Professional Care Horsemanship
Trainer of Young Horses: Training Should Never Be an Assault
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The show jumper and businessman Max Kühner found his way into the world of horseriding somewhat by chance. He comes from a family where the highest level of riding was on a hobby level, and there were no horses at home. One day, while on a skiing holiday with his family in Kitzbühel, Austria, the weather and snow conditions were not suitable for skiing, so they had to find something else to do. Young Kühner chose to take horse riding lessons, and from that moment on, his love for horses and riding was established. His passion could truly unfold when his grandmother bought the horse Rilana for him.
As time went on, Kühner developed into a talented rider, and with Rilana, he achieved success at the youth level. At the age of 18, he was awarded the "goldenes Reitabzeichen," the German golden riding emblem. Shortly thereafter, he became part of the German youth national team. Alongside his budding sports career, Kühner obtained a university degree in business economics.
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In 2004 and 2005, two career-defining turning points took place for Kühner. He started the company MK Sportshorses, which laid the foundation for his status as a full-time professional in the horse world. The following year, he became part of the German Nations Cup team, further establishing his name as part of the elite in show jumping. From 2007 to 2010, he was part of Team Sabina Illbruck, where he continued his trajectory towards the top of his sport. During this period, the gelding Acantus GK, in particular, achieved impressive Grand Prix results with him. One of the highlights for the pair was when they qualified for the World Cup final in Las Vegas in 2009. Unfortunately, they had to withdraw on the same day the competition started due to an injury Acantus sustained during transport.
Despite the respectable results, Kühner remained on the periphery of the German national team. This was due to the tough competition for the few spots on the team, but potentially also due to Kühner's continued status as a part-time rider. For sporting reasons, he therefore became an Austrian citizen at the age of 41 in 2015. Unlike Germany, Austria has historically not enjoyed the same success in show jumping, so Kühner instantly became the nation's star rider. One year after changing his nationality, Kühner became the first Austrian rider in 18 years to qualify for the World Cup final. 18 years prior, it was Hugo Simon who represented Austria. Hugo Simon, Austria's most successful show jumper ever, also changed his nationality from Germany (West Germany), leading to a persistent comparison between the two.
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In 2018, Kühner participated in the World Championships for the first time and came close to achieving a historic result for Austria. Before the final round, he was in second place, making a medal within reach. Unfortunately, a poor final round resulted in a still respectable sixth place, which would have positioned him as the second-best German in the competition if he still represented his birth nation. In 2021, Kühner achieved his biggest career victory to date: first place in the 's-Hertogenbosch Grand Prix, one of the four Grand Slam titles in professional show jumping. Later that same year, he reached the top 10 on the FEI's ranking of the best show jumpers for the first time.
Max Kühner's career is remarkable, even though it may not be filled with international championships or prestigious medals. He has stated that success in the sport is secondary to training young horses and having fun with them, hence his position as a part-time rider. The success he has nevertheless achieved is extremely impressive. In a sport where one often hears about how physically and mentally exhausting it can be to remain at the highest level, it is always nice to see riders who have achieved success by doing things at their own pace. And who knows, perhaps there are still great results in store for Kühner, who seems to only get better with age.
