The horse is a partner in my riding. In riding our partnership finds a wonderful form of expressing our communication with each other.
Horses do not have to ‘function’ !
I do seek to shape our activities together in such a way that there is space for each individual horse to shine. Riding should make each horse stronger, more poised, and therefore more reliable and safe. Good communication between horse and rider is not only a pre-requisite but also an expression of what I consider good riding.
I myself grew up in a completely non-horsey family. And yet the love for these wonderful animals was there at an early age. My beginnings in riding were lessons I paid for with money I earned with odd jobs as a teenager – once a week on stiff school-horses who definitely did not really have a solid basic education. This was not a harmonious beginning, but it did not keep me from searching further.
During my time in Oregon, USA (graduate studies then teaching at university) I had the opportunity to work with a range of different horses: from Arabs to Mustangs to TBs from the racetrack – getting them started under saddle and rehab work. There I found what still is my home base in my riding: classical dressage. For quite a few years – first in the US, then back in Germany I studied with Dr. Thomas Ritter. I continue on with my education with trainers from other schools of classical dressage, most recently coming from the Portuguese classical tradition.
The schools within classical dressage gift us with an incredibly big wealth of knowledge and understanding – grown in the context of different cultures and in the work with very different types of horses.
Nach langer Zeit des nebenberuflichen Unterrichtens sind es mittlerweile auch wieder viele Jahre, in denen ich mich ausschließlich als Ausbilderin in klassischer Dressur engagiere. Dadurch bin ich mit einer riesigen Bandbreite an Pferderassen vertraut.
With many years of experience in training and teaching horses and riders I get to live pursuing what is the most heartfelt matter for me: to support my students in creating and developing a harmonious partnership. Together we do find individual paths for each horse/rider combination.