In the next part of the Coffee Break interview series, we talk with Panna, our junior consultant, in whose life outside of work a very special sport plays the main role: eventing. 

This sport simultaneously requires perseverance, discipline, quick decisions, and mutual trust built with the horse. How does someone become an eventing rider, what challenges does this hobby entail, and what does it bring to everyday life? 

Join us for a coffee break and get to know Panna a little closer! 

Clarity Tell us a little about your hobby! What exactly is eventing? 

Panna Eventing, formerly known as military, was originally a three-day combined competition organized for cavalry horses and soldiers. Today's competitions are also made up of three events based on this model. 

On the first day, riders present a dressage test. During this, the horse's level of training and the harmony between horse and rider are evaluated based on the exercises performed in the arena. The second day features the cross-country test, where competitors tackle natural obstacles (such as logs, ditches, brick walls, and hedges) over a course of several kilometers. The difficulty depends on the category, so beginner pairs compete on shorter distances and easier obstacles than the more experienced ones. 

On the third day, during the show jumping phase, riders compete on a course built with knock-down obstacles. The final standings are determined based on the results achieved over the three days of competition. 

Clarity Eventing consists of three different phases. Which is your favorite and why? 

Panna Dressage and show jumping competitions are also held independently, but the cross-country test only features as part of eventing. So naturally, this is my favorite, since if I liked either of the other two best, I would 'only' attend their competitions. 😊 

Clarity How did you get involved with horses? Was it a childhood love, or did this sport find you later? 

Panna Even as a little child, I played horse-related games, and then for my tenth birthday, I asked my parents to take me horse riding at a nearby stable. From that moment on, I spent every summer there, and during the school term, all my afternoons and weekends. 

Clarity How much preparation is needed for each competition? How much work goes on in the background that we cannot see from the outside? 

Panna The whole year is one big preparation. In reality, we don't prepare for individual competitions, but for the whole season, and indeed for all the seasons ahead of us. A horse's training usually starts at three years old, and several years pass before they can perform consistently in a competition environment. 

Clarity How does it feel before a competition? Who is more nervous, the rider or the horse? 😊 

Panna Naturally, the rider, but the horse also senses and absorbs the tension immediately, as horses are very sensitive animals. 😊 
 

Clarity How important is the connection between horse and rider? How is this trust built? 

Panna Just like between two people, you can feel whether the connection between the rider and the horse works well. Horses also have different personalities, so they have to 'fit' with the rider in exactly the same way as two people in a relationship. 

An experienced rider is, of course, capable of working with any horse, but the experience is still enhanced when they match well. The development of trust also depends somewhat on the horse's personality. Horses are fundamentally prey animals, but there are more sensitive ones among them that lose their trust in humans much more easily. In such cases, rebuilding it is also much harder. As a rider, trust is mostly built through time spent together. 

Clarity Was there ever a moment when you felt like giving up? What helped you move forward? 

Panna Sure, many times. One of the difficulties of riding compared to other sports is that you are not just responsible for yourself, another person, or an object, but for a living animal that can get injured or sick. This is very mentally demanding and comes with much greater responsibility. 

It can't happen here that we don't take care of the horse just because we don't feel like it. Returning is always helped by the fact that horses have a highly calming effect on people, which is no coincidence they are also used for therapeutic purposes. 

Clarity What has been your most memorable competition or experience so far? 

Panna I think it was when I won the U16 national championship. My competitor at the time was a very interesting character, a mare from the Netherlands whom we just called Vércse (Kestrel) at home. Her real name was, of course, much longer and more complicated than that. 😊 

With a bit of exaggeration, her coat turned pink every summer, and in winter, she was almost grey. Vércse is now spending her retirement years, but her foal is currently one year old. I would really like to train it myself in two years. 

Clarity What has this sport taught you that you can also utilize in your work? 

Panna It taught me a lot of patience, and in its own way, communication too. If you can make yourself understood by a 500-kilo animal, then communicating with words cannot be that hard, can it? :D 

Clarity Do you have any pre-competition superstitions? 

Panna No 

Clarity If you could take a colleague with you to an eventing competition once, what would you want them to experience or understand about this world by all means? 

Panna Exactly that it is a completely different world. While you are there, the outside world ceases to exist: there is nothing else, only what is happening there. Afterwards, it is very hard to return to reality. I would also like them to experience what it feels like to truly connect with an animal. 

Thank you, Panna, for letting us catch a glimpse of this exciting world! 

It's great to see that at Clarity, there is so much passion, perseverance, and dedication not only in projects but also in our free time. We can't wait to get to know another colleague's hobby in the next Coffee Break. ☕