Riding is the dialogue between two bodies and two souls, which aims to create harmony between them.
(Waldemar Seunig)
About me & my philosophy
I could list here many more quotations from famous old riding masters, which describe why they and I fell for the fascination and great love "horse".
I consider myself very lucky to have been able to gain intensive experience with a wide variety of horses over the last 25 years.
Initially, my experience was mainly in the FEI and competition sport world, relatively ambitious in dressage up to M-level.
In my early twenties, the difficult "dialogues" with my Hanoverian half-blood gelding Philippo weighed more and more on me and I came to the limits of the modern training system.
At first I took a break of several years as I did not want to continue my previous riding.
Far away from the hustle and bustle of competition, via Natural Horsemanship and circus & liberty work during my pregnancy, I finally got to the valuable work in hand and thus also to "the classical art of riding"... a term which is difficult to grasp, since it has evolved from several different schools and influences over centuries.
Firstly, the term seems to mean that it is a kind of "art" and that it is different from "modern cavalry".
My admiration for classical horsemanship is primarily due to the fact that it has given me a different access to the horse.
The love for horses has always been there but my earlier training was often strongly based on obedience and success and very little based on respect, understanding, true knowledge of the psyche and physicality of the horse, motivation, trust, mutual exchange and real joy.
The mentioned aspects are nowadays among others the cornerstones of my way of training horses.
After attending various courses and searching for a classical trainer suitable for me for almost an entire year, I have come to the following conclusions:
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The true master is always under the saddle. My deepest gratitude goes to my greatest teacher Philippo and all the other horses from and with whom I may continue to learn.
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I read as much as I can the teachings of various old and modern riding masters and riding schools. These are the best theoretical studies and they represent different opinions. This is exactly why the term "classical horsemanship" is rather difficult to define, as it is influenced by different currents and traditions. Nowadays most of them have in common the orientation towards the nature of the horse and mostly also the deep respect for the horse as a being.
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As is well known, one life is not enough to really learn to ride. Therefore I am continuously in training, since 2017 with Manuel Jorge de Oliveira and his team. I also had the opportunity to do a 3-months part-time internship on site during which I learned a lot and in autumn 2019 I had the honour to visit Manuel and his horses in Portugal. Manuel is an excellent mentor who has trained countless horses and riders throughout his life, including some of the most renowned classical trainers in Germany. I am very happy to be able to draw from his wealth of experience and thank him from the bottom of my heart!
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Finally, I think that the open exchange of different currents is important for the well-being of the horses and that it is important to spread the classical teachings more widely again. Therefore, I would also like to continuously improve and share my knowledge and experience.