Pepo Puch

Josef " Pepo " Puch ( born January 10, 1966 in Graz) is an Austrian rider. By 2008, he resigned in Eventing for Croatia in sports, today he starts as a dressage rider in the handicapped riding.

Career

Puch began at the age of 15 years in Oberzeiring with riding. Puch, who left his native village at the age of 15 years, is a qualified chimney sweep. First, he was active in the Endurance and reached here also the World Championships.

He later moved to eventing, where he was initially active for Austria. After differences with the Austrian Association he rode for years international success for Croatia. He took part in the European Championships of 2001, 2003 and 2005. In 2004 he took part in the Summer Olympic Games in Athens with Banville d' Invoy.

Puch was at this time a security officer of the World Federation FEI and was one of the first riders at that time a newly developed airbag vest ( Safety vest that inflates in a crash ). In August 2008, he rushed momentous in the Schenefelder versatility: He retired breakthroughs in the third and fourth cervical vertebra to an incomplete paraplegia is a result of the fall. After the fall was initially suspected, supported by Puch airbag vest had saved his life. Puch, who does not remember the accident sequence, stated, however, the vest had inflated with a small disturbance at that bang had frightened his horse, and he was he was practically unable to move through the vest, which he had fallen. The vest had prevented him from rolling. He is convinced that without the vest, no significant accident would have happened.

After the accident Puch spent six months in hospital, first in Hamburg, then in Zurich. After months he reached that he could move his hand again. He was able to walk again limited.

Consequently, he found his way back into the sport now as a dressage rider in the handicapped riding. Here it is associated with the competition class grade Ib. As an aid he rides with two whips and Tuning Aids.

" The most ideal to ride out from the weight, but that is with the disability sometimes difficult because the horse does not know whether you have a spastic attack or that is a command. Therefore, the tuning guide is important! "

Entry into the Disabled equestrian found Puch with the self-trained gelding The Who. With this he had two weeks before his fall, nor the international versatility (CIC 2 *) in the Bavarian won Unterbeuern.

In 2010 he had qualified for the World Equestrian Games in 2010, which would have been his first international championship after his fall. However, his mare Fine Feeling injured before. A year later he made his first major appearance as a Para- Equestrian: At the European Championships in Belgium Moorsele he won with Good Boy 's Feeling gold in the individual competition and individual silver in the freestyle.

At the Salzburg indoor show in late 2011 the " Amadeus Award" awarded him who goes every year to a person who has made ​​an outstanding contribution in particular to the Austrian equestrian sports. Shortly before he was for the first time become world number, a position he still holds in the summer of 2012. At the May market Tournament in Mannheim, the only international Disabled equestrian tournament in Germany in 2012, he erritt a new world record of his competition class: In the freestyle level Ib he reached with Feeling Fine 80.667 percent.

His first Paralympic games he played in London in 2012: With Feeling Fine, he won the bronze medal in the Championship test and in the freestyle individual gold. For the Paralympic Games, he had to manage on-site without the proposed back cover family: Shortly before the start of the competitions his mother died, the whole family traveled from London.

In May 2013 the world record improved in the freestyle of the Grade Ib together with fine feeling on 80.917 per cent. A year earlier he had erritten a world record results in this test.

Achievements

As an eventer:

  • Olympic Games: 2004 Markopoulon in Athens: 63 with Banville d' Invoy place in the individual standings
  • 2001, Pau: Grim with 28th place in the individual standings
  • 2003 Punchestown: with Banville d' Invoy 22nd place in the individual standings
  • 2005 Blenheim: 46 with Banville d' Invoy place in the individual standings

As a para- dressage riders ( for Austria ):

  • Paralympic Games: 2012, London: Feeling Fine with 3rd place in the individual standings (Championship test) and first place in the individual freestyle.
  • 2011 Moorsele: Boy's Feeling Good with 1st place in the individual standings (Championship test) and second place in the freestyle
  • 2013, Herning: Feeling Fine with 8th place with the team, 1st place in the individual standings (Championship test) and 1st place in the freestyle

Horses

Current

  • Feeling Fine (* 1997), Hanoverian chestnut mare, Sire: Fabriano, mother father: Trapper
  • Good Boy 's Feeling ( * 1999), Hanoverian black gelding, Sire: Grand Cru, mother father: World Cup I
  • The Who (* 1995), English Thoroughbred, gelding

Former successful horses

  • Grim 3 (* 1989), chestnut gelding
  • Banville d' Invoy (* 1989), brown Selle Français gelding, Father: Banville, Mother Father: Herbier

Private

Puch Puch with Michele, native Schwarzenbach, married. Michele Puch, daughter of Alfred Schwarzenbach ( Olympian 1972) and granddaughter of Hans Schwarzenbach, himself rode long day eventing and show jumping starts now. Both have a daughter.

European Eventing Championship Equestrian at the 2004 Summer Olympics Schenefeld, Pinneberg 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games Equestrian at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Hanoverian horse
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