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Visit the Dressage Masters Website at:

www.dressagemastersbook.com


A new book:

"Dressage Masters" copyright 2006

by David Collins

(The Lyons Press. Available in June 2006)

 

Following are reviews, a photo (Ellen Schulten-Baumer) and a brief excerpt from Dressage Masters, a book which takes the reader into the famous stables of legendary trainers Klaus Balkenhol, Ernst Hoyos, Dr. Schulten-Baumer and George Theodorescu.

Reviews:

  • Few of us will ever have an opportunity to meet any modern dressage masters, much less come to know their personalities, their philosophies or be able to ask them pertinent questions about how they achieve their results.  David has.  His work gives us a marvelous opportunity to learn about these amazing men.  We can hear unique anecdotes, find out how their riding and training careers were shaped and even more importantly gain an understanding of their techniques.  As an extremely insightful trainer himself, David’s questions for these masters are succinct and their answers clearly convey tremendous knowledge which would be wonderful to incorporate in our own riding and training.  And of course, there are great photographs, both technically educational, such as the series on lateral disassociation, and just plain beautiful such as those showing the bond between horses and humans.

 

  • Dressage Masters is a beautiful and powerful work.  A great contribution to the equestrian world - and hopefully to many outside the equestrian world, as well.  I read it on a business trip. At one point I was on a jet at 35,000 feet and was moved to tears by the reverence shown to the horse by these masters..)

 

(Click on the photo to see more pictures from Dressage Masters)

 

Ellen starts her pirouette at the Bremen Grand Prix. Notice the engagement of the hind legs as Donatha S lowers her croup. Ellen doesn’t interfere with the pirouette by using too much leg, or worse yet, too much spur. Too much spur will cause the horse to cramp its belly muscles thereby stopping its hind legs.  As the level of engagement increases, so must the lightness of the aids. The balance and coordination between horse and rider must become more fine-tuned; this becomes easier to disturb with harsh aids. A rider must be capable of sustaining the proper level of relaxation and concentration in order to execute collected movements well. This type of focus is critical for all elite athletes---not just dressage riders.  As the renowned philosopher Joseph Campbell said, “The athlete must find a place of inner peace”. Note Ellen’s expression.

              

 

...in the following 276 pages (including 172 photographs), these masters shared a few of their key points of wisdom including a valuable glimpse into their philosophy and paradigms that evolved as they achieved their considerable success. These four trainers are responsible for significant contributions in the training and teaching of horses and riders which together won an incredible 90% of the Olympic dressage gold medals in the last four Olympic Games. During this period, the German dressage squads won 18 out of the 20 individual and team gold medals awarded. This is an unprecedented achievement in the history of equestrian sports---a 90% win record in a sport/art in which very few countries have even won one of these coveted prizes. These few masters have taught students who won more gold medals than entire nations---Sweden ranks behind Germany in the gold medal count with a total of seven, followed by USSR with four. Additional gold medal winning countries are France, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Austria (German jumper riders are also well known for a system of training that is based on dressage. This is a major contributing factor to their success. German jumping squads hold the record for most Olympic show jumping gold medals).

 

The most important aspect of the great master’s success, for the purposes of this book, lies in their uncanny ability to produce successful horse and rider pairs---to communicate their knowledge to others. Great trainers, great instructors and great riders are three separate but related categories. As is often witnessed, success in one does not guarantee success in another. These masters are the people who stand behind the scenes at world-class competitions. They help others to achieve success...

 (Click here to read more from Dressage Masters).



Sport Horse Services International

Our Mission:

SHS International is dedicated to furthering the principles of classical horsemanship through correct dressage. Our focus is in teaching students how to ride their horses, and in training these horses to be easier to ride. Our methods are based on first hand experience acquired from Europe's Grand Masters of this art. In the true classical tradition, we believe, "Equestrian Art Ends, Where Violence Begins".   We offer the finest services in the training of dressage horses and riders. We also offer select horses for sale.


David Collins is available for a limited number of clinics for the 2007 season. Please inquire by email:

David Collins 

Or inquire about David's current clinics:

Union Bridge, Maryland    www.celebration-farm.com

 

Click here for more info about clinics in the following cities:

Newtown, CT

Boston, MA

Miami, FL  

Martha's Vineyard, MA 

Bentleyville, PA

Sleepy Hollow, NY

Millbrook, NY

 

 


 

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Rebuilding Horses:

Our goal is to build proper muscles in a happy equine athlete with special emphasis on relaxation and correct work in the back and top-line. Only quiet, systematic training will produce these results. SHS students have won Championships and Reserves at the regional finals at second, third, fourth, Prix St. George, Intermediate I and Intermediate II levels.

David on Fruehlingsstar winning the Prix St George at Millbrook, NY. David purchased Fruehlingsstar as an un-backed 4 years-old.

 


 

©Phelps Photo/DressageDaily.com®

 David Collins aboard Grand Prix mount Aujourd’Hui at the 2000 Olympic Screening Trials in Florida.

David acquired AJ in July of 1999. AJ had received top training in Germany and was 10 years old at the time. He had placed a few times at Intermediate I. Many did not think that the horse could reach the Grand Prix level of competition. After only seven months of training, David is seen here showing Grand Prix at a USET  qualifying show. He received a respectable 59.93% and ninth place. Mariette Withages, Chairperson of the FEI Dressage Committee sat at “H”. She gave David a 62.20% for this ride. “Aujourd’Hui was a great horse. What he lacked in confirmation and Piaffe/Passage talent (as can be confirmed by renowned German trainer Sigfried Peilecke) he made up for in other areas”, David. In 2002 David and Aujourd'Hui were Region 8 Champions at Intermediate II. They were third at Grand Prix.  

  


 


 

David Collins riding the Swedish Stallion Kardinal, now standing at Normandy Manor Farm.

David started training the 9-years-old Kardinal after many trainers had given up. His owner had scratched from many 1st level classes, saying that, "He would halt at 'X' and put his nose higher than his ears. I found it hard to canter a 10 meter circle. I was told he would never learn a flying change". After 2 years of training, David is seen here showing Prix St George where he received many scores in the mid to high 60s. His owner showed him successfully thru 4th level. "The only thing that was wrong with this horse was that he wasn't using his back properly. This was due to training, and was not related at all to the horses natural ability or willingness. I found that Kardinal always gave 110%. He was just too smart to perform with a hollow back, since this leads to injuries",  David Collins.

  (CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FABULOUS STALLION 

LUCKY LIGHT, NOW STANDING WITH SHS)


 

Contact Information

SHS International

David Collins, Anni de Saint Phalle

Hawks Willow Farm

Pawling, NY

General Information: Click here to email David