He’s instructed riders in the past four Olympic Games. He’s coached the Danish dressage team. He’s trained dozens of Grand Prix horses. But Rudolf Zeilinger’s most important credential is that he embodies the traditions of dressage.

A master trainer, Zeilinger is one of the few in Germany today who truly practices the methods of classical riding. He continues to train modern-day horses in a system cemented in the German cavalry schools of the 19th century. Zeilinger schools each horse according to the principles of horsemanship and guides the animal through every stage of the training scale. Horses want to work for him, and their self-carriage and willingness demonstrate his skill.

His barn in Emsbüren is like a university–a Mecca for riders passionate about learning dressage principles. What you see in his barn are pupils–equine and human–who reflect his goal of being consistently correct.

Improving Dressage
Zeilinger is a virtuoso, who combines correct riding with expectations for improving the horse’s inherent talent. He teaches horses to be loose and supple, and his training is based on an intensive, deep seat.

Virginia-based trainer Britta Johnston, who trained with Zeilinger for eight months, said, “You have to be really strong in your seat. The system is 85 percent seat and 15 percent hands.”

She said the seat and light hands, which are held forward, increase the effectiveness of the rider’s back. “It balances your whole body, so you get what you plan from the horse, and you stay focused,” she noted.

Zeilinger works to develop a horse’s natural talent for dressage by analyzing the animal’s strengths. His riding encourages the horse to be more correct through driving aids so the horse steps up to the poll. The level of improvement varies according to the horse’s previous training too. When refining a horse’s responses to training, Zeilinger balances a horse’s show goals with its history.

“If a horse was ridden [by a top-class rider], then I can’t make it that much better. If the horse was ridden badly, then it’s possible to make it two or three marks better,” he explained.

“If the horse has a weak trot or canter, you can improve it,” he added. “It’s a question of how much you can improve it, and also a question of how much you have to improve it.”

Zeilinger said that better riding encourages a more correct movement, so he concentrates on having the rider get the horse to use the haunches to carry weight, and also to be more active behind.

Zeilinger doesn’t compromise his training–he’s persistent in asking for throughness and correct movement with every horse
he trains.

“He knows how to get the best from the horse. He commits them to the work,” said Johnston, praising him for the horses’ responses. “They want to give more back to the rider.”

Each day the horses are in training they become stronger, more confident and willing. Every horse he trains has an active back, through strengthening the back muscles. The back contracts and relaxes–inherent in the horse’s natural ability, and refined through classical training methods.

Zeilinger encourages the horse to move energetically, so the horse flows from back to front. His Grand Prix horses excel in the piaffe, genuinely engaged in the collection with power from the haunches. He has few rivals in the classical system, and his clients are in awe of his talent and skill.

Catherine Haddad, the U.S. team alternate at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany, keeps two of her top horses at his barn. “I’m trained by Zeilinger, and I will always be trained by Zeilinger. For me, he’s the greatest trainer in the world,” she said.

Johnston described his training as “very much an eternal discipline. At Zeilinger’s barn the level of work and the dedication stay the same.”

Selecting The Athlete
When evaluating the young horse, Zeilinger prefers to judge the horse under saddle. “I often buy young horses that are already broken,” he said. “You can judge more from the horse on how they behave under saddle.”

He joked, “And if you’re my age, you don’t want to break the horse under saddle!” (He’s only 42.)

If the horse isn’t yet started, Zeilinger watches him on a longe line. He noted that it’s hard to judge a youngster in-hand or at liberty because the horse is tense, and the tail is up.

Zeilinger said the carriage of the tail is an indication of relaxation and an active back, with energy flowing from back to front. When the tail flows behind the horse without any sign of tension, all vertebrae are energetic.

“It helps if the horse is free and carries his tail round and relaxed with a light swing. It’s still a sign later in the training of how the horse is ridden and working in the back,” he explained.

When Zeilinger appraises a candidate for training, he expects the horse to show three good gaits. In addition to natural rhythm in walk, trot and canter, he said the most important factor in the young horse is whether he has natural elasticity, balance and energy. Those qualities are what he preserves in his training.

Zeilinger appreciates today’s horses of German breeding programs, which are built uphill and bred for willing character.

“In the last, let’s say, 30 or 50 years, you can see a big, big progress in the breeding, which makes it much easier for a rider or trainer. The rideability and the conformation make it much easier for the horses to do the higher level dressage,” he said.

Zeilinger said the trainers of today wouldn’t touch a Grand Prix horse of the ’50s and ’60s.

He’s experienced with the popular German dressage lines, such as Florestan, Rubinstein and Donnerhall. He doesn’t say whether one line has been more successful than another for him. “First of all, I see the horse and not the papers. When I have seen the horse, then I ask, ‘What is the breeding?’ “

The discipline of his training approach suits serious amateurs and fellow professionals. For prospective amateur students, Zeilinger asks to see the horse’s current performance, either on a videotape or under saddle at his barn.

He’s honest in his evaluation: “I say ‘Yes, I would take you’, or ‘I would take you on a different horse.’

