P O
ublisher’s Welcome
Tose Little Gems
ne of the advantages I have living in Florida, besides eight months a year of glorious weather, is that shows and events in all the disciplines are held throughout the sunshine state during the winter season. During that time, on any given weekend I can trek a reasonable distance to watch top trainers and riders compete. Even the popular Live Oak International combined driving
competition is only an hour away. In January, one of my treks took me to our continent’s first annual Global Dressage Forum held in West Palm Beach. With almost
a thousand attendees, it was fun to spot dressage’s “who’s who” throughout the two days. Te program immersed us in the latest trends from shoeing to biomechanics to breeding and training methods. My head was spinning pirouettes by the time I leſt. We were indulged with speakers, panelists, elite trainers and demonstration riders on—of course—exquisite Warmbloods. Some were imports and others American-bred, I’m happy to report. In this issue’s column I thought I would share some of the ‘little gems’ that I took away from the forum.
Dr. Juan Samper of Vancouver, author and an expert in breeding: • Just because she’s a maiden mare with a great performance record doesn’t mean she’s fertile. • In embryo transfer, the temperament of your recipient mare is very important—after all, she’s the one imprinting the foal. • “Breed the best to the best and hope for the best.”
Steffen Peters, Olympian and top trainer from California: • “It’s all about the contact.” Problems in the contact are not always due to lack of strength and engagement of the hindquarters. Te most productive, adjustable frame needs to be found; you don’t always need to move more forward to the bit.
• Do we have the horse’s attention? Engage the horse’s brain as well as his hindquarters. • Steffen quotes his father: “Discipline is the bridge between dreams and accomplishments.” • He trains as he competes and competes as he trains. In other words, he doesn’t expect more from his horse at the show than at home.
Dr. Grant Moon, expert farrier: • The heel of the coffin bone can’t be too low; it must be a positive angle of 3 – 5 degrees (not parallel to the ground). • Heels that are too high make the horse’s back hollow.
Arthur Kottas, retired head trainer of Vienna’s famed Spanish Riding School, who demonstrated piaffe in-hand: • Take your time, but don’t waste your time. • The horse must be totally relaxed. • When asked if he warms up the horse before he starts his piaffe work in-hand, his response was only if the horse is “fresh” will he lunge a little bit. However this work can be the warm-up before you ride.
Rudolf Zeilinger, German trainer who coaches the Danish dressage team: • The four-, five- and six-year-old young horse classes are very demanding and not every horse can do them. It’s the responsibility of the trainer to determine if a young horse is capable.
Other presenters included: Dr. Hilary Clayton, who discussed why the suspensory ligament is the number one injury in dressage horses; Stefan Stammer, an equine osteopath and physiotherapist from Germany, who gave a fascinating presentation of
Continues ☛
Our Mission: Warmbloods Today is the leading magazine in North America focused on the entire spectrum of Warmblood breeds. It’s a place where people from all aspects of the sport horse community can come together: amateurs, owners, trainers and breeders. Each issue contains interesting, informative and often heart-warming stories of peoples’ experiences with their horses, along with thought- provoking opinions from various professionals and amateurs. We cover all horses from European descent bred for the sports of jumping, dressage, eventing and driving including the Iberian breeds and American Warmbloods.
12 March/April 2013
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