In Real Life with Cristina Brendicke: Energetic Equestrian

This week on In Real Life, we meet Cristina Brendicke, a product marketing manager by day and horse lover/dressage competitor by night and weekend.  

In a rare twist for this series, I know Cristina not because of work, but because we share a mutual love of horses. Like Cristina, I also ride dressage, which is a skilled form of riding considered to be the basis of many equestrian sports. In dressage, the horse performs a series of movements as directed by its rider and the rider/horse team is judged against many aspects, including the seamlessness of the movement patterns.   

Dressage is a constant journey that calls for both patience and persistence, which isn’t always the easiest aspect of the sport. Horses, though, have a lot to teach us. Much of the sport hinges on the trust your horse has for you, and the work you’ve put in to establish and re-establish patterns. You’re a team with your horse, and balance for you both is key.  

As Cristina put it, “Dressage tends to attract a certain personality. A lot of people would classify themselves as Type A perfectionists: They want to do great things and make everything they do great down to the smallest detail. So, finding that balance—in riding and in my personal life and in my career—has really been critical to being able to advance my relationship with my horse and to make improvements in my career journey.”  

Though she started riding at a young age, it was a passing phase and Cristina didn’t find her way to her barn family and the sport of dressage until she’d entered the professional world. Faced with a stressful job as a live TV producer and the need for a healthy way to find balance, Cristina enrolled in riding lessons. That decision turned out to be pivotal, as her instructor also provided dressage lessons with her own horses, invited Cristina to join, and as she told me, “the rest is history.”  

Horses are extraordinarily intelligent and perceptive. They know if you’re stressed out; they know if you’re nervous or unsure. For this reason, you must be in the right state of mind to ride, for your safety and the horse’s. If you’ve had a bad day and can’t let go of it, if you’re dwelling on something other than being present in the moment—your horse will know, and odds are, you won’t have a good ride.  

“People often say horses are like mirrors and reflect the energy you're portraying, and I've found this to be incredibly true,” Cristina said. “If I bring the stress of my day to the barn, my horse is unhappy and lets me know. I've learned so much about patience, handling my emotions, course correcting quickly and moving on, compartmentalizing, and giving something 100% focus, that I've taken into my everyday life and career. I still have a lot to learn and work on, especially with my current horse who is exceptionally sensitive to my moods and stress levels!” 

 The pandemic has changed so much for all of us, from our work situations to our personal lives, including the cancellation and/or postponement of most horse shows. While there will be no official, judged dressage this year, Cristina is using the time she used to spend preparing for and packing for shows by staying active with her horse, Zeppelin, and channeling the energy that she used to spend competing into building their foundation as a team, training patterns, and generally developing their horse/rider bond.  

When I asked her what she’d like her legacy to be, she said she’d like to be known as an excellent horsewoman who put her horses needs and wellbeing at the forefront, and who made meaningful contributions to the equestrian community in her area. 

Cristina is definitely delivering on these goals and is a great example for all of us when it comes to life: Good things come with patience, course correcting is critical, and at the end of the day, happiness is what matters.  

If you want to see more about dressage and Cristina’s horse-based endeavors, you can follow her and Zeppelin at @cbrendicke. As always, thanks for joining me for In Real Life.