Articles

May 2005	The Ulla Salzgeber Symposium

February 2005	Educating the Masses: A Summary of Dressage Events in Texas

The name Ulla Salzgeber conjures up an image of incredible concentration and determination. The photos of Ulla on Rusty in a huge extended trot or flying tempi changes are startling. Her gaze is fixed and her body is the example of ultimate control. Her horse is moving every fiber of his being but she appears to be so concentrated, and supple, on the top of him that she does not move one millimeter out of position. The intensity sensed from these images is definitely intriguing. What might she be like in person? The reports of her previous US training seminars have all received glowing reviews as to how she has been able to communicate with the riders, and improve the horses, but what about onslaught of outrageous ego and inflexibility that often comes with training genius and celebrity? Surely she cannot be immune.

Ulla arrived on Friday morning to instruct each of the riders in a private lesson. These lessons were closed to all but the rider and the groom or owner of the horse. The remaining riders were left to amble about the palatial Stargate Sporthorses facilities, care for their equine partners, or watch the lessons, without the aid of sound, through the tinted glass of the viewing lounge. Most of the riders soaked in what they could through the glass and anxiously asked each other, upon completion of the lesson, what they thought. Entering the arena with Ulla on that first day made one feel as if they had spent their entire life of dressage under a protective and insulating blanket of water. Life with Ulla in the bright light of day and full audio changed everything. Ulla definitely had a tendacy to overachieve with her instruction that first day, in her efforts to get the riders to “feel” what she was trying to get them to create with their horses, so they would be able to reproduce it the next day. By the end of the day all of the riders seemed happy, impressed, and a little star struck-- muttering phrases like, “She’s good” that might belie their lifetime of communicating for a living. All wondered how the intensity level and her approach would change with the arrival of the symposium audience.

Saturday morning arrived and a healthy crowd gathered in the large indoor arena to watch the International dressage superstar put the riders through their paces and explain her theories of training. Ulla introduced herself and asked each rider to do the same as they entered. Ulla demonstrates to Lyndon Rife the use of the whip to improve engagement.

Ulla demonstrates to Lyndon Rife the use of the whip to improve engagement.

A little summary of the training from the previous day was touched on, the over all strengths and weaknesses described, and then it was off to work. The riders were expected to arrive already warmed up so there was no leisurely progression into the exercises. Ulla handled each horse differently and each rider exactly the same. Each rider was consistently schooled to improve and strengthen their position and their concentration. Mistakes of the horses such as unnecessary flying changes or rhythm mistakes were always attributed to the faults of the rider’s position or mental outlook. She stressed that the rider has to have the feeling, image and idea in their mind or they cannot communicate it to the horse effectively. The horses had to go strongly forward from light aids to the steady, elastic contact. This sounds simple but almost every flaw in the exercises boiled down to a horse that did not accept the rider driving the horse to the contact. Some riders were told to work their horses in a rounder way and some were instructed to bring the horse “above the bit” to elevate the neck, open the outline, and use this technique to develop more freedom of movement and expression. Ulla stated that no one will actually ride the horses above the bit when she tells them to but by saying it she gets closer to the response that she wants. Life became very interesting for the riders when it came time to school piaffe and passage. Ulla had the riders ride with a very long and flexible whip that could reach all the way to the horses hock if necessary. This choice of whip, long and very flexible, was Ullas’ preference as it made a noise that the horse will react to, instead of only the touch of it creating reaction, and the flexibility of it will prevent any whip marks from occurring. Riders had to find and become dedicated to the rhythm of the paiffe or passage and not give the aids faster than the rhythm. The long whips were used, sometimes one in each hand, to touch the horse at the correct moment to dictate the rhythm to the horse. Passage was schooled out of a forward trot and introduced to green horses while the rider posted and in the piaffe the riders were encouraged to not let the horses travel too far forward to prevent the horse from falling on the forehand and escaping the task at hand. Great appreciation was extended to the demo riders for their public efforts to post to the passage, tap the horse by the hock with a whip in each hand at the appropriate time and in the appropriate rhythm, and, of course, try to maintain a correct and controlled position, or to attempt any of the other challenging exercises that Ulla prescribed.

