Day 9: Schafhof, Matthias, and Totilas!!

(Left to right:  Nicole DelGiorno, Jaclyn Pepper, Matthias Rath, Jenna Detandt, Catherine Chamberlain)

Today was bittersweet. It was our last day of the Olympic Dream Program, but it sure was an amazing day! We pulled up to the gates of Schaffhof around 9:30 a.m. and it was like a dream. Then we were greeted by a very nice lady who said “This way, Matthias and Totilas are waiting for you.”  Those words made our trip without a doubt! It was incredible! The grounds, gardens, and barns were absolutely stunning! We could hardly believe we were actually there! She took us through the spectacular barn to the indoor arena where we met Matthias. He was very kind and asked us how our trip had been and who all we visited.

After all the introductions had been made, he told us a little bit about the horse that were being worked. Then we watched him ride a young mare. After watching him for a few minutes, there was no question about what a phenomenal rider he is. Everything that he did was very quiet and it was nearly impossible to see his aids. For the next horse, we went to the outside ring which was gorgeous. We sat at an old stone table by “C”. The horse’s name was “Bretton Woods”, a very well known stallion. To say that the gorgeous 7-year-old stallion was a little hot would be a bit of an understatement. It was very interesting to watch how Matthias rode through it. He was always very fair, and never over corrected Bretton Woods. Several times the stallion tried to spook and run away, but Matthias was right there with him and kept the stallion together. He never made a big deal out of it; he just gave the horse a firm kick and told him to get over it.

We had the opportunity to watch several other riders that morning, including Anne-Kathrin Linsenhoff who is an Olympic Gold Medalist. She is such a lovely rider, and you can see the partnership she has with her horses. In fact, all of the riders at Schafhof were exceptional. They were extremely quiet riders, and yet still very effective. The horses went through their workouts with ease. However, they were not at all robotic, they were still horses and it was fun to see each of their individual personalities.

Matthias spent a lot of time warming the horse up in a low frame. He would keep the horse slightly behind the vertical, for obvious submission reasons. However, the horse wasn’t restricted in the neck or cranked up. The back was always swinging and the neck was always forward. It was very apparent that the horse was being ridden over the back. Then, when the stallion began to stretch even more to the bit, he would bring him a little in front of the vertical. Matthias explained that the stallion had been shown in a lot of stallion shows before his family bought him. He said that how the stallions are trained for that is very different from how dressage horses should be train. In the stallion shows, the horses are expected to go around the ring with a very high frame, and that their gaits are pushed to the maximum. This creates a lot of stiffness in the back of the horse, and also teaches them to lean on the rider.

Then Matthias gave us a tour of Schafhof. It certainly was one of the most impressive places that I have ever been to. Somewhere around 50 horses are on the farm, with approximately 30 horses being under saddle. The other horses are broodmares, foals or retired horses. It was incredible to see all of the history his family has in dressage.

 After we had watched most of the horses work, Klaus Martin and Ann-Katrin were kind enough to ask if we had anything we wanted to know. I asked Klaus Martin if he had any advice to give to us as young riders about what our focus should be—what we should remember as we continue in our dressage training. He replied that he believed that there were many answers, but that he really believed it was important to learn how to tune into every horse that you have the opportunity to work with. He said that it was a very important characteristic that you must have as a rider.

Since the purpose behind this trip was to go and observe training in one of the best dressage countries, I thought it would be informative to get Ann-Kathrin’s summery of why Germany is so successful in dressage. She said that her belief is that the tradition is strong in Germany, but there is also a strong commitment to proper training and teaching. Another quality that she believes makes Germany so successful is the German mindset which hold a very high standard in everything that they do.

The best was saved for last, and we were finally able to meet Totilas! He is so gorgeous and so well behaved! It was a dream come true to stand next to him, none of us wanted to leave. After a couple of pictures, we said our goodbyes to one of the greatest dressage horses of all time! Matthias was kind enough to give us each a Totilas fan shirt. Mine says “Totilas My No. 1!” 