He added with a smile, “They will say, ‘Yes,’ or ‘Zeilinger, you are wrong.’ And they go to another trainer. Or, ‘Maybe you are right, and I will change the horse.’ “

To help amateurs get the most from their horses, Zeilinger follows the tradition of developing a horse so it’s “overridden,” or very light and active for the less experienced rider. He also “fixes” amateur horses’ problems traced to previous training.

“That’s our job–not just to tell everyone that they have the wrong horse and to get another one!” he said laughing.

Zeilinger asks the rider about her goals and considers her answers when analyzing the horse and the partnership. Sometimes he can correct issues for a rider aiming for major competitions if the overall package is complete and just a few problems are evident.

He also works with professionals, who consult him on specific training issues. Other professionals will bring horses to him for his advice as an “eye on the ground.”

Along with his bereiters and clients, he trains the Danish team members, who regularly travel to his barn for training sessions. Andreas Helgstrand, who won the Grand Prix at the WEG in Aachen on Aug. 23, rides in the same classic style as Zeilinger. He’s among the world’s best dressage riders and currently competes Blue Hors Matine, Blue Hors Don Schufro and Blue Hors Cavan.

Adhering To Tradition
The training methods of the German cavalry schools continue in the 21st century with Zeilinger. He trains in the system tracing back to Gustav Steinbrecht (1808-1885). Zeilinger’s mentor was the late Willi Schultheis, who himself studied 20 years with his own master, Otto L�rke.

Classical training does stand out in the show ring, and classical dressage persists alongside flashier, artificial movement that awes spectators and judges.

Zeilinger said the six points of the Ausbildung scale (training scale) describes classical dressage: rhythm, Losgelassenheit [suppleness], contact, Schwung [impulsion], straightness and collection.

“You want to see a horse that’s working with a swinging back, on the bridle, not behind the bit, and the tail has to be carried,” said Zeilinger. “All these things need to be judged. Not only if the horse is lifting the hind legs half a meter!”

A distinctive element of classical riding is the Schultheis saddle. A flat saddle with no knee roll, its style is key to riding close to the horse. It places the rider deeper onto the horse’s back, without the comfort of today’s more “upholstered” designs. A flap strap buckles to the girth to “wrap” the saddle for closer contact.

Haddad rides only in the Schultheis saddle. “If you’re not in the right saddle, you’ll never feel how the horse is supple. That’s a large part of it,” she said.

Johnston admitted that the first days in this saddle can be painful because the saddle is so different from what most riders use. This saddle allows your leg and your seat to move with the horse, explained Johnston. “It doesn’t stifle your seat,” she added. “Your horse can really feel your leg.”

Along with the saddle, the German system demands hard work and concentrated schooling six days a week. Daily work trains a horse through problems, and Zeilinger’s students learn by riding under the eye of the master.

“For many people this riding style is too hard,” said Johnston. “This style is like science that you study. You need to be open-minded and allow yourself to go with it.”

As he has for almost 30 years, Zeilinger starts early every morning, riding horse after horse. After a lunch break, he continues training. Even when he rides in a show, he returns to the barn to school horses.

Zeilinger’s been out of the limelight for the past few years, focused on building his own facility. He’s returned to the top levels of competition, but the balance is a challenge.

“The days and weeks are so full. It’s even hard for me to ride my own competitive horses and to concentrate,” he said.

Zeilinger’s string includes two young Westphalians currently at Grand Prix. Festival 39 (Fleurop–Rosenkavalier) and Franziskus 8 (Fidermark–Potsdam) are both owned by his sponsor, Heinrich Kampmann of the Kampmann manufacturing corporation.

With two up-and-coming Grand Prix horses (ages 9 and 8), Zeilinger said he might set his sights on competing for Germany in the future. “Yes, 2008 would be a goal for me,” he said with a smile.

Zeilinger On Current Dressage Issues
Correct training in the classical system does survive in today’s competitions, despite modern trends that seem to conflict with the ideals of dressage.

When asked about the Rollkur controversy, Rudolph Zeilinger said he considers judges “100 percent responsible.”

He sees that a judge’s high marks can encourage riders to change their goals for performance. Will such riding ruin the sport? According to Zeilinger, “In the longer term, yes.”

He noted that scores are inflated for some horse and rider combinations. “And others must ride the hell out of it to get a 6!” he stated.

To free judges from the intimidation factor and to equalize scores, he described two proposals: (1) computer-assigned judging assignments (to break up the limited “circle” of those who judge most CDIs); and (2) seven judges scoring the test, with a computer picking five marks at random. This method would increase a judge’s confidence and allow him or her to be candid in scoring.

“It would help for judges who now think, ‘If I give the mark I feel now, I would maybe be 3 points below the other one, and maybe I get in trouble,’ ” he said.

Zeilinger said the Young Horse Championships has become a showcase for young stallions, with their owners seeking future profits from breeding. Many stallions are aimed at only this level and don’t prove themselves beyond the 6-year-old test.

Zeilinger expressed concern about training, not the test itself. “In my eyes, it’s too much for horses at this age. It’s how much they’re trained at home to get a little bit more movement out of the young horse. For me and for the training of the horses, we want to build up for Grand Prix,” he said.

The classes tend to promote the good movers, and a horse that wins early in his career could be retired and never be trained for the higher levels. “You can see it’s easier for them to get a number of mares if they are out in the sport very young,” he said.