Ulla played a film that included footage of Rusty from when he was four to six years old. Watching a young Rusty swim his previous owner across a lake for fun and jump a course of fences put the veteran dressage star in a new light—all remembered that he is horse just like our own. She described the young Rusty as a sales prospect in her barn that was very unattractive, behind the bit to the point that he stuck his tongue out, and with a very lateral walk. When asked how she solved these training issues she gave her standard answer of how she rode him and rode him, concentrating on her goal, until he learned what she wanted as a new movement. The footage went on to show the first Grand Prix from Rusty and Ulla and continued onto the Olympics in Athens. Through the entire film Ulla narrated their life and experiences together. She specialized in a self deprecating type of humor when it came to piaffe, their least favorite movement, and seemed genuinely stung when footage was shown from their ban from competition for the “doping” incident. She told the audience that not winning the Olympic gold medal by less than half of a percentage point was difficult, and she played the mistakes in the ride that she attributed to their loss, but stated that she knew if she had been strong enough in her mind on those days she could have earned the Gold medal. Ulla never mentioned other competitors at the Olympics or any other rider or trainer or judge during the entire event. There was no assignment of blame to anyone but herself. Ulla does have the huge ego that comes with training genius and celebrity, all top competitors need that, but it is tempered with a true sense of self, responsibility, and appreciation for all of her life partners--be it Rusty, her husband or daughter—that provides her with the most endearing quality of humility.

The Ulla Salzgeber symposium was held March 11-13, 2005, at the Stargate Sporthorses facility in Bartonville, TX. Riders included: Lyndon Rife on Prestige (TX), Amy Bock on Hondo(TX), Sue Malone Casey on Lamborghini (TX), Audrey Zequiera on Frexienet (TX), Marina Parris Woodhead (KS), RickiBrozman (KS), Anne Hornbeak on Gambler (LA), and Carol Patty.

USDF Region 9, Texas in specific, has hosted several educational events with Olympic level riders and trainers in the past years time (not counting the Wilcox/Hoyos USDF Symposium). The three events that I attended were the Michelle Gibson clinic, the USDF Advanced Young Rider clinic with Conrad Schumacher, and the Houston Dressage Society’s Robert Dover Symposium. I know that I am one of very few to attend all three of these events so I would like to share what I took in from these three different and important educational opportunities.

If I put all three trainers in a pot and boiled them down I would be left with some very simple ingredients at the bottom of it. All three stress the principals of the basics: the horse has to accept being ridden forward to the contact. The horse has to be respectful of and accept the riders consistently applied aids. The rider has to have a disciplined and correct position that not only gives them the ability to influence but allows the horse to perform. All three clinicians seemed to agree that if the most basic principals are prioritized the ability to master the advanced movements appears. As similar as the essence of the training is these three individuals are strikingly different and I can only give a brief summary of their strategies and styles. The best advice I can give is to audit for yourself the next time an opportunity presents itself to you.

Michelle Gibson is a US Olympic team Bronze medallist. She and the Trakehner stallion Peron were the top scoring US pair from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She has an incredible resume of prestigious International victories and awards and is still achieving incredible success in the US with up and coming horses. Michelle gained her “formative” dressage schooling in Germany under the master trainer Rudolf Zeilinger and she regularly brings her interpretation of his training system to Texas to the benefit of many riders. Don’t come to this clinic if you are searching for someone to charm you, sugar coat dressage training, or entertain you with stories of her glory days at the Olympics--or anywhere else for that matter. Michelle’s training strips down dressage to its simplest features. The answers to training issues are always painfully simple, but I have found that the simplest solution is usually the one that we riders have been creatively trying to skirt! There are no magic potions, bewitching nose twitches, or funny jokes to make the solution come. Riders have to be disciplined, correct, and courageous. Riders also have to be responsible! They are expected to be able to ride the arena and school figures correctly and to take some initiative in the lesson. Michelle can be very quiet during a lesson and only comment on what the rider presents--ask questions, introduce an exercise that you have been trying to master on your own, think for yourself and train! The horses are also expected to be disciplined, courageous, and correct. Prepare yourself to become acquainted with your horses’ hind legs! Michelle’s system is all about activating the hind leg up to the contact and then giving to advance the horses outline and ability to achieve self- carriage.

