AEA Dressage with the Stars 1999

Report by Berni Saunders

Pictures by Dolly Van Zaane

     MASTER CLASS with Michael Klimke

First to go was Victorian rider Rebecca Fenner, she rode the lovely three year old FANTASTIK. Michael emphasised the need to teach a young horse to accept EVEN reins - "First you must build up his confidence, without tension, he must be relaxed through the back... soft and relaxed into BOTH reins"  Michael suggested to Rebecca that he would consider it correct to ride this horse 3 - 4 times a week and for just 30 minutes or so. 

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Queensland rider Bennet Conn rode next on the gorgeous six year old imported warmblood gelding Amachiar.   Michael started the lesson by asking Ben "why do you carry a whip"? and took the whip away.  He then emphasised that the rider must support the horse with the leg and then he must educate the horse forward.
To do this Michael said "Transitions are best - the horse MUST go alone, you must do many transitions to teach the horse to carry weight... go forward 2-3 steps at walk (no more),  and then trot"  Michael stressed that the horse must TRUST the rider. Michael suggested that this horse needed gymnastic work and that the rider must try to do as little as possible.  "Pat your horse".
Michael told Ben that he must ensure that he has a secure OUTSIDE rein in the shoulder-in and that he must use the corners to establish bend. Be careful not to allow the shoulder-in to become leg yielding, as this exercise does not develop the horse gymnastically".
Amachiar went on to show some lovely canter work  which showed improvement.
Michael left Bennet with that very meaningful dressage saying Less is More, and I am sure that this would help Ben put into perspective the daily training routine, with this obviously 'hot' horse, Amachiar.

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Looking none the worse for their Bass Strait adventure was the next combination - Judy Peel riding the lovely Solo ll (dec.) gelding Birribi Sprout.  I have not seen this horse for two years and I saw a big change in his frame, self carriage and confidence.  After a warm up emphasising 'throughness' and rhythm, Michael helped Judy with the half steps.  "Think of rising trot, lift him with your body,  do not do too much or he will become uneven.  Do not make this work too long, use seat so horse becomes engaged... pat, walk break".   Then came the canter work, Michael said "when you feel you lose the canter rhythm... push forward".
"Patience, not too much" , was the message regarding the changes,   "try to keep a nice uphill canter".  Birribi Sprout showed some lovely sequence changes, and with the help of Michael's tactful way produced some very pleasing one times.  Judy would have been delighted.

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Former Tasmanian (now residing in Victoria) Kate Boyes on her impressive Cleveland Bay - Octavius of Neika, were next to go,  Michael asked Kate to "be careful with the bit" - as, "with this sort of mouth problem you need to take more snaffle - also look for back problems".  Michael also thought this horse should go more 'on his own'.  Michael Klimke sought the opinion of Harry Boldt when it came to the horse's canter pirouettes, and when the rider was able to improve the quality of collection, the improvement in the pirouette also came.  I thought it very interesting that both Michael Klimke and Harry Boldt identified, too much collection - "he sits too much" and this makes the pirouette more difficult.   I thought there was an improvement when the horse flowed more forward, and Kate would have valued this insight about the priorities of taking her PSG Inter 1 horse successfully on to the next step.

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Charlotte Stibbard - Macedon based Danish Instructor rode her very talented Nostalgic.  Michael Klimke rode the horse and observed that Nostalgic is a "tense horse, but do not force work... allow it to come".   "Calm and try again"  Michael reassured Charlotte that, "although this is a hot horse, you can take advantage of his temperament".   He showed us some really great half steps and enthused about the horse's talent.   "After this work" said Michael,  "do some free and relaxing work to allow him to go to the stables with loose muscles".    Michael assessed this horse very well, and I have never seen Nostalgic look so good.  I am sure that Charlotte would have been enormously proud of the progress that she has made with her 'reactionary' steed. (Charlotte broke her ankle earlier this year when Nostalgic got a fright ... but, as most experienced dressage riders acknowledge, it is often this nature that gives us the 'superstars'!)

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Last, but most certainly not least, was Victorian rising star, Emma Youngman on the sensational imported Swedish warmblood stallion, Rasputin.  Michael introduced Emma's boy as a,  "really lovely horse, with no limits... nice swinging back"  "Keep your hands down" Emma was urged,  "when the judges see the hand go up - they know that something is wrong"  (I thought ...I MUST remember that!!). Michael rode Rasputin, and again expressed his wish to see this horse "go alone".  He said, "I need to push too hard, the horse needs to go better from my leg".  Emma was told that she should try to develop his sensitivity and perhaps to concentrate more on basic work.  Michael observed that Rasputin is a horse that has an ability to 'carry weight',  but sometimes he comes TOO much with hindlegs, and drifts.  So, "prepare by going forward, back, forward, from the seat - in shoulder-in position, do not collect him too much, just turn, then forward".
"Be careful to maintain the canter rhythm, when performing figures in canter". 
At the end of Rasputon's session, Michael Klimke asked Harry Boldt to comment, and he  complemented Emma on a "lovely demonstration"  Harry's tip to Emma...  "You don't need long spurs and whips" 

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In Summary:  Michael Klimke's Master Class was a very special experience and I am sure truly memorable for the riders who were fortunate enough to participate.  It was obvious that Michael had worked with the horses for a few days prior to today's session as he had an excellent understanding of each horse and rider combination along with their strengths and weaknesses.  I observed a very 'focused' teaching style with an expectation that the riders had the same commitment to seek perfection and harmony.

Throughout all of the lessons, Michael Klimke urged the riders to recognise and acknowledge good work ... "pat the horse , walk, relax and calm the horse" were phrases very often used.

Many Australian have the idea that the German rider/instructor is uncompromising and very tough!  However, the approach that Michael Klimke recommended throughout his instruction was "do not try to force",  "teach the horse to go alone" "support him with the legs" "do not pull. let go of the reins" "more is less" and lots of reward, relax and calm.

Michael made these very simple training principles seem very easy, and for most of us doing less and allowing our horse to "go alone" is not so simple. Both he and Harry Boldt were concerned that riders did not push their horses too quickly and it was clear that they considered that several of the horses were suffering tension related problems caused by excessive rider ambition.

It is clear to me that we need to have more people of the calibre of Michael Klimke come here and show us how we can improve, for without more and better instructors with the wonderful depth of knowledge that was demonstrated today, breeding better horses and building wonderful international facilities is not going to lift Australian dressage much beyond the present standard, and when the focus and drive that the 2000 Olympics has provided dies down, we as a dressage nation will continue to struggle to keep up with the rest of the world.