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April 24, 2005

Blogbat Publicitus: Gerhard Politz Dressage Clinic

Der mit den Pferden spielt

 

 

 

I had the real delight Saturday of attending a riding clinic featuring a fantastic instructor who originally hails from Stuttgart, Germany. The event was hosted by the stables where I regularly work with my dressage trainer.

 

Dressage, for those new to the concept is an old and highly disciplined equestrian sport (which is also carried out as part of the quadrennial Summer Olympics) that in its more advanced levels really becomes more something of an art involving highly complex movements of rider and horse often set to music. Dressage is an offshoot of ancient military mounted battle techniques.

 

For those of you in the world of horses and particularly the world of dressage, Gerhard Politz is likely no stranger. Accomplished as instructor, medalist and author, Politz is professionally certified as a trainer in two EU member states, Germany and the UK. Since moving to the United States in 1987, he has worked hand-in-hand with the United States Dressage Federation (USDF) particularly with their instructor certification program. He is also a member of the International Dressage Trainers Club.

 

Mr. Politz is a regular contributor to three prominent dressage and equine magazines, The Chronicle of the Horse, Dressage Today and USDF Connections.

 

For a short period after moving to the US he returned to Germany in order to further refine his teaching and riding abilities. During this time he worked with Egon von Neindorff, General Albert Stecken, and Brigadier Kurt Albrecht, an "O" FEI judge who was also the former Director of the Spanish Riding School of Vienna (home of the famous Lipizzaner Stallions). Another mentor of his was Willi Schultheis, who is coach emeritus of the German Olympic team.

 

Now living and working out of California, he’s currently working with 45 horses, several apprentices and still competing at Grand Prix level, having won several gold, silver and bronze medals in national competitions in the US just as he has done back in his native Germany.

 

One of his more trademark accomplishments made its debut in 1995 while on the USDF sub-committee for designing dressage tests. As his website puts it, he introduced “the concepts of ‘Allowing the horse to chew the reins out of the hands’ (Zuegel aus der Hand kauen lassen) and the ‘Rein Release’ (Ueberstreichen).” These of course were two very important ideas he repeated with his students throughout the many hours of the riding clinic today.

 

Most impressively, Politz is extraordinarily patient with his students and prefers his students be extraordinarily patient with their horses, leaving little doubt he holds to the idea that the purpose of dressage is first to better the horse and then the rider.

 

In an article titled “On the Road to Grand Prix” in June 2004’s USDF Connection Politz discusses how this is observed in the training process for the horse,

 

 

Educating a young horse to Grand Prix is a fascinating undertaking. Consider that dressage riding is the only activity in which one neurological system – that of the rider – takes charge of another being’s neurological functions – those of the horse. When perfect harmony between the two is achieved, we can enter the realm of art. It is rather similar to creating a beautiful statue from a block of marble – except, of course, that this work of art is a living creature: the horse… I hope that my suggestions will help you to create a work of art without chipping off any essential pieces in the process. In terms of training your horse, this means respecting him as a living creature and caring for him in the best possible way, not taking any shortcuts, and not making any physical or psychological demands with which he cannot cope at the moment.

 

 

  

Be they applied to dressage, western pleasure or anything in between, these are ideas of course which wouldn’t hurt anyone to heed regardless of his style or manner of equitation.  

 

 

 

 

Related:

 

United States Dressage Federation

 

Gerhard Politz Official Website

 

Posted by Martin at April 24, 2005 12:42 AM

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