I’d simply rather not look back at 2001. Reviewing the first year of the new millennium is neither uplifting nor inspiring. Even before the dark month of September, there was trouble. In the micro-world of equestrian sports, the lingering conflict between the U.S. Equestrian Team and USA Equestrian churned through so many turns and twists that it started to vacillate between tragedy and farce.

As many of us suspected, the U.S. Olympic Committee declined to dictate the solution to us. They seemed to figure that we brought it upon ourselves and it was up to us to fix it’which it appears we’ve done. And, thankfully, it was done before the USOC and the International Olympic Committee became thoroughly disgusted with us and decided they really didn’t need us in the Olympics at all.

Now it behooves us to clean up our own mess. The IOC folks have always viewed equestrian sports with raised eyebrows since it isn’t really a team sport and has always had a cloud of elitism hanging over it, fair or not. Stabling horses, worrying about owners and grooms, and building specialized facilities has never been a favorite of the Olympic organizers, and we’d better avoid giving them a perfect excuse to exclude us.

The year was a disruptive time for us all. This battle has been emotionally and financially a disaster, it has lost us a lot of respect, and so far only lawyers have profited from the ordeal.

The overall plan for our unified national governing body needs a lot of fine tuning, and it will take time and a lot of goodwill on both sides for all the details to fall into a workable pattern. But if this plan works out, we’ll end up with an equestrian community that is stronger, more streamlined, and better equipped to deal with the demands of the future.

Even sadder, in October we lost a man who for many years was a strong influence in the dressage community. Whenever Edgar Hotz (see p. 112) was involved in a committee decision or sat in the judge’s box, you could be assured of one thing: He would give an intelligent and honest evaluation of whatever he heard or saw.

Edgar was not always diplomatic or even polite, but he was always true, and I think I can speak for dressage competitors nationwide when I say that riding in front of Edgar Hotz was an honor and a pleasure, every time. Edgar could appear stern and abrupt on occasion; he surely stood his ground, and he had a problem suffering fools. Most of the time he was right, though, because he easily saw the big picture.

Unless you knew Edgar well, it was hard to tell that he also had a very good sense of humor, with a touch of sarcasm to give it a zing. A laconic comment out of the corner of his mouth could keep you in stitches, while Edgar would maintain a completely straight face, as if he had nothing to do with the mirth. With his passing, the American judging community has lost one of its supporting pillars. We will miss him as a friend and colleague.

The FEI Offers An Educational Winner

On a more positive note, the FEI-sponsored dressage seminar held in Holland during the third week in September appears to have been a success, since another forum has already been tentatively scheduled for next October. This year we had a very short lead-in time, and of course Americans who’d planned to go were hesitant to travel. My information about the forum is secondhand, but it comes from an article written by Elisabeth Lette, which ought to be a reliable source.

The seminar was hosted by the Bartels, a well-known Dutch riding family from which both Tineke Bartels and her daughter Imke compete internationally and husband Joep is an accomplished promoter of equestrian sports. It was organized in coordination with the International Dressage Trainer’s Club, and 300 people sent in applications. When almost 400 showed up, things became a bit crowded, but it still ran smoothly. Represented were all categories of the horse community: riders, trainers, judges and managers.

First on the agenda was “work in hand,” demonstrated by Jorgen Koschel, the national coach of Holland. He emphasized the trust necessary between horse and rider for the work to be successful and that the horse should not be fearful of the whip. Another important point was that the work ought to occur in short “bites,” with reward in between.

A 6-year-old was shown in hand on the wall in piaffe, and a 7-year-old demonstrated the transitions between passage and piaffe. The latter horse then showed the same movements under the rider, with the trainer working behind him. The theme for this demonstration was trust, forwardness and engagement.

Next was Sjef Jenssen, trainer of Anky van Grunsven. Naturally, his theme was the controversial “low-and-deep” training method. Backing him up was a physical therapist, Solange Schrijer, who lectured at length on back problems in horses. According to her, the training method advocated by Sjef and Anky leads to maximum suppleness, in combination with physical and mental health. It is important, she said, to train and strengthen the stomach muscles, thereby keeping the topline connected through all joints and the hind legs active.

Olympic gold medalist Bonfire, now 18, and Anky then demonstrated, as they have in so many competitions, the training shape of the very low frame, which on command from the rider instantly becomes the competition profile, with the poll as the highest point, the outline the judges want to see.

Intense discussion followed, and, as before, the conclusion was that this method is to be reserved for the very accomplished and talented few, while the ordinary “mortals” are better off sticking to the classical ways of training. The key words here were absolute control of the horse’s “gears” and attention to detail.

Kyra Kyrklund, always a popular speaker, concentrated on the subject of training juniors and young riders, while comparing training methods in various parts of Europe. She received her basic training at Stromsholm in Sweden, where she was taught what to do and why. But when she arrived in Germany she was made to do it again, again and again, until practice made her “perfect.” She compared this training to the drilling of gymnasts, where the elite group has to be able to perform every movement automatically, as if the orders reached the muscles from the bone marrow instead of the brain.

Kyra then used some young riders to demonstrate the importance and development of a correct and supple seat. The main issues were balance, control and rider awareness.

