About Horses and People

Horses have accompanied me my whole life. For a long time I believedthat it was my job to correct them and to teach them something. I onlyunderstood relatively late that this goes both ways best. Today I knowthe horses have made me who I am today. They are my best friends, myteachers and my therapists. They are straight, much smarter than wethink and loyal. They reflect us and always give us the chance to do better.If they love, they will never use their speed and strength against us andabove all, they can forgive and have infinite patience.With this book, with my personal experience, I tried to give back someof their gifts. I wish that more riders and horse people have similarexperiences as I did and are able to meet their horses and perhaps eventheir fellow human beings with an open heart, patience and love.I have been riding since age 13 and I have started my riding education in the Martin Hölzel Riding School in Stuttgart-Moehringen With my first own horse Flingo, that I got already at age 14 I participated in fox hunts and riding club activities such as jumping and quadrille riding. My riding instructor, Herbert Näher, inspired me to participate in horse shows and in the 70th and 80th I participated in show jumping and dressage at the highest national and international level and in cross country competitions upto a medium level. In the 80th I have been over a year a student of Udo Lange, the most successful professional dressage rider at the time and Mr. Lange inspired me to participate in the higher level of dressage competitions. At the same time I started to get to know a completely different way of dealing with horses at the Karlsruhe Riding Institute of Egon von Neindorff. This way of riding and treating horses has shaped and changed my perspective totally. Four of my five dressage horses have been staying several months in the Riding Institute in Karlsruhe.I said good-bye to horse shows and Herr von Neindorff and I planned to open a small exclusive riding school together with only ten horses. This idea inspired me to buy the agricultural property in Heimsheim.