Max Kühner is not prone to emotional outbursts. But after his zero-fault ride with Electric Blue P in the second round of the team competition at the European Championships in Milan, the native of Munich beamed and praised his horse enthusiastically. They had achieved the big goal: Austria’s qualification for the Olympic Games in Paris. “It was probably my most important clear round so far,” summed up Kühner, 49, a day later. Austria’s last Olympic team appearance was in Atlanta in 1996.
Nobody expected that it would even be enough for the team bronze medal in the end. At the last European Championships in 2021 in Riesenbeck, the Austrians finished tenth. And this time, apart from Kühner with Electric Blue P, only one other couple brought championship experience with them: Katharina Rhomberg (135th place in the world rankings) with Cuma. For Naxcel V of team rider Gerfried Puck (94th place) it was the first such event, in him and the 27-year-old Alessandra Reich (366th place) and her only nine-year-old Oeli R two newcomers jumped with them. The Austrians were definitely not among the favourites.
But with the Olympic ticket in her pocket, the debutant was able to ride carefree as the last rider – and came off the difficult course with only one down. The bronze medal for Austria was fixed, while the Germans were unlucky fourth. For the first time ever, Team Austria brought precious metal home from a European Championship. Only once, in Barcelona in 1992, was there an Olympic team silver medal. Back then, in Hugo Simon, a native German, made a significant contribution to the success of the neighbors.
Like “Hugo Nationale” in the past, Max Kühner changed nationality for sporting reasons. In 2015, the entrepreneur, who runs a training and trading stable in Starnberg, took on Austrian citizenship. Unlike in Germany, the peak in the neighboring country is manageable. The change helped Kühner to start permits for the big international tournaments with high prize money and to participate in championships. However, financial and professional support from the small Austrian Equestrian Sports Association (OEPS) is less than that from the FN, the large national association in Germany. So there is no national jumping coach and no cadre courses for the top athletes. This means that the active players are more or less on their own, which Kühner sees as an advantage at the same time. Because he has a largely free hand in tournament planning and horse management, and agreements are less complicated due to flat hierarchies.
The two-year-old daughter likes to ride her pony Peter Pan into the living room
According to statistics from the World Equestrian Federation, Kühner has competed with 65 different horses in 3,581 competitions since 2010. Around 45 weekends a year, the entrepreneur attends major tournaments all over the world and has repeatedly ranked among the top ten in the world. The team at home that has his back consists of twelve people and his family. His wife Liv, who was born in Denmark and is a dressage rider up to Grand Prix level, gives the show jumpers the finishing touches, manages their life together and takes their daughters to tournaments. 13-year-old Jolie recently won team gold and individual silver at the European Youth Championships in the children’s class. “Dad, now you’re only one medal behind me,” she commented on his success, said Kühner with a smile. Ten-year-old Grace is also successful in the show jumping saddle. And according to Kühner, the two-year-old Maxi also likes to ride her pony Peter Pan into the living room. “The horses are our purpose in life,” said Kühner.
In addition to the prize money, the sale of well-trained sport horses is the most important economic mainstay. With his business partners, Kühner has 94 horses, around 60 under saddle. The horse-obsessed man is always on the lookout for exceptional young talent. He discovered his sensitive high-flyer Electric Blue P in 2014 at the Southern German Stallion Days in Munich. “We have been together for almost ten years. Blue and a few others are not for sale. They are family members,” said Kühner. He has had some significant victories, most recently winning the Dinard Grand Prix, but is yet to win an individual medal. The Olympic Games in Paris now offer him a new chance.
