Katrin Eckermann Takes Over Cydello’s Reins in Another Boon For the Iron Dames

It’s been a problem that’s plagued the sport for generations, but Iron Dames Founder Deborah Mayer continues to single-handedly solve the issue of female access to top mounts in show jumping—and she’s doing it one horse at a time.

Her latest acquisition comes on the heels of Sophie Hinners’ (GER) successful FEI World Cup Finals debut and 5^th place finish aboard Iron Dames My Prins. Then there was the addition of Finals winner Julien Epaillard’s (FRA) top mount, Iron Dames Dubai du Cedre, for Germany’s Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann.

This week, Mayer revealed she’s also gained Richard Vogel’s successful partner of nearly two years, Cydello. The 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding will now be seen under 34-year-old German Iron Dames rider Katrin Eckermann.

Eckermann, who has ridden for the Cannes Stars powered by Iron Dames GCL team for two seasons, played a key role in the team’s championship victory in 2024, riding on winning squads in Riesenbeck and Ramatuelle, St. Tropez (pictured); and podiuming in Paris. She recently earned a 2^nd place finish at GCL Mexico City with Iron Dames Cala Mandia Nrw in March.

In fact, it was aboard the 12-year-old Westphalian mare Iron Dames Cala Mandia Nrw that Eckermann secured surreal, back-to-back victories in 2022 and 2023 in the LGCT Grand Prix of Miami. But the newly minted ‘Iron Dames Cydello’ will bring his own brand of horse power to Eckermann’s string.

“He’s such a cool horse, so intelligent and such a fighter,” Vogel told Horse Network in February. “He naturally doesn’t have the most scope in the world, but he does it with his mindset and his will to do his best. That’s what we rely on.”

According to Vogel, Iron Dames Cydello also loves a grass field—a good fit for upcoming GCL venues as soon as Madrid (May 16-18), or more likely later on in the season in Valkenswaard (August 22-24) or Riesenbeck (September 11-14). Even still, it appears the talented gelding isn’t too particular about where he jumps. When he’s on course, it’s game-on according to his former rider.

“As soon as you take him out of the stall—it doesn’t matter if you take him for a hand-walk or for a ride—he’s always high energy and pays attention to everything,” Vogel said. “At home, he can be a little spooky, but once he gets in the ring, he really focuses on his job and the jumps. He’s actually very brave. He’s a perfect mix.”

The proof is in Cydello’s numbers. With Vogel, the gelding earned multiple 3* Grand Prix wins in Wellington, Florida and Mannheim, Germany, taking his biggest victory to date this February in the CSI4* MARS Equestrian Grand Prix at the Winter Equestrian Festival.

What’s more, in 2025 alone, the pair finished on the podium in four of their first five starts in Wellington, earning more than half of their $217,000+ in total 2024 earnings in just the first four weeks of the season (Jumpr stats).