Classical Dressage Art in Motion

Politics rage on as usual apparently. I cannot believe that Princess Haya was endorsed as FEI President given her connection through her husband ( Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum) who was marked at the center of the endurance racing scandal. The stories of horse deaths and blatant rule breaking have rightfully highlighted the equestrian world to a much larger audience and here we are, as protectors of the horse or so we claim, allowing this endorsement to happen. Although let's face it, the FEI never seem to take much notice of what the competitor thinks. The meeting of course includes very few actual riders or competitors although at the recent meeting Ludger Beerbaum was present and brought up several good points about warm up footing and the star rating system of Event Classification. Poor old Rolex, banished in favor of Longines does not even warrant a mention for all their sponsorship of the European World Cup in the past. Not smart is it? A sponsor like Rolex who h...

As many of you know our small breeding operation at Willowview Hill Farm based now in Stamford, New York and for some years also duplicated in the U.K.,  has produced some super horses since 1993. It's hard to believe that we've been at this that long. As Spring 2014 is now on the horizon it is with renewed excitement we begin more youngsters under saddle. It is a labor or love from inception design, conception through the 11 month pregnancy, then birth and and imprint training. So after all that daily handling and lesson teaching in hand it is finally time this Spring for us to start up three fillies and introduce them to work under saddle. We are very excited! Gambol's Middernacht at 3 years old, with her 'Tina Turner" hair All three fillies are sired by Gambol. With KWPN ( GOV and others too) approval and strong Dutch warmblood genetics, Gambol himself was competed on the world stage by Canadian Ashley Holzer. His babies here have all inherited his exce...

Sometimes you feel the need to stand up on your soap box and this is one of them. I may not be at Hyde Park Corner in London, but I do think this message can still garner an interested audience of dressage aficionados if not the common man. We can talk about offering classical dressage training. We can talk about competitive sporthorse dressage training and discuss German versus French until the cows come home. But really folks. If you study the classics, you will find Baucher , Fillis , Steinbrecht, L'Hotte , DeCarpentry and so many others already expounded on everything you see today. No - not seeing the Duke of Newcastle included ( God forbid we should mention the British having anything to do with it, though the latest successes of the Brits Carl Hester , Laura Bechtolsheimer and Charlotte DuJardin etc. might make you wonder). Are the great riders of today such as Kyra Kyrklund influenced more by Nuno Oliveria , Brenderup or Alois Podhasky or none of the above? Aren...

Here's your horse. Here's your groom. All the gear you need is neatly packed and organized. All you have to do is show up. Well - not quite. Riding and competing in Europe with my Swiss coach and her elite team from her private yard has been a blast. There have been many ups and downs over the years for sure. Mostly ups. I'm not going to focus on the time my groom forgot my entire wardrobe trunk, or the time my horses arrived just 40 minutes before my first class ( actually I will later), or the time the airline somehow managed to lose one of two boots that were packed in the same boot bag ( most useful one boot), or me running flat-out through the terminal in riding boots and breeches carrying a shadbelly (that, thankfully, only happened once). Not the most comfortable footwear to travel in. But I did make the gate. Travel between European countries is easy enough but driving takes a lot of time due to the traffic and travel from the USA to Europe is expensive. I alway...

I recently attended an FEI Clinic in Westchester, New York, along with about 35 others, where my coach Greta Kemmer was holding a 'Fix Your Ride' style dressage event that was very well received and lots of fun. Greta lives in Switzerland and grew up as part of a large equestrian family in Germany before she married. At the end of the clinic there was a wrap up party and it was great to hear the lively discussion that came up about the wide divide in sponsorship between Europe and the U.S.A. and how it could be improved on this side of the pond. While there are often much bigger purses to be won in Europe and dressage events are well attended by folks from all walks of life, in the U.S.A. the purses have been improving. The attendance sadly however, not so much. Take the events in the Wellington 'fish bowl this winter season. Robert Dover was remarking that the turn out in the stands was very disappointing and worried that sponsors would disappear as a result. A very real...

The fun to do, fun to train, dressage flying change is truly like dancing with your horse. Unfortunately all too often issues arise during training that make them less than perfect. Major issues which are very common include swinging of the hindquarters ( which will cause lots of issues with tempi changes so be warned), changes that are late behind, swishing tails during the change, changes that are not forward, where the croup is high and the horse shows stiffness behind. In the latter event the horse will cover very little ground as he is not 'flying' through the change. Other issues that occur in training are running off after the change, bucking, coming above the bridle and the riders hand. Do not despair! There is some discussion as to which leg should push hardest during the change and to whether there should be a lightening of the seat during the movement. From my experience and training, lightening the seat is to be avoided. Stay straight, do not collapse a hip and ...

Well it's been a mad time dashing about downstate to ride some of the Willowview Hill International 2012 Elite Collection and I have had plenty of time not just riding but watching to think about what kinds of problems folks have training flying changes. One of the mares in the collection is a Rohdiamont/Donnerhall Prix St George horse and sitting on her changes were to die for. I can't claim to have put the flying changes in to this particular horse but I can tell you from years of training including from the mare's trainer and mine, Greta Kemmer, that when a horse is properly trained I sure know it. I think flying changes are one of my favorite things of all to do and there is nothing to compare to the joy of having your horse succeed in passing this test of canter quality with flying colors. Do you have trouble with flying changes? Don't despair. Here's a few hints to get you on the right track ( pardon the pun). The quality of any movement in dressage is alw...