Day 2 started off with Eric Lette and his favorite theme: “Dressage is really all about comfortable transportation.” He insisted that our aids need to be simple and clear to avoid confusing the horse and to promote learning by being consistent. He talked about the training scale of regularity, suppleness, contact, impulsion, straightness and collection. Self-carriage was added to this collection of “holy words” since it demonstrates whether or not the horse is in balance. The main points here were simplicity and clarity.

International rider Rafael Soto, the trainer at the Spanish academy of riding in Jerez, displayed a highly reverent attitude toward the equine, which moved the audience. His Andalusian horse was in focus, and with great pride Mr. Soto demonstrated the strong talent for collection these horses possess. He also talked about the wonderful attitude born into the Andalusian horse.

A display of work in hand, with the handler in different positions at the horse’s side, drew thunderous applause. Humbleness before the task of training and a passion for the horse were the well-demonstrated themes.

Johann Hinnemann got the last word. He worked mainly on improving the canter and discussed his view of the warm-up, with less depth to the frame but consistent contact with the mouth, a correct and quiet seat and hands, and invisible aids. This was all demonstrated by one of his young riders, who later rode absolutely straight changes and perfect pirouettes without visibly moving her legs. Professional and systematic approach to the training was Hinnemann’s contribution.

Global Aspects

Lively discussions took place; I’m sure we all would have loved to be there. This pilot program looks so promising that it may turn into an annual event, which will, I hope, promote worldwide “equalizing” of training methods. We need less talk about “systems” of training and more understanding of the similarities in our methods, instead of suspicion because of the differences.

What’s really noteworthy about this seminar is the global aspect that dressage has taken on after so many years of being a “European” sport. Trainers, judges and riders are finally talking about every aspect of horsemanship as colleagues, instead of from their various positions in the horse world.

This phenomenon is to a large degree brought about by the efforts of Eric Lette, who presided over the FEI Dressage Committee as chairman for eight years. In this position he tirelessly promoted communication between the different factions in the sport and was always open to suggestion for change, a somewhat frightening prospect in a traditional field such as dressage.

I happened to be present at a dinner when the idea of introducing the freestyle to the Olympic program was first mentioned to the then powers of the Federation Equestre Internationale. Mr. Lette vigorously promoted the idea, and he is to a great extent responsible for the fact that we have the freestyle in the Olympics today. Additional things Mr. Lette will be remembered for, other than cutting a stylish figure in the sport and for having judged every important event imaginable, is that he encouraged open discussions and kept saying “it is good to talk.”

Replacing Mr. Lette is another respected judge and dressage personality, Mariette Withages from Belgium. The FEI Dressage Committee is in charge of establishing the schedules for all international dressage events, establishing rules for these events, and appointing officials for them. In addition, the committee is responsible for maintaining the official list for international dressage judges, training prospective FEI judges, and revising dressage tests. In many ways these duties are parallel to the duties of the USAEq Dressage Committee, only expanded to cover the world.

Mrs. Withages has been a member of the FEI Dressage Committee for several years, and she has judged and given judge’s seminars the world over. It is comforting to the United States to have another person at the helm who is familiar with our riders, horses and conditions, and it’s particularly nice to know that she’s always been encouraging and positive toward the American dressage community.

Promise Ahead

One distinctly bright spot in the past year was the junior department. We saw, for the first time, the FEI Junior Championships hosted on this continent. Paxton Farm in Batavia, Ohio, put on a stellar event as the brave pioneers, and our American juniors (after a somewhat shaky dress rehearsal at the Cosequin National Junior Championships at Gladstone, N.J.) emerged brilliantly victorious.

The laughs, the tears, the tension and the exuberance were all in evidence among the kids from every nation, but best of all was the grit and the sportsmanship displayed by all the players involved.

The Northeast Junior Championships, a brainchild of Lendon Gray, were bigger, better and more fun than ever, and it looks like the dressage equitation division will finally be properly launched in 2002, giving the juniors yet another place to meet and compete. We are proud to have been offered help in this area by Victor Hugo-Vidal, and we surely will hold him to that promise.

Although some of us are waiting for the other shoe to drop in the terrorist horror game, we hope that it never will. Perhaps we can “start over” this year in many ways. A world united against senseless violence and an equestrian NGB that works would be nice.

Both would facilitate our quest for a really strong international showing in dressage, which could happen this year. There is a very promising group of horses and riders lined up to compete for the four spots at the World Equestrian Games to be held in Jerez, Spain, in September. We have about 10 dressage combinations who have com-peted in Europe during parts of the last season, with excellent results.

On top of the result lists from over there are Lisa Wilcox with Rohdiamant and Relevant 5, Debbie McDonald on Brentina, and Guenter Seidel on Nikolaus 7, but the rest are not far behind. The elegant combination of Chris-tine Traurig and Etienne are reunited and already back in the ring showing, an unexpected bonus to our prospects for presenting a U.S. dressage squad loaded with proven records, experience and élan to compete at Aachen (Germany) in the summer and then in Jerez.

There is reason to believe that we will be looking at an exciting year for American dressage, with more highly qualified horses than ever in the trials and a team with which the world will have to reckon.