Today was not a competition day, but there was so much to
watch and we got to talk to several amazing people! We watched many riders
school their horses, including Jessica von Bredow-Werndl on Unee BB, Emma
Kanerva on Sini Solina, Diederik van Silfhout on Arlando, Pierra Volla on
Badinda Altena, Michael Eilberg on Marakov, Marina Aframeeva on Voska, Inessa
Merkulova on Mister X, Beatriz Ferrer-Salat on Delgado, and Kristina Sprehe on
Desperados FRH. We really enjoyed watching each of these combinations; one of
our favorites was the very sympathetic rider Jessica von Bredow-Werndl on Unee
BB. She warmed the stallion up cantering around the ring on a long rein in half
seat, smiling and laughing the whole time. Then she did a series of short
collection work sets, with lots of walk breaks on a loose rein in between them.
Halfway through her ride, she took the stirrups off her saddle and did the rest
of the work stirrup-less, which improved her already amazing seat and really
put her in complete harmony with the horse. Unee BB looked so relaxed and
happy! They were a pleasure to watch.
Jessica von Bredow-Werndl on Unee BB (stirrupless!)
Michael Eilberg on Marakov
Marina Aframeeva on Vosk
Diederik van Silfhout on Arlando
We had the opportunity to speak to Danish FEI rider and
European Championship team member Mikala Gundersen, former US dressage team
technical advisor and FEI 5* judge Anne Gribbons, German FEI rider and youth
coach Hans-Heinrich Meyer zu Strohen, German FEI rider and French team trainer
Jan Bemelmans, and spoke more with Swedish chef d’equipe and long line master
Bo Jena. Everyone here at Aachen has been so kind and generous, passionately
and honestly answering all of our questions.
Mikala Gundersen spoke about her pre-European Championships
training schedule: she explained that the week before a show, she does not work
My Lady quite as intensely, wanting her to be physically and mentally fresh at
the competition. There is nothing that you can really change in such a short time,
so you ought to focus on keeping the horse “supple and happy.” She also talked
about how Denmark can qualify a composite team for the Olympics (since Denmark
did not place highly enough in the team competition at Aachen to qualify a team
for the Olympics that way). If Denmark has three riders ranked highly enough in
the world dressage rankings, then Denmark can choose three riders – they do not
have the be the top ranked riders, but most likely they will be – to go to the
Olympics and they then become a team.
Anne Gribbons, one of the judges here at Aachen, spoke about
the super quality of the horses and riders in the competition. She also
explained how difficult judging is, especially judging certain movements from
certain angles (for example, it is very hard to see if tempi changes are
completely through behind if the judge is sitting at “F” and the changes are
coming on the diagonal straight at her). She discussed the importance of
fairness as well: she explained that a judge should not even see the breed of a
horse, only the quality and accuracy of the gaits and movements. Finally, she
told us about some amazing places that she has judged, such as Achleiten in
Austria, which is in the Swiss Alps and she described it as looking just like The Sound of Music.
Hans-Heinrich Meyer zu Strohen talked about what is takes to
be a really top rider. He strongly emphasized the importance of having a superb
quality seat. The first time he saw Jessica von Bredow-Werndl, the first thing
he noticed was her amazing seat. He felt that a rider also must have a really
good feel, both for himself and his horse. A rider has to spend time in the
stable with his horse and learn all about and appreciate him. A rider’s trainer
is very important too: the trainer must be very honest with you and tough on
you, but at the same time supportive and willing to answer questions. He felt
that a horse must enjoy its work, and that judges can tell when a horse has a
happy expression and reward it. The key is knowing when you need to make the
work fun and knowing when you have to be a little tougher and ask more from
your horse.
L to R: Rosie Julian-Simoes, Sadie Lahey, Anne Gribbons, Hans-Heinrich Meyer zu Strohen, Charlotte Bredahl, Annie Morris, Jennifer Foulon, Sarah Cohen
Jan Bemelmans told us the story of the chestnut mare Badinda
Altena, one of the horses on the French European Championship team here that we
absolutely adored. Her rider, Pierre Volla, had been a jumper rider and had
bought her when she was 2 or 3 years old. She was not easy as a young horse:
unbelievably hot and explosive. Learning the flying changes was difficult for
her. However, once she started working on the piaffe and passage, everyone
really began to see the potential in the horse. She did her first Grand Prix
test ever just this year, and now will be competing in the Grand Prix Special
tomorrow (the top 30 out of the 72 combinations competing in the Grand Prix
qualified for the Grand Prix Special). He noted that sometimes the horses that
are difficult as youngsters turn out to be the best horses for the Grand Prix.
He also talked about how he prepared the French team for the European
Championships. One week before having to be at Aachen, the team came to
Germany. They trained for two days, then on the third day they ran through the
Grand Prix test. Then they spent the remaining days working on any issues that
had arisen during the test. Once at Aachen, they kept the work light and easy,
so the horses would be fresh for the tests. Like Hans-Heinrich Meyer zu Strohen,
he emphasized the importance of a good seat, and explained that riding bareback
is an excellent way to feel the muscles of the horse and develop a good
understanding for his mechanics. He suggested riding on the lunge line and
without stirrups and reins as well. We also discussed how to bring a horse and
rider from small tour level to big tour level, and he told us to remember that
you get points with big movement from the horse in the Prix St Georges but that
you get points with quick movement from the horse in the Grand Prix.
L to R: Sadie Lahey, Rosie Julian-Simoes (bottom), Sarah Cohen, Jan Bemelmans, Jennifer Foulon, Annie Morris
It is getting quite late here in Germany, so I will compile yesterday and today's notes from Bo Jena and post them another time. We had a wonderful time talking to him as we watched a little bit of the cross country today! Thank you so much to Mikala, Anne, Hans-Heinrich, Jan, and Bo for spending so much time with us today!! We are all so inspired!
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