Udo Lange pass away

The famous German trainer Udo Lange has passed away.

Born in Dresden, Udo Lange spent his childhood in Düren, near Cologne. It was at Otto Nagel's equestrian center that he discovered horses. Primarily known as a dressage rider and trainer, he was also the Baden-Württemberg eventing champion in 1966 and competed in show jumping up to the advanced (S) level. In 1971, he participated in his first Grand Prix, joined Ulla Salzgeber's parents' stable in Essen, and then went into business for himself.

Trainer of numerous horses, including the stallion Balzflug, Udo Lange notably trained riders like Ton de Ridder, Margit Otto-Crepin, Christilot Boylen, with whom he ran a stable in Röttingen from 1990 to 2014, as well as Robert Acs and Bernadette Brune, who told Dressprod, "I worked with Udo Lange for three years when I started out with Spirit of the Age. He was always a perfectionist, very demanding, but very encouraging in his training. When he was at the edge of the arena during warm-ups, he was like a conductor, directing every movement with his body. A true master."

Among the horses he presented in the Grand Prix were: Impuls 47, Zen, Amant I, Leonardo 44, Sando Khan 38, Champion 13, Fashion, Caracas 8, Walamo, Burgunder 2, Furioso 15, Burgunder 2, and De Niro's Exception. Appointed coach of Brazil in 2004, Udo Lange was still competing in the Grand Prix at the CDI level in 2007 and in national competitions in Germany in 2013.

Udo Lange was 83 years old.

picture :  FN/ D. Matthaes