Matthias Alexander Rath is 39 years old and is part of the German Olympic dressage squad with his horses Thiago and Destacado. At the Schafhof Stud in Kronberg im Taunus, he and his family breed and train horses. In addition to tournaments at his own facility, he and his agency Schafhof Connects organize the international equestrian tournaments in Frankfurt and Donaueschingen and, from 2025, the Hamburg jumping and dressage derby. He gained notoriety beyond equestrian sports between 2010 and 2015 as the rider of the stallion Totilas, who had previously become world champion with the Dutchman Edward Gal. The horse breeder Paul Schockemöhle and Rath’s stepmother Ann Kathrin Linsenhoff purchased the stallion for a rumored ten million euros. However, Rath was only able to build on previous successes to a limited extent. Totilas’ last tournament start was at the 2015 European Championships, in which he had to take part despite suffering from bone edema. In 2020 the stallion died of colic.
