Michael Schumacher’s daughter has spoken out in her first ever TV interview – revealing a host of happy memories with her superstar F1 driver dad.
Gina-Marie, 21, spoke to German broadcaster NDR, for a programme called Horse Adventures, about her love of riding.
In the feature – which aired tonight at 8pm UK time – she reveals how she was inspired to pursue a career with horses by a trip the racetrack with her father.
‘I went go-karting for a season with my dad, but I preferred the horses,’ Gina-Maria admits.
Gina-Maria Schumacher receiving an Audi Generation Award in 2017 for her western riding skills
Michael Schumacher, 49, is the most successful F1 driver of all time having won a total of seven championships
Since her initial exposure to riding, the daughter of seven-time Formula One world champion has achieved a great deal of success in the sport of Western Riding.
Last year she won gold at the World Championships for junior riders in Western riding.
Speaking on her love of equestrian sports, she said: ‘Horses are so calm and relaxed.
‘I train every day and it’s always a pleasure. Of course you need a lot of patience and sometimes I wonder: ‘why am I doing this?’
‘But the horses give me everything, they are worth it, for them it is not difficult for me to be disciplined, I love what I do.’
The superstar driver suffered catastrophic injuries while skiing with son Mick in the French resort of Meribel in 2013
Schumacher, the most successful F1 driver of all time, suffered catastrophic injuries after a skiing accident in the French Alps in 2013.
Since then, the 49-year-old has been cared for at his family home near Lake Geneva in Switzerland where he continues to recover from the horror accident.
Details of his condition are a closely-guarded secret with family members – including son Mick, 18, under strict orders not to speak about their father to the press.
In a rare social media post last year, Gina-Maria wrote an inspirational message to fans to keep the hope of his recovery alive.
She posted a serene picture of a lake that she snapped from the saddle
Her message on social media read: ‘There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved #keepfighting.’