“Less Pressure, More Passion”: Alessandra Reich Heads to La Coruña with Oeli R and a New Perspective

With the 2025 European Show Jumping Championships just around the corner, we caught up with Austrian rider Alessandra Reich — or “Alessi” to her friends — who is currently in La Coruña for the most important event of the year. Her goal is clear: less pressure, more passion. Riding her horse Oeli R, the 28-year-old aims to make the most of this major experience, focusing on connection and, as she herself puts it, “a bit more naturalness.”

From a Tiny Island to Top-Level Sport

Alessandra’s story began far from the glittering arenas of international championships — on a small island off the Italian coast.

“I actually started my competitive riding career in Italy,” she shares. “My parents had rented a house in Albarella, which is a small island near Padua. And there’s a stable there where I got to ride a little, and they were show jumpers.”

That’s where the journey truly started: “We got to lease a pony there and I started to do my first competitions there and actually all the way up to pony 1.20s.”

She rode there for “quite a few years” with a local family. What stayed with her most? “For sure, my determination,” she says. “Because he was very, very motivating… whenever he would scream a lot. But it always made you fight for it.”

That early toughness built a foundation for the athlete she’s become today — one who’s honest, driven, and not afraid to do things a little differently.

“A Whole Different Experience This Year”

Looking back, qualifying for the Olympics two years ago remains a defining moment. “We had that big goal of qualifying for the Olympic Games and kinda no one really believing in our dream,” Alessandra says. “Everyone I was telling, I thought they were laughing at me a little. But yeah, that was absolutely incredible. Still to this day, I feel like it hasn’t really sunk in.”

This year, the energy feels different — less fairytale, more grounded reality.

“This year is a lot different. We have one newer combination that hasn’t really done a big championship yet. We’ve all had a little our ups and downs this year,” she says. “For me, personally, I’m quite confident. He’s two years older, so I know him also a little better. We have a few more rounds at 1.60 under our belts. But I think we’re still really realistic.”

Their historic performance in Milan set the bar, but Alessandra is keeping expectations in check. “I think this year is gonna be very difficult to  do something similar because everything came together there. And especially in our sport, it’s very grounding. You can dream, but you always try to be a little realistic.”

Her goal? “Top ten teams would be great,” she says, and personally, “I’d love to just get three good rounds in and get some experience in, again, doing a championship.”

And perhaps, break one personal curse: “If I can finally get a good run on the first day — which I don’t think I ever have, not even in juniors and young riders — that would already be… that’s kinda my personal goal. That I do a lot better on the first day.”

“He’ll Do His Job Because He’s Amazing”

The bond between Alessandra and her horse, Oeli R, is at the heart of it all. But it’s a partnership built on sensitivity and trust — and one that requires her to keep her own nerves in check.

“He’s very sensitive to my body language, to my feelings,” she says. “So really, it’s just on me. I have to make sure that I give him all the confidence, that I breathe, that I just stay calm… in every situation, just try not to up that nervousness, whatever.”

Her strategy? Simplicity. “I’m just gonna try to ride it like any other show. It’s difficult, especially not having done too many of them — especially also not too too many five-star shows. But I’m just trying to be super zen, and then he’ll do his job because he’s amazing.”

“I Think I Kinda Lost Sight of What Made Me and Oeli Us”

Last year’s Olympic drive came with a price — pressure, self-doubt, and overthinking that took a toll on her riding and her bond with Oeli.

“I put so much pressure on myself of going to the Olympics… and I think I kinda lost sight of what made me me and what made me and Oeli us,” she reflects. “I really wanted that perfection. Like, it had to be exactly at point E. You know what I mean?”

In chasing textbook riding, she admits, something was lost. “I think through wanting to do everything perfect, maybe we lost that connection a little,” she says. “Because I’m not the best rider. I’m not Marcus Ehning. So the horses need to fight for me a little.”

This year, she decided to let go of that pressure she put on herself . “I really didn’t put pressure on myself at all,” she says. “I thought, I’ll stick to my plan. I’ll stick to what feels right with him. Go back toa bit more the naturalness.”

While her show calendar was lighter — just one five-star — she says it was the right decision. “It went really well, but yeah, we haven’t done a lot of 1.60 tracks this year. If I wanted to be in the top ten, then ideally, I would have had to do a lot more five-star shows like all the other riders. But after last year, it was important for me to tone back and just get some good rounds in for both of our confidence.”

The Austrian Shift: “If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It”

Austria’s Olympic breakthrough has had ripple effects. “You see a lot more people jumping well at two- and three-star level,” she notes. “I don’t know how much that has to do with our medal, but you can see kind of a shift.”

She sees more Austrian riders training abroad, gaining experience, and believing in themselves. “People kind of  thinking, if you can dream it, you can do it. Right? We dreamt of going to the Olympics and at the end, they went. We qualified. Before that, no one thought that was possible — and it was.”

And she hopes that inspires more than results: “It shows the younger generation that anything’s possible. If you work hard… even though it’s an individual sport, it’s not solely about you and your horse. It’s about your team, your teammates, the people around you. That was really beautiful to see.”

“Just Trying to Have Fun With It Again”

Now, with La Coruña on the horizon, Alessandra is taking a calmer, wiser approach.

“We’ve tried to keep him as fit as possible. I’ve still done a lot of hacking, a lot of work on the fields,” she says. “It’s a long drive. Everyone’s gonna react a little different. I think Oeli is a bit the type that gets a little stressed he is not the very best traveler, but he’s used to it from going to Sunshine Tour a lot every year.”

More than anything, she wants to carry the lessons forward. “Just trying to have a little fun with it and see where it takes me, and try to learn from this experience — to see what maybe I’ll do better or different next year and hopefully many years to come.”

Alessandra Reich and Oeli R will represent Austria at the 2025 European Showjumping Championships in La Coruña, Spain. For more updates on the Austrian team and behind-the-scenes insight from the event, follow along here.

By Valentina Sozzi

ph Stefano Secchi

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