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Married to the sister of former German showjumper Hendrik Snoek, he lives with his family at Schloß Breitenburg north of Hamburg. Every second year the Rantzau familiy organises a major horse show, which is one of the most popular events in Germany.
Q When did you first become involved with horse breeding?
On our estate (farming and forestry) horses used to be very important as riding and coach horses. My interest for breeding started when I became involved with riding as a child.
Q You have competed succesfully in dressage and showjumping as a junior and later on only in showjumping. Could you tell us
your most important results?
When I competed as a junior, I was very lucky to have an exceptional showjumper, Weintraube. She carried me to many places and victories. Certainly the first place in the European Junior Championships 1967 was the highlight of my junior career. My dressage results kept in reasonable bounds, although I could only once win the bronze medal in the German Junior Championships. In those years I had wonderful lessons with the late ÔBubiÕ Walter Günther, who used to be one of GermanyÕs most successful trainers at that time. The late Herbert Rehbein trained with him.
Later on, my business career became more important to me and, only when our agricultural business was running smoothly, did I find the time to start competitive showjumping again. I was asked to represent Germany in some Nation Cups and had some success at Grand Prix level, as well as winning a gold medal in the German team championships.