When asked how often I wanted to blog, I thought every week or so should be plenty. However, after spending my first few days at Hannoveraner Verband, I’m not quite sure I’ll be able to fit everything I learn in a week into one blog. I would be lucky to fit everything I learn in a day into a single blog. So, we’ll see how often it works out!

Day 1:

In Europe, both in my time in Holland and my time in Germany, we start each day with everyone, riders and grooms, working together to clean stalls, put straw in the stables and get the horses fed before we all go for coffee and then start to ride.

I really enjoy starting the day off this way; there is a sense of camaraderie among the team, and it has always amazed me just how quickly we can get everything done for 60+ horses—it takes us 30 minutes, start to finish.

After coffee we rode four horses each before lunchtime, followed by attending video sessions for the dressage horses in the November auction. 

For the morning rides, we all got fantastic lessons from Daniel Fritz, a successful Prix St. Georges rider who not only manages the Rider-Exchange Program, but who is also a Rider Manager and a Consultant for Customers Abroad at the Hannoveraner Verband.

The lessons focused on first being able to develop good rhythm with a steady contact to the bit created from the rider’s leg near the horse engaging the hind leg forward and under the center of gravity. We are seeking to begin our rides in accordance to the training pyramid to establish correct basics with horses that are on the aids.

The first three horses I rode were jumpers, all of whom were lovely—it was a refreshing change to ride ones with some blood to them again! The fourth ride, a 3-year-old by For Romance, was one for the memory books as the horse that officially sold me on wanting to ride dressage.

Before I launch into why this horse was so incredible and the ride so memorable, I will preface with the following: I came to Germany with a strong desire to begin learning how to ride proper dressage, as in with a dressage saddle.

I have always strongly valued proper flatwork as an integral foundation for the hunters and jumpers, but the kind of dressage I want to learn goes beyond properly flatting hunters and jumpers. I want to learn what it feels like to have a horse dance underneath me.

Despite being just 3 years old, this horse gave me my first insight as to what that might feel like, and I was absolutely hooked. I literally cannot put into words the feeling he gave—it was the way he carried himself, so incredibly light on his feet and extremely responsive to the aids. I felt like I was riding on Cloud 9, on a 3-year-old.

After lunch, we met in the main indoor arena to watch the video-making process for the dressage horses of the November auction. As we watched the horses one after another, each different from the next, I was curious as to the selection process for the dressage horses and inquired about what exactly they looked for in an ideal dressage horse. The answer was very interesting, and made perfect sense.

When putting together a collection of horses for any given auction (jumping or dressage) it is not that the Verband looks for only one type of top horse. Rather, they put together a literal collection of different types such that there are horses in each collection to suit the various needs and preferences of any given pool of bidders, i.e., some bidders prefer big horses, some small, some hot, some cold, etc., etc.

Despite the variation in the type of horse, they all have one thing in common—they are athletes, very well bred and born to do their respective discipline.

On the note of selecting young horses, I also inquired about the qualifying process for the Bundeschampionate, which is as follows.

Horses can qualify in one of two ways:

1. The horse’s breeding association can select the horse:
   1. 3- & 4-year-old Dressage Horses
   2. The horse must score an 8.0 or higher in a qualifying class:
      1. 5-, 6- & 7-year-old Dressage Horses
      2. 5-, 6-, & 7-year-old Jumping Horses

For the 5+ year-old horses, there are usually 100 horses, give or take, in each age bracket for each discipline that qualify for the finals. Typically only 30 or 40 will make it to the big final of their respective class, while the rest go to the small final.

For the 3- and 4-year-old horses, the pool is smaller. Up front, more 3- and 4-year-olds are presented at the qualifiers, but each breeding association has only a limited number of spots available.

For example, this year at the Hannoveraner Verband 124 3- and 4-year-olds were presented at the International Dressage and Jumping Championships in Verden. To get there, these horses had to have already placed in the top three at another show. Of those 124 horses, only 18 were selected to make the journey to the Bundeschampionate in Warendorf. Needless to say, I now have a much greater understanding as to why being successful at the Bundeschampionate is such an impressive credential on a horse’s resume.

My day was finished off with German lessons from one of the auction riders here at the Verband, who is also one of my roommates. German lessons go something like: “Repeat after me…(my attempted pronunciation of the German word)….NEIN! (no in German) Again!” This sequence happens at least a few times, usually broken into syllables before I get it right, but I am learning and there are a lot of good laughs involved! My goal is to learn 10 words a day—I figure by the time I leave, that will be 600 words. 

Jessica Nemzoff has focused on riding and developing young horses as hunters, jumpers and equitation horses, working for for Rivers Edge—Scott Stewart and Ken Berkley for most of the last decade. She’s also lived and ridden in Holland, galloped racehorses for Michael Matz’s Vintage Farm and grew up riding ponies at Brownland Farm. She’s currently in Germany for the Hannover-Rider Exchange Program.

Jessica also blogged for the Chronicle in 2010, when she traveled to the Netherlands to work for a sales barn for three months. You can read those blogs here.