The Bottom Line: A deep well of knowledge that dedicated, ambitious riders can benefit from. Not easily impressed and not very flexible; due to this some will not be able to successfully adapt to the system.

Conrad Schumacher is the trainer of several European Olympic medallists—namely Sven and Gonnelien Rothenberger, and Ellen Bontje. He has many adult and young rider students with more International medals to their name than I can even imagine counting. I had the opportunity to audit a USDF Trainer Symposium several years earlier and that was my introduction to Mr. Schumacher’s style—the Young Rider clinic was a demonstration of the consistency of his program. Accurate use of the arenas (corners), correctly ridden school figures, and a wide variety of training exercises are emphasized. Mr. Schumacher also employs methods such as stripping stirrup leathers (more regularly then any other trainer I have witnessed), adding a “support rein” (a single draw rein that runs from the girth, through the cavesson, and to the riders hand), and setting up ground poles in a line or to create a 10 meter box that the riders have to negotiate their horses within. The horses have to be obedient! Mr. Schumacher will do some striking things with his body in relation to the horse. I have seen him stand in a corner with barely enough room for the horse to pass between him and the rail—no room for error—yet he does not budge. He insists that the horses accept his influence with the whip, in many ways, while the riders are or are not mounted. He is a huge believer in riding the horse strongly forward into a deep, or “half short neck”, for schooling purposes, and in a courageous rider with a disciplined position.

The Bottom Line: Incredibly powerful personality with all variations of energetic/enthusiastic, stoic, charming, and kind. He is brutally honest, at times, about any number of subjects or situations; incredible belief in the riders’ ability to ride and the horses’ ability to accept being ridden. Master motivator. Strong opinions and personality, use of auxiliary equipment, and employing terminology such as “half-short neck” have caused some controversy.

Robert Dover teaching Lyndon Rife aboard Prestige.

Robert Dover is a six time US Olympian and a four- time team bronze medallist. In my opinion he is a bit of an enigmatic figure. While he is surely one of the most successful competitors in US dressage history he is also one of the most confusing and controversial. By my count he has retired from competition four separate times only to resurface “just in time” for the next Olympic selection trials with a newly sponsored horse to ride. On three of our bronze medal teams he has been our lowest scoring rider with “major” incidents to answer for. Yet with all of his retirement prompting back problems and mini disasters on the Olympic stage he perseveres, has moments of true brilliance, and makes it, and people either love him or hate him for it. I had witnessed Dover train and teach previously, but after so many years of seeing him from a distance, and reading about him, I wanted to learn more about what he would have to offer to a captive audience, in his own words, in regard to his personal training philosophies.

The Symposium was about two things: Robert Dover and half halts. I have to say that I really like the way that he described the application of the half halt. “Breathe in, close legs, close fist--breathe out and give.”

Good. Simple. Accessible. For Roberts’ training, in his own words, half halts ARE dressage training. The half halts he described energize, connect, and rebalance the horse so that is, in essence, true. I was less than enthusiastic about the occasional lack of demonstration with the horses and riders at his disposal. There was less live demonstration of his principals and more anecdotes and speeches given than I had seen in previous symposiums, by all manner of trainers, and my curiosity was not sated. Mr. Dover is incredibly energetic though. When he focuses on a point he can really drive it home and he has more charisma than the law should allow. He stresses the absolute importance that the horses accept being ridden forward from the lightest possible aids, but as strong as necessary, to the steady contact. The riders have to have correct positions with an emphasis on the upper body staying really forward. Mr. Dover told several riders to “lean forward” for extensions and for schooling piaffe. He also discussed the saddle, how it effected the position of several riders, and made some obvious recommendations. Over the two days of the symposium there was only one “true” lesson and I did enjoy watching the progression, his intensity for the training being accepted by the horse, and his belief in the rider. It made wonder what he would offer the riders and audience if he had done more training and less presenting—a lot more it would seem.

The Bottom Line: For better or worse, a true dressage celebrity. If you want the Robert Dover Experience head to a symposium, if you want to learn about his training then go to an arena where he might be teaching.