When I came to the United States in 1986 I was totally unaware of the diversity of breeds and philosophies in this country. How can anybody find his way through what is right and what is wrong among Saddlebreds, Arabians, Quarterhorses or Tennessee Walkers. I tried to learn as much as possible. And brought it for our training stable and myself to one conclusion: We are training sport horses. The kind of horse the Warmblood registries are so successful breeding: The horse that performs in the sport of dressage, jumping, eventing and driving. The horse that should have written on his left hindquarter: I can!

We are not dealing with a purebred Arabian or a high spirited Saddlebred. We are promoting a breed of horses that perform and are partners in a wonderful sport. And in order to perform at the possibly highest level, a horse needs to be taught what is expected from him.

You all breed horses, match the right stallion with the right mare and spend your life waiting for the right product to emerge, grow up and excel. Your horses are wonderful, true performers out of the best possible bloodlines. They are growing up to be three years of age and now we have to deal with a new part of breeding: Training. What easier than to promote your breed than by the quality of the offspring? I believe here is where a lot of mistakes are made. Since my arrival in the United States ten years ago I have seen a lot of young Warmblood horses being ruined for a bright future through inadequate training through the first years. Not every one who can afford to buy a three year old Warmblood is capable himself of giving this youngster the best possible education. There seems to be an infatuation with “I have trained my own horse” . And many amateur riders seem to buy young horses, because they believe not to be able to afford trained horses. You must find adequate training for your young horse. Let us just review what adequate training means: The rising three year old is brought in from the pasture and introduced to handling, ground manners, if not so done already earlier, tack and longeline. The horse must learn to be respectful and businesslike when handled. This takes tact and horse sense in the truest meaning of the term. The horse must understand what is expected. He must learn to be comfortable in his new surroundings. There must be a plan for this kind of handling ahead of time and you must have the time to execute the plan.

Longeing is a complex skill that cannot be learned a couple of weeks before the training of your young horse begins. It must be practiced diligently to be at ease with the line and the whip, so that at least one of the two involved in this training process knows what is happening. Only then can the horse trust you. Horses learn through their very good memory. If they remember from their first experience mostly that while they were in the new arena, somebody hit them in the head - quite by accident but never the less - and when they tried to run away (remember horses fight through flight) they got yanked in the mouth, then you created a problem that takes hours to erase. One of my favorite instructors - Charles DeKunffy - writes in Ethics and Passions of Dressage: “ In the process of training you either build a horse actively up or you break it down, there is no neutral ground”. After the horse is comfortable to walk and trot on the longeline, listen to your voice and whip commands and maintains a rhythmic pace, he is introduced to the added weight of the rider. This usually does not create a lot of problems as the horse learned to trust you in the previous training. Once the horse is used to handle the weight of the rider it is helpful to ride him in the company of other horses. Expose him to straight lines going up and down hills cross country and getting him just more balanced by allowing him to find his balance himself with the added weight of the rider. That this rider has to be exceptionally capable is without question. And the riders on the accompanying horses have to be exceptional as well to help the young horse along. The ideal situation would now be to turn this horse after 3-4 month of training back out and let it play another summer. But reality unfortunately often presses breeders to sell their products and seldom do we have the luxury to allow a young horse to grow up under healthy circumstances.

I often hear from other breeds “ our horses are more mature than the warmbloods”. I don’t think so. But if the owner of a horse demands training a 2 year old and the judges demand 2 year olds in futurities, the trainer who says ”I won’t train a two year old”, will go hungry.

We all have to pull together to put an end to this practice of pressing young horses into a frame that is detrimental to their development and longevity.

Where do you find a trainer who will be capable to work with your promising youngster in the before described manner? There are no easy answers. Showing is not necessarily a reference, what a trainer tells about himself is subjective and so is what his best friend or your best friend says.

We have in Germany a training system for professionals developed that is not based on competition results. Let me tell you a little about this system. In order to qualify as an apprentice to become a licensed trainer you have to complete the German Middle School, which is 10th grade. You then have to be accepted into an apprentice program by one of the many riding schools that are qualified to train young professionals. In order for a riding school to be accepted by the German Equestrian Federation they have to meet certain criteria. They have to prove that they have horses who are capable of working second level in a double bridle. They have to have horses that can jump a 4 ‘ course. They have to have at least a 20x40m indoor arena, and most important a riding master who will be the head of the apprentice program. There are a good many stables who have exceptional pride in turning out excellent young professionals. The young apprentice shares all stable duties, learns to ride, learns the management of the barn and learns how to teach. This is a three-year program and it was at some point shortened to two years and all Masters protested that it was impossible to teach a young person the necessary skills to finish with adequate knowledge. There has a diary to be kept and a monthly essay to be written. After one year the students go to one of the three examining riding schools: Warendorf, Muenster or Munich and get an interim exam. This does not only check the skills of the individual student, but also the work of the school. After an additional two years the young professional comes for a final two week course and a two week exam into one of the three schools. He has to bring with him a written thesis about a given theme, and the skills to survive a rigorous examining. After that and if he passes all parts of the testing, including second level dressage in a double bridle, a four foot course ridden like an equitation over fences, theoretical skills in all disciplines including vaulting, teaching, riding in a snaffle, business skills etc. he goes home as a Bereiter FN. This only entitles him to carry that particular title. In order to become a Master, he now has to sign up with another riding master and work under him for at least two years to emerge as a riding master himself. The testing for this includes a more comprehensive thesis, a six-week course and a three-day exam. But all of these exams attest the graduate one thing: That he has the same basic knowledge like the guy who graduated with him. That he understands the system of training sport horses in any discipline and that he has shown proficient skills in teaching these disciplines. Not every professional who comes to the United States is an honest guy like one of my friends of whom I am especially proud: Guenther Seidel was working with me at Hertha Beck’s in the Bavarian mountains and was back then already an honest, exceptionally good rider. He has his Bereiter exam. Not every one who claims to have it really does. But you are able to check on that by contacting any National Equestrian Federation and inquiring about the individual. The FEI has the address for the Federation of every country.

And I would like to encourage you to check on these imports, because the ones who are legitimate don’t mind and the others will be eliminated. If you want to give your horse a good foundation, let them be trained by trainers who have a good foundation themselves. I am not saying you can’t trust any American Trainers. I am sure there are some very good one’s. But I wouldn’t know how to check them out.

Another part of educating your young horse is competing. I would like to see this done in a much more relaxed way for the young horses. I rode in suitability classes that were ridiculous for the horses. If you, the breeders, approach the show organizers and the AHSA it could be established to have suitability classes that are tailored to the ability of a young horse brought along at an adequate speed.

The Warmblood is a wonderful horse and I feel privileged to be part of the growing process in this country. But I feel that it takes a lot of good horsemanship and concerted efforts to make the best even better. Thank you for your attention.

(this speech was given 1997 at the Annual Membership Meeting of the BWP-NAD in Charlotte, NC)