Courage is at the beginning of the path, happiness at the end

*This article contains affiliate links

Anyone who has ever visited Gut Aubenhausen near Rosenheim will be amazed by the beautiful riding facility.
Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and her brother Benjamin Werndl have not only created a refuge where they can train their horses in a way that is good and right for them, but have also realized their dream of owning a pony farm.

Nice, you might think at first. Anyone who lives like that probably comes from a horse family, and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Besides, there have probably always been great horses in the stable, so you can ride them like that, too.

In her book " The Happiness of This Earth, " Jessica von Bredow-Werndl explains that even this magical life on a pony farm involves a lot of hard work. The book is by no means a biography, but the rider, who won gold at the 2020 German Dressage Championships, takes us through her life so far through her horses. You learn how each horse, with its characteristics and skills, has influenced Jessica von Bredow-Werndl's development—as a rider, as an entrepreneur, but also as a person.

I don't want to give too much away and leave it up to each individual to draw their own conclusions and insights from these wonderfully written pages, but overall, one can say that one learns an incredible amount about learning. After reading "The Happiness of This Earth," I mounted a horse with greater ease. Not because Jessica von Bredow-Werndl shares any secret riding tips with us, but because she leaves you with the certainty that even if things don't go so well, you can still learn something from it!

In September 2020, despite the coronavirus pandemic, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the book launch at Gut Aubenhausen. The presentation was moderated by Annica Hansen, and it was immediately apparent that Annica and Jessica were on the same wavelength. Everyone present could feel this personal connection (despite the distance!), and so the afternoon somehow transformed into a very intimate gathering of horse girls and boys, chatting with them. Benjamin Werndl also had a chance to speak.