We’ve got a new blogger chiming in! Charlotte Stillfried is a teenaged event rider from the Richmond, Va., area who is spending some time in Germany working for German Olympic rider Dirk Schrade. She’ll be checking in to share her experiences…
Going overseas to work for an Olympic gold medalist as a 16-year old… no pressure! Right.
Of course the first horse I get put on would be Dirk’s four-star and World Games mount Hop And Skip. Still no pressure. Yeah, OK! What a first day!
I walked in and right off the the bat I was introduced to three Olympic riders in one barn and the next horse I’m put on has more springs than a trampoline and starts to passage when I put my leg on. Welcome to Germany!
In the States I am a novice level rider who trains and leases Marty, an off-the-track Thoroughbred from my trainer, Jocelyn Kriss. I had hopes of completing my first training level event this summer, but Marty got a puncture wound and was hospitalized for a week. What better way to take advantage of that then to go work in Germany!
Those are the ears of Hop And Skip, who has jumped around the Luhmühlen, Pau and Burghley CCI****s as well as the 2010 and 2014 World Equestrian Games.
ADVERTISEMENT
I came with an open mind hoping to learn and fit as much into my brain as physically possible, as well as ride some pretty bad-ass horses. My first day and a half consisted of mucking stalls with that dreaded straw, riding five horses including Mr. Tomtom, a CIC** winner, (If he happens to go missing when I leave, I promise I have nothing to do with it), mucking more stalls and then mucking some more dreaded straw stalls.
Dirk watched as I rode one of his one-star horses and comments consisted of more forward, hands down, even more forward, shoulders back and EVEN MORE TROT!!! With the occasional “nice canter Charlotte!” and right back to FORWARD CHARLOTTE!
With just one day down I can already tell this is going to be an awesome as well as very humbling experience. If I don’t leave with anything else, at least I’ll know to always go more forward! 😉
One of the cute faces in the barn!