Day 8: Wolfram Wittig

We arrived at Wolfram Wittig’s stable early Monday morning at 7 a.m. The grounds and barns were absolutely beautiful. We were greeted by Mr. Wittig who was very kind. First, he showed us his famous stallion Breitling, who is 21-years old and still in great shape. Then we walked over to the field where some 3-year-old stallions were turned out. It was great to see how Wolfram is not only a great trainer, but also very knowledgeable about producing quality horses. After words, Wolfram showed us to the outside ring where his wife Brigitte was schooling a horse. At their farm they keep an average of 40 horses, and out of those only a maximum of 12 belong to clients.

The horse that Wolfram rode was a 10-year-old stallion named Bertoli. Although Bertoli is an amazing Grand Prix horse, today he didn’t do too many upper level movements. He focused on getting the horse to be supple and stretch over its back. Wolfram also spent a lot of time in the walk, especially in the warm up. He spent fifteen minutes in the walk stretching the horse down. He worked there patiently until the horse was stretching easily. Wolfram explained that the walk is the most important gate to ride well. Since it counts for double and can cost you to lose two to three percentage points. He said that making sure the walk was good was so important to him that sometimes he will spend almost the entire training session on the walk.  Then Wolfram continued the stretching work into the trot and canter. He allowed the

In the warm up, Wolfram didn’t push the horse’s rhythm in the walk. To get Bertoli to open his stride in the extended walk, he adjusted the walk by collecting and then allowing him to take longer steps. He stated that for a walk to be good, the horse must have three things: Relaxation, good rhythm, and a good attitude. He was very insistent that the both horse and rider should be happy when training. 

When asked for any tips on handling stallions, Wolfram gave some helpful things to keep in mind. First, he said that it was critical not to let too many people handle a stallion. His reasoning for this was that when a lot of people handle a stallion, there is a higher chance of the horse developing bad habits. He said that stallions always test their handlers, and if too many people handle them, they get into the habit of “testing” everyone all the time. Secondly, Wolfram emphasized the importance of education stallions and being very clear with your aids. Third, he said to be sure not to pick at a stallion too much and never punish a stallion a lot because this will eventually encourage them to fight back. “It is better to make a strong correction and leave them alone”, said Wolfram.

If the stallion has already developed serious problems, he said that it can be very difficult to fix and that it should be handled by an experienced stallion trainer. The first step is to figure out where the problem is coming from and make appropriate changes in how that horse is being handled. Another thing Wolfram stressed was the importance of treating stallions like normal horses as much as possible. He said that if they are always isolated from the other horses, they will eventually become even more difficult to handle. It is better to keep them around other horses as much as possible, but always have safety in mind.

Wolfram stated over and over again how important it is not to try and control every single thing that the horse does. “They are animals, not soldiers.” When he was riding, the horse kicked out a little, but he didn’t punish him. He said that the horse was feeling good, and they shouldn’t be punished for that. However, the horse should always be under control.

It was wonderful getting to meet this amazing trainer, and it was very interesting to see his training philosophy in action! Before we said goodbye, Wolfram gave us some great words of wisdom. “Dressage isn’t about miracles. Its hard work, every day. Success is easy. Reproducing success year after year is difficult. But most important, we should never for get to enjoy life with our horses.”

Day 6th at the Balkenhols!

 We left Verden bright and early at 6:30 a.m to make the two hour drive to the city of Rosendahl, where Klaus Balkenhol’s stable is located. 

We arrived around 9:00 a.m. and were greeted by Klaus and his wife, Judith. Mr. Balkenhol showed us around his beautiful barn and took us out to see the 3-year old horses that had been turned out together 

in the field. He explained that when their horses are three, they are broke to ride and live in the barn, but they still go out together in the field for a couple hours a day. 

