Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Klimke at Aachen in 1995 - look at the difference

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's riding, not coercing, or forcing, or yanking, or hurting, or compelling. Nice to see - where did dressage go wrong?

jme said...

a true horseman. it's sad we don't see riding like that much these days, and even sadder to think it probably wouldn't win in today's competitive dressage. it may be elegant and relaxed, but these days it's flashy that wins, and this just isn't flashy enough :-\

Grey Horse Matters said...

Much better, something everyone should strive for. I wonder if we looked back through the years if we could spot when things started to get out of hand.

billie said...

I knew you all would love this - THIS is what it means to ride in partnership. You can see the feel in his hands.

ponymaid said...

Billie, every step that horse takes says "soft,soft,soft". These days it's "ouch,ouch,ouch".

billie said...

Sheaffer, you're right... even worse than ouch ouch ouch is nothing nothing nothing - because the horse is completely shut down with helplessness.

forever in blue jeans, Beth said...

All the judges should be MADE to watch this as a standard. Poetry in motion - just beautiful.

billie said...

If you listen to the announcer, he notes that even then there was a contrast between Klimke's long and low and other riders' deep and round.

lthorse said...

Great video post! It saddens me beyond description that dressage has devolved into what we are seeing today at the WEG. Since I have been blogging, it has given me hope in realizing that there are so many out there who believe we are heading down a very bad road.

I am developing a mailing list of like minded rider/trainers/competitors who are passionate about preserving the principles of classical dressage. Check out my posts, and if you like what you read, I hope you will help me to promote it. My goal is 100 subscribers initially:

http://www.lighthorsefarm.com/LHFBlog/talkin-bout-a-revolution/

billie said...

lthorse, I signed up earlier - thank you for posting the link - it sounds like a wonderful endeavor!

June said...

But that horse's head is still behind the vertical quite often. I've been reading Hempfling's Dancing With Horses, where he talks about how modern riding puts all the weight on the forehand. It looks like even Klimke here is weighting the forehand considerably more than the hindquarters. There is a degree of softness, but I'm seeing "tell" not "ask."

billie said...

I like Klimke quite a bit, but do agree that there is some btv.

I also love Hempfling, but have not seen much of him riding with saddle and bridle so it's hard for me to speak to his abilities in that context.