Victoria Max-Theurer

The story of Elisabeth Max-Theurer, called Sissy, is also the story of Mon Cherie, a four-legged present, who was very disobedient and hardly rideable at the beginning, but who developed to becoming European and Olympic Champion. And it's the story of Hans Max-Theurer, who trained the young enthusiastic rider, and who turned her into one of the most successful lady riders of her time. And last but not least it is also the story of Victoria Max-Theurer, the daughter of Sissy and Hans Max-Theurer, who is on the way to continue her mother's success.

Chronologically: Sissy Max-Theurer was born on the 20th September 1956 in Linz. When she was ten years old, her parents gave way to her urging requests. She was allowed to take riding lessons, and after two years on school horses, the small Lippizaner Pluto Alda was bought. Then she achieved first successes in dressage competitions, and also tried the show jumping sport for a short while. The two most important facts of that time were the following: at the 1968 spring tournament of the Welser Reiterbund, the twelve-year old for the first time meets the riding instructor from Ampflwang Hans Max—15 years later, the two marry each other. In 1973 she buys the Hanoverian Le Fort from Hans Schwelm, Neuss, and as a bonus he gives her the young dark grey Mon Cherie.

Under the guidance of trainer Hans Max-Theurer, the ambitious Sissy managed to enter the Austrian junior team for the 1974 European Championship on the black Mascagni. Numerous successes followed, the most important ones on Mon Cherie, whose first steps were actually rather disappointing. But due to consequent work the grey horse matured into a dressage horse of international size, and his piaffe-passage tour as well as his pirouettes were absolutely sensational. At the 1979 European Championship in Aarhus, Mon Cherie defeated under Sissy Max-Theurer the whole dressage elite, and won Gold at the Olympic Games in 1980.

The number of wins and placements which Sissy Max-Theurer won in co-operation with her trainer Hans Max-Theurer is impressive: between 1978 and 1984, the licensed riding instructor won the Austrian National Championships six times; in Aix-la-Chapelle, Rome, Berlin, Munich, Kopenhagen, Goodwood and Paris she gained international successes; with her horse Acapulco she reached the 10 th place in the individual scoring at the 1983 European Championship in Aix-la-Chapelle, and the 11 th place at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles/USA. After the birth of her daughter Victoria in 1985 and her son Johannes in 1987, she managed her comeback four year later. At the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, she achieved rank eight on Liechtenstein in the dressage finals. After landing on the 12 th place in the individual scoring at the 1994 World Riding Games in Den Haag, she finished her active career.

Since then she has supported her daughter Victoria, who has been riding from success to success in the dressage sport since 1995. But she leaves the training to her husband Hans Max-Theurer because mother and daughter often do not share the same opinion in the riding arena. Their son Johannes doesn't follow the family's tradition at all: he doesn't devote himself to horses, but to fishes, and loves going fishing .

Sissy Max-Theurer, whose special interest is also the breeding of horses, has been acting as the President of the Austrian Association for Riding and Carriage Driving since 2002.