-fault finish in the challenging CSI5* ATCO Queen Elizabeth II Cup during the Spruce Meadows North American tournament in July 2018. The duo represented the U.S. at the 2018 FEI Longines Jumping Nations Cup Final in Barcelona. Kahlua was sold to Jan Tops in early November 2018.

“Kahlua is likely my greatest professional accomplishment,” Christian commented. “Within three months of owning Kahlua, she was already placing second and third in national grand prix. Unfortunately, I had to go back to Germany because my father was terminally ill and I didn’t have time to ride. I gave Kahlua to Andy to continue her development. I thought I would take her back. But Andy wasn’t giving that horse back to me.

“At that point, I just wanted to see how far the journey would take us. And she took us all the way to Barcelona for the Nations Cup Final.”

A Different Journey

Despite the sale, the journey with Kahlua has Christian setting his sights on more forays in the international show jumping scene. But with a newborn along for the ride, Christian isn’t certain of how his professional future will take shape.

“My goal is to achieve as much as I did last year, but with less effort,” he said.

With the arrival of Hans, the proud father is hoping to not work quite as much. “I’ll take some time to spend with my family,” Christian said. “Hopefully our son will love horses and we can introduce him to riding without putting any pressure on him. Luckily we have lots of friends from the industry who have gone through similar experiences and can help us.”

When he’s not in the stables or in the office, Christian surrounds himself with another sport: soccer. An avid fan, he subscribes to every soccer channel imaginable and indulges in it daily, preferring it to American football and baseball, although he admits he enjoys a Houston Rockets game from time to time.

But as with most entrepreneurs and professionals, Christian dedicates the majority of his time to his craft. And according to him, it’s been well worth the investment.

“I’m so proud I’ve been able to make a name for myself here in Texas over the last 20 years,” he said.

For more information, visit www.christianrogge.com

Photos by Kristie Nichols, moonfyrephotography.com

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Tagged under: chritian rogge, hailey henderson rogge, kathryn mcmackin, kristie nichols, topline sport horses

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A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself The spor A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself 
The sport of eventing is a demanding and mentally challenging discipline that requires a combination of physical and mental fortitude from both the rider and horse. While having a coach can be incredibly beneficial, self-coaching can also play a crucial role in a rider’s success.

I think that given the opportunity, most riders would like to be coached every day. The reality of life in the horse world, however, is that the majority of us need to absorb as much from the lessons we have on a limited basis and then practice those skills at home to improve.

When I am riding, I try to have a plan for the horses each day and focus on what I’m looking to achieve. It’s important to be aware of the steady improvements rather than trying to solve everything all at once. This is especially important when teaching horses new movements or exercises that they might struggle with, and we need to give them time to learn and understand what we are asking for.

I have a couple of quotes that I use regularly when I’m teaching, and these are mottos that I hold myself to in my daily work as well.

The first is, “If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten.” This is a quote that was said to me many years ago when I was still motor racing and I keep it in the back of my mind each day. It’s easy to get stuck doing the same thing every day with your horse and bad habits are hard to break, from both riders and horses!

This leads me to my next quote, which is, “If what you are doing isn’t working, try something else.” It really is as simple as that! Many riders I see keep asking a horse to do something the same way over and over with an ongoing negative response and they wonder why things don’t get better. In these circumstances, I recommend that the rider change something, even if it’s wrong.

Read the full article by clicking the link in our bio! Don’t forget to keep your eye out for our April subscription!
📸Photo by Alex Banks Photography
The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here and we are so excited to feature three-day eventer Liz Halliday on the cover! Big thanks to photographer Melissa Fuller for the beautiful photo of Liz and Cooley Nutcracker- Liz Halliday-Sharp - HS Eventing. Liz and her horses have taken the eventing world by storm - and find out how Liz is at the top of the sport as a female eventer! As the horse world gears up for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event 2023, it's the perfect time to enjoy our eventing issue!! We also feature eventer and woman entrepreneur Frankie Thieriot Stutes, who is not only an eventer, but also runs Athletux and FRANKIE CAMERON handbags and accessories. And don't miss our eventing story on Robert "Bobby" Costello, who will be leading the US Eventing team to the 2024 Paris Olympics- and US Equestrian has named Bobby the eventing technical advisor/chef d'equipe!! Liz, Frankie and Bobby all have GREAT stories - don't miss any of them and don't forget to get your tickets for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day event! We are also excited to introduce you to hunter-jumper rider Casey Lorusso Smith, who is not only a talented rider but also a psychotherapist and incorporates horses into her career. If you are up for adventure, then read the story on dressage rider Priscilla Baldwin who certainly doesn't let any grass grow under her feet! We also head to the west coast to catch up with hunter-jumper trainer Jim Hagman of Elvenstar Farm, we feature beautiful art by equestrian artist Tammy Tappan, and we get to know Miranda Jones and her family. Miranda is not only an attorney who spends a lot of time in the courthouse, but she's a rider and spends lots of time riding, and is joined by her daughters also! We are excited to feature Stephanie Lightner in our Unbridled column, and don't miss our columnists George Williams, Robert R.L. Jacobs and Margie Sugarman! It's a great issue - and you can read it online, but don't forget to go to the website and order a subscription and get every issue delivered to your mailbox!! Enjoy this issue and enjoy the ride: Link in bio!!
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Marie Meyers has been around the world because of Marie Meyers has been around the world because of dressage, but it’s her farm in Moorpark, California, that has captured her heart. The farm and the business that thrives there represent Marie’s lifelong journey—a journey made up of good friends, spectacular horses and relationships made to last.

Marie was raised in Southern California, and spent her childhood playing just about every sport under the sun, but she didn’t discover riding until she was 14 years old. “I loved animals so much, so I started taking lessons. I did jumping at first, but I was very bad at that, for sure!” Marie laughed.

After some time, Marie moved on to take lessons at Foxfield Riding Academy and began riding dressage. “I fell into dressage by accident,” Marie said, “At the beginning, I thought it was extremely boring, but then I got hooked. By the time I graduated from high school, I had plans to travel to England to work for Franz Rochowansky, a former head of the Spanish Riding School.”

In 1988, Marie’s hard work paid off, and the pair was selected as alternates for the 1988 Summer Olympic Games. “They didn’t take the alternates that year, so we didn’t go to Seoul, but the experience, the training and the European Tour afterwards set me up for the 1990 World Equestrian Games in Stockholm, Sweden,” Marie said.

In addition to having success representing her country, Marie was busy with her life—marriage, a business, teaching lessons and clinics. 

Learn more about Marie in this month's edition of Sidelines Magazine. Click the link in our bio for more 🦄

📸Photos by Lindsey Long Equine Photography, www.lindseylong.com

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