With a large majority of 96 percent of the votes (177 yes votes, eight no votes, two abstentions, one vote not cast), Martin Richenhagen, 72, was elected the new president of the German Equestrian Association (FN) at an extraordinary general meeting at the association headquarters in Warendorf ) chosen. The retired former CEO of the US agricultural machinery manufacturer AGCO was the only candidate after a pre-selection. The lawyer Peter Krause was unanimously elected as the new financial curator.
This means that everyone involved hopes that the FN’s economic and personnel crisis can now be ended. In the spring, poorly communicated financial gaps of around one million euros led to FN President Hans-Joachim Erbel and financial curator Gerhard Ziegler not being relieved by the members and resigning. Secretary General Soenke Lauterbach was also denied discharge; he will leave the FN when his contract expires in September 2025 at the latest. Until then, Richenhagen can imagine working with Lauterbach. A new Secretary General is currently being sought.
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Richenhagen has to stand for re-election in six months. He is optimistic that he can achieve so much by then that nothing stands in the way of regular re-election for four years. But: “You can only really change things in the long term,” he says.
However, Martin Richenhagen wants to start with this immediately. First there will be a staff meeting at which he wants to allay the concerns of several of the 140 FN employees about losing their jobs. Saving on staff is the wrong tactic, emphasized Richenhagen.
There are already visions, Richenhagen is talking about new business areas
The financial situation of the FN should also be examined promptly. Although the number of members in the riding clubs is stable again at around 700,000, fewer tournaments and fewer horse registrations have been depressing the FN’s income since the Corona crisis. A preview of expected sales in one to five years should provide clarity so that we know what the financial results will look like. There may then be a gap, says Richenhagen – “to close this gap, you have to do a little homework.” There are already visions, the new president is talking about new business areas. As soon as surpluses are generated, they should flow back into sport.
Richenhagen is pinning his hopes primarily on the slumbering reserve of around two million riders who gallop through forests and fields in a completely disorganized manner. Winning them as paying FN members is at the top of the to-do list. The idea is not new, but it failed in the past due to the FN’s image as a bureaucratic monster crazy about regulations. The fact that the regulations are getting longer instead of shorter bothers the new president just as much as Otto Normalreiter.
Reducing bureaucracy is also required here. In addition, a better service offering should attract new members to the FN. An initiative is already underway: “School Horse Project 100”. Four-legged instructors in particular, indispensable for beginner riders of all ages, have become scarce. Many riding schools had to close during the Corona crisis and have not recovered from it. Finding a riding stable in large cities for children and young people whose parents cannot afford their own horse is almost impossible. “Yes, riding is an expensive sport,” says Richenhagen. “But we can help the riding schools.” He financed his studies with his own riding school before moving into the industry. Now he hopes to go horseback riding with his grandchildren soon. “I never lost touch with equestrian sports,” says the former dressage rider with successes up to the Grand Prix.
The situation is significantly better than the rumor mill suggests
Richenhagen, who once made the association’s crisis an issue through harsh criticism (“The FN is a restructuring case”), struck a much gentler tone when he took office on Tuesday. A lot has changed for the better in the past few months, he says. “The FN is a very healthy company, has no debts and considerable real estate holdings.” The situation is significantly better than the rumor mill, especially on social media, would suggest.
Richenhagen appealed to the regional associations in which there had been the greatest resistance to his election to pull together with the FN again. “I am looking forward to a positive realignment of the German Equestrian Association.”
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