PETERS Steffen

General
DARK DAYS
He was affected by depression for parts of 2018 and 2019, which was so severe that he was unsure if he would ever compete again. He received treatment from eight different doctors during this period, and also needed three trips to the emergency room at the hospital. His mother had a stroke in March 2019 and told him that she hoped to see him ride at the 2019 World Equestrian Festival in Aachen, Germany, which gave both of them the incentive to recover from their ailments. "I've never really experienced depression. There was nothing in my life if you really look at the big picture to be depressed about. But it became more and more negative and I was not really able to focus. I was convinced I had a brain tumour because my dad passed away from it. I saw everything absolutely the very worst. There were two weeks when I didn't ride at all. I distanced myself, isolated myself, not really functioning very well in public. [After his mother had a stroke] the first 10 days did not look very promising. When Mom became more responsive I swear her first words were, 'I want to watch you ride in Aachen'. At that time I still had my doubts that I'd be capable enough of qualifying for Aachen. But that was a huge motivation for both of us." (dressage-news.com, 19 Jul 2019)

STABLES
He owns the Arroyo Del Mar stables in San Diego, CA, United States of America. (Facebook team page, 27 Feb 2021)

MOVE TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Born in Wesel, Germany, he first went to the United States of America after meeting some riders from San Diego, California, at a riding clinic. He travelled across the Atlantic to visit them in 1984 and made the decision to relocate there permanently after finishing his compulsory military service in 1985. He became a US citizen in 1992 and took work at a number of stables before accepting a post at the Chalk Hill Training Clinic in San Diego in 1995. (chalkhill.com, 03 Dec 2007; onthebit.com, 03 Dec 2007)

DRIVING LICENCE
He was a tank driver during his two-year military service, although he failed his first test after he hit the curb while driving through the city. "It flattens [the curb] because of the weight. I was 10 minutes into my test and I flattened the curb. So I failed my first test. The second time I did OK." (thecoastnews.com, 30 Aug 2016)