Klaus emphasized how important it was to keep the horses happy and not to stress them too much mentally or physically while they are young. Then we went over to the barn where the older horses were stabled and introduced to every horse.  

This is where we met Anabel Balkenhol’s Olympic mount, Dablino! You could tell that he was a bit overwhelmed by all of us when we first walked up to the cross ties, but he warmed up quickly after a couple sugar cubes!

Judith showed us to the indoor arena where there were three horses being schooled: a stallion, a 4-year-old gelding, and an 8-year-old gelding that was returning to work. Klaus started the rider, Sarah Rogers, on the lunge for about five minutes to make sure that the horse was settled. While watching these three very different horses go, it was obvious that they were very classically trained in dressage. In the warm up, they were quietly ridden around the ring and were very relaxed, straight, and rhythmic. 

They were encouraged to stretch down and over their backs throughout the warm up, and they remained the same in balance and rhythm. They were also given a lot of walk breaks compared to all the other trainers we observed on our trip. Judith Balkenhol explained that “walk breaks keep the muscles from getting too tired, which prevents injuries.” Klaus said he likes to approach each training day in the way that he goes throughout his own day. In the beginning he needs time to loosen up and plan what he needs to do, then he works, and then towards the end of the day he needs to slow down and relax. In the same way, horses need to be allowed to “wake up” before going to work. Then after work, it is just as important to let them unwind at the end so that they are happy to return to work the next day.

On average, the Balkenhol stable has around twenty horses in training. On a regular working day, the horses are ridden in the morning and then hacked out later in the afternoon briefly. Saturday is an easy day, horses only train for half an hour or so in the morning and are hand walked in the afternoon. The horses have Sunday off and are only hand walked.

While watching those first three horses being trained, Klaus told us to observe each of the young horses. He pointed out how each of them were supple and straight. He stressed the importance of training horses according to the training scale. Another thing that Klaus took a lot of time to talk about was the walk.  “It is really important that the walk is always four beats”, Klaus said. It is so important that the horse learns to remain pure in this gait that Klaus has all of his young horses only walked on a long rein for the first three to four months of training.  Over and over again, Mr. Balkenhol stated that the walk was the most difficult gait to ride correctly.  It is crucial to learn how not to disrupt the horses’ natural gait because the walk is very important since you can feel if the horse is truly stretching through to the bit or not.

All of the horses were ridden straight and correct. Klaus explained that when suppling the horse, you can always play and move the bit. But the bit should only move millimeters in the horse’s mouth—that’s all it should take. As Klaus was instructing Sarah on the horse that she was showing tomorrow, he told her to “give rein” on the circle in the canter. “This is where you test if you have the horse on your seat. If when he stretches, that he stays balanced.”  This is so important because from the beginning the horse must learn to go to the bit, and the rider should never have to pull back. Then, after about 20 minutes, Klaus got on Sarah’s horse and we got to see the master at work! It was impressive to say the least! 

When watching Klaus ride, there was never any restricting of the horses’ neck. He didn’t make the horse hot by asking it to be extravagant. Instead, he asked the horse to be relaxed, supple and through its back, and then the horse seemed to dance.  Mr. Balkenhol stated that “when things get difficult, it is better to walk, and then start again new.” If you were to observe the training at Balkenhol’s you would not see anyone drilling movements. Everything is quite, relaxed, and methodical.

We also got to watch Belli, (Anabel) ride a couple horses today as well, including a fancy stallion that she is showing tomorrow. She is a beautiful rider and has a lovely upper body position all the time. 

It was very interesting getting to meet her and to hear about the Olympics. She talked a lot about what goes on behind the scenes at big shows with so many high profile riders. She also talked about the spirit of everyone at the games, and said that the American team always has the best team spirit and wonderful attitudes. Before leaving, Klaus was kind enough to take a picture with him by his wife’s beautiful garden. He even signed my copy of his book! It says “Best regards, Have Fun, Good Luck!”

