3rd element: Training and Clinics
Training rider
The international show jumping sport shows that riders with different riding styles can be successful in the long run. So there is no superior riding style, but balance and rhythm are always most important parts of good riding. Despite all the differences - the riding style must fit to the rider's physical condition. One of the trainer's tasks is therefore to harmonise the rider's riding style with the horse. Another is to keep an eye on the time horizon of the results of the lessons.
It is very important to me to pick up my students where they are. The first step is to take stock of the strengths and weaknesses of the rider and horse. After that, goals are defined and training and competition plans are worked out. The classical German riding theory serves me as a central theme, but it is the personality of my students and their horses that determines the standard of my actions as a trainer.
Not only technical training with the partner horse is of elementary importance: In equestrian sports, mental strength and resilience play a decisive role. I devote myself intensively to this aspect and try to respond to the different characters of my students as best as possible. Today, more attention is also paid to athletic and preventive training to prevent and treat injuries and signs of wear and tear. Beside the preventing effect, athletic training is all about improving the rider's stability in all possible situations as a basic requirement for good balance. In this area I have a lot of experience and a good network of different experts, e.g. with lecturers from the Sports University of Cologne or physiotherapists.
A completely new and promising approach to training is neuroathletics: The brain controls movement, is the simple explanation for what makes neuroathletics so valuable, not only for athletes. The aim of neuro-athletics training is to improve communication between the nervous system and the musculoskeletal system. Here I know the general basics, in specific seminars for equestrian sports and I continue my training.
Time horizon of the coaching results:
• Short term: How do I have to train with my student so that he is well prepared for the show next weekend?
• Medium term: How can I coach my student and which competitions should he compete in so that the horse and he is in top form at the season highlights (e.g. championships, important shows, home shows etc.) or the horse takes the next age-appropriate step during the season?
• Long-term: How can I help my student to develop his own identity in working with the horses and to independently identify and solve problems? How can I improve his self-control and teach him to manage the horse and himself well?
Training horse
For me, the basis of a sustainable successful education is always the trust between humans and horses. The training must always correspond to the age of the horse and its natural needs and abilities. It is about: strength endurance, condition, mobility, reflexes and last but not least balance. Special athletic training naturally also helps the horses. However, additional athletic training with horses is only of interest from a very high level or in case of obvious physical deficits. As part of my preparation for the Hamburg Jumping Derby, an extremely long and demanding course, I worked out and implemented training plans for my horse together with lecturers from the Cologne Sports University, the leading experts in the field of athletic training for sport horses. The experience I gained back then is still incorporated into my training work today, and if I have any questions, the experts are still available to me for advice and support. But also the mental balance (e.g. by rides in the nature or relaxation phases during stays on the fields) is of great importance in order to create self-confidence, courage, calmness, concentration and the will to cooperate with the rider.
These three goals are principles of my training with riders* and horses:
1. fairness (towards the partner horse)
2. progress (the training should lead to improvements)
3. pleasure (the training should be enjoyable in the long term).
Please talk to me. I have been coaching on a national and international level for years and also give clinics in Germany and abroad.
