After his last Grand Prix horse, Coral Reef Wylea, sustained an injury, Guenter Seidel was left without a horse waiting in the wings to step up to Grand Prix.

However, impeccable timing brought him back into the ring when his student Erin Boddaert became pregnant with her third child. Boddaert convinced her parents, James and Charlotte Mashburn, who own Zero Gravity, that the 11-year-old KWPN gelding (Royal Hit–Naica, Contango) would be a good match for Seidel. She handed over the reins and the rest might just make history.

Seidel, 54, was a member of bronze medal-winning teams at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2004 Athens Olympics. He and Coral Reef Wylea were looking like a good bet to make the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games team before the mare was injured in March last year.

Seidel has had bad luck in the run-ups to the last few championships, breaking his pelvis in a fall while aiming U II for the U.S. team the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (Ky.). Then, in 2011, he and his longtime sponsors Dick and Jane Brown parted ways. 

He plans to aim for another shot at the Olympics with Zero Gravity. Boddaert had competed Zero Gravity through the Intermediaire II level and Seidel debuted him at Grand Prix in August of last year at the CDS San Diego Summer Show (Calif.) with scores of 72.00 and 72.30 percent.

The pair won the Grand Prix Special at the L.A. Winter Dressage national show in Burbank, Calif., on Jan. 24-25 with a 71.56 percent before contesting the west coast’s first Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage Final qualifying competition at the 2015 Mid-Winter Dressage CDI (Calif.). They finished third in the competitive class with a 69.66 percent.

The Chronicle caught up with him to talk about his newest Grand Prix ride, why he loves surfing and what his plans are going forward.

How would you describe Zero Gravity?

He has a great temperament, maybe a little bit on the hot side, but a great temperament and very eager to please—just a very, very nice guy.

What was it like forging a partnership with him in such a short amount of time?

I was riding him a little bit when the previous rider wasn’t there and I was teaching her, so I kind of knew a lot about him, which helped. But you know, it takes a long time to build a partnership and it’s just little by little. That’s why we’re starting kind of slow and just getting our feet wet this year in the CDIs and seeing how things progress. I’m not going in with big expectations; I’m just hoping that he’s getting very confident with the Grand Prix now and little by little gets better.

How does he compare to the other Grand Prix horses you’ve competed?

They’re all very different in their own ways. He seems, in lots of ways, a little more straightforward than most of them I had before, I have to say. He is not super complicated and that’s a nice thing.

Was it a difficult transition for him to go from being Erin’s horse to yours?

I don’t think so. Erin was a great rider herself, so it’s not like some beginner was riding around on him and I had to take over. So in that aspect, it was not that hard for him.

What would you say are his greatest strengths and weaknesses?

Right now, his great strength is all his canter work is very, very strong. It goes really well. What is still green and is a little bit weak is his piaffe and passage at this point. But he’s really making big strides on that as well, so it’s all coming along.

What has been your main focus in schooling him lately?

Basically, the piaffe/passage is a big thing. A few times a week at least we work a little on the piaffe/passage. And you know, it’s the whole building up strength and stamina for a Grand Prix to stay in the collection and stay comfortable and not get nervous about things, and just building that part of him.

What’s next for Zero Gravity?

We have the two CDIs in San Juan Capistrano next, and then the big CDI [at the Del Mar National Horse Show (Calif.)].

What are your plans for him long-term?

Well, hopefully if he’s good we’ll do the trials next year for the Olympics. He should be more seasoned by then and a little stronger in all the movements.

What does it mean to you to be back in the Grand Prix ring with him?

It’s the first CDI for him, so my expectations for him weren’t that big and I think he did really, really well and the judges liked him a lot so it was good feedback from that show. It was fun to compete in the CDI there.

What has your last Grand Prix horse, Coral Reef Wylea, been doing?

She is just starting back under saddle again, probably next month. She had an injury, she was rehabbing, and she’s just getting ready to start back again. We’ll take it day by day. She’s been off quite a long time, so probably the rest of this year we’ll just kind of trying to get her back in shape.

What up-and-coming horses do you have in your barn at the moment?

I have another one I showed at the same show in the Prix St. Georges and Intermediaire I. It’s my own horse, his name is Rey Del Mundo, and he is 8 years old. He is kind of a promising small tour horse right now, starting to do Prix St. Georges and I1 for the first year now. It’s a very elegant horse to start with, so I’m excited about him. 

You’re known for your surfing hobby. Is that still something you’re pursuing?

Yes, quite a bit! I try to go as often as I can. It’s a little addictive, just like riding. When you have a good ride on a horse, it’s the same thing as when you have a good ride on a surfboard; you want it again and again. It’s a little bit the unpredictability of the waves as well as, for example, a horse is. So it’s never the same every day, it’s always something different: a new challenge. 

What else is new in your life?

That’s pretty much it. I have a lot of students who do very well. It’s fun to be busy at the shows and have students that do really well and ride myself. That’s pretty much all there is.

Overall, how would you say your season is going?

It just started for us; that was our first CDI. We had some smaller local shows, but this was really the kick-off for our season. So far so good!