Sarah was kind enough to show us the way to the show grounds where we spent the rest of the afternoon watching some amazing horses! It was terrific! That night we meet with the Balkenhol’s again and had dinner at our hotel! Their family is so kind and down to earth. It was very nice to get to spend so much time with them and hear their stories! What an amazing day it was!

Day 5!

Day 5 we spent a second day Denmark! We arrived at Morton and Sarah’s barn, Dressage Arvé, at 9a.m. where we had the opportunity to watch several horses being trained. It really is incredible to be able to watch several horses going at one time, all ranging in their level of training. When we first arrived, Morten was training a Grand Prix gelding that was sent to him to confirm the piaffe. The horse had just arrived at Dressage Arvé the day before, so Morten kept things simple, riding forward and stretching the horse down towards the bit. When he put the horse together, he continued to ride forward. When he came to the piaffe, he didn’t drill anything, just simply rode very forward half steps.

The next horse was a Grand Prix Andalusian stallion that definitely had talent for the piaffe and Spanish walk! It was incredible! Then the highlight of the day came when Sarah allowed us all to do a little bit of in hand work with a couple of 4-year-olds!! It was so great to get a mini lesson on this specialized type of training. She kept it really simple, letting us feel the timing for asking the horse to lift its leg.

§  First, she had us touch the horse’s fetlock lightly with the bamboo stick. As soon as he lifted his leg, we clucked. It was important to time the cluck right, because if you cluck too early while the leg is still on the ground, the horse will become confused. Only when the leg is in the air, and the horse hears the cluck, will he then associate the cluck with lifting his leg.

§  Second, she had us ask the horse to lift and hold the leg until we took the stick away. If the horse kicked out, we kept the stick near the fetlock until he continued to lift his leg. When he held it, he was praised. At first, it doesn’t matter if a young horse holds the leg behind. But the goal should be to get him to lift the leg and hold it underneath his body.

§  Third, we moved to the front legs and repeated the same methond. First to lift, then asking to hold.

§    Fourth, she had us ask the horse to walk forward and lift the inside hind leg higher ever 2^nd stride. We did this until we were able to get the timing down. Then we asked the horse to lift the inside hind every stride. The timing is tricky, and you must be quick and accurate in order not to confuse or aggravate the horse.

§  Then next step was to ask the horse to halt, and from there quickly switch back and forth from one hind leg to the other. Once that was consistent, the horse is ready to move onto the next step.

§    Finally, the horse is ready to play around with some half steps now that he understands some aids. By tapping the hind leg lightly in time with the half step rhythm and clucking, you let the horse go a little forward until he begins to offer a few half steps. As soon as he does, he is praised and allowed to walk forward normally. This is continued in short sets at a time, and never forced if the horse becomes too nervous. It is also important that the horse does not lean on the bit and pull against the handler. Sarah said that if this happens, stop, and back the horse up.

   

   Around lunch time we said goodbye to our friends in Denmark and headed back to Germany to attend a Foal Auction in Verden. We arrived at 7p.m. and were blown away by the enthusiastic crowd. The auction workers were extremely good. The ran beside the mare, keeping the foal on the inside so that it was always visible. Boy, were they cute! Super fancy too! We all     joked about sitting on our hands that way we didn’t have to make room for a foal in the van! The auction was a blast! The atmosphere was so much fun, and we got to observe some of the sport’s highest quality breeding. 

DeNiro colt that sold for 48,000 euros

 The highlight of the evening was getting to see the last foal of the night being bid on. There was something obviously very special about this little colt, because everyone started battling over him! Within 10 seconds, the bids had gone over 10,000 euros! That continued until the price got up to 48,000 euros—which is $57,600 American dollars!! It was insane! The little colt was an exceptional mover, but what was really special was that his father has sired the most Grand Prix horses today. His dam line was pretty impressive as well, with Rubenstien bloodlines. 

What a way to end a terrific day! Day 5 of the Olympic Dream Program was awesome!