Ralf Isselhorst

Ralf Isselhorst working at home in Germany

For many years, Australia seemed to be a happy hunting ground for a series offailed riding instructors, who only needed a foreign accent and a European cut pair of breeches to bedazzle the natives. Happily, of recent years while we've still have our share of could have beens and never was beens, our shores have been graced by some of the leading trainers in Europe. Suzy Jarratt reviews the clinic conducted by the latest of the series of German master trainers to hit town...
"Brrrrrrrrrr," said the perspiring man squinting in the Spring sunshine "Brrrrrrrrrrr", and "Brrrrrrrrrr" again. How could the man in the Akubra be cold, it was almost thirty degrees? Ralf Isselhorst was not at all cold, he was merely making the sound so popular with German riders wishing to calm a horse during training. Isselhorst is a stickler for relaxation and spent many hours at Sydney's Dural Equestrian Centre imparting the importance of achieving this. Since 1980 this riding master from R. V. St Georgin Munster has worked for and with Dr Reiner Klimke, with whom he shares the riding club. He works solely training horses, unlike Klimke who spends time attending his legal practice and officiating in his political capacity as Director of Sport. With the good doctor's permission, Isselhorst left for Australia to give a two week school. Wife Petra and his two small children remained in Germany. So far during his 32 years, he has won 20 Prix St Georges, and placed in Grand Prix and Grand Prix Specials. "I don't have any horses of my own but each year I have to school many Prix St Georges horses for clients and so far I've trained two to Grand Prix." He has conducted other schools in Canada, Holland and America, and while he has seen better horses in these countries, he has not always been impressed with the attitude of the riders. "Here in Australia it isn't the riders who have bad problems, it is, just, a little bit, the horses. Here you can teach the riders, they understand, but the success is not always there because their horses are not so good. The technique of your riders' aids is not bad. They know how to ride flying changes, shoulder-in, and half pass but they cannot do them any better because of their horses. But it's super here to meet riders willing to learn, in other countries the riders might have money and the mounts, but they are. arrogant." At the beginning of each of his many lessons rarely did he see an example of true selfcarriage. "But perhaps the riders were not asking for it," he said kindly, "They did not give and retake the rein." So that is what he spent so much of his time asking for, whether a pupil's horse was Novice or Grand Prix. Eighty per cente of the time he asked for the horses to be in single bridles, loose rings or eggbutts, rejecting 'fancy' snaffles, such as copper rollers. Each lesson began and finished with long and low. "Unfortunately, even in Germany, some of the Grand Prix can no longer relax sufficiently to go long and low, it's a great shame," he lamented. Most riders worked at least one of their 45-minute sessions without stirrups. "I wonder if he realises just how old I am!" gasped a purple-faced woman, rumoured to be in her fiftieth year. "But he is awfully good," she added, buckling at the knees and reaching for a saline drip, while her cool, calm and soon to be collected Warmblood looked at her pityingly. "I suppose they're much tougher in Germany!" To what does Isselhorst attribute his homeland's dressage success? "It begins with the history of the cavalry through to the riding clubs of the present day," he explained. "From the very beginning a person is trained correctly. We have so many rider clubs, a lot of riders and a lot of old 'schoolmasters' for the pupils to ride. "The best horses for dressage are those which are able to extend at walk, trot and canter in a sixty metre arena - horses like Rembrandt or Ahlerich." Yet Isselhorst does not regard every horse competing in the German arena as perfect in conformation and temperament. "Like you we often have to do our best with horses that are not so good. Clients put pressure on us to get results from their not so talented horses." And does he, in turn, put pressure on these less talented horses? "You have to work all of them, whatever their ability, without work you cannot have any success." Does he use the whip to get results? "Of course we sometimes hit the horses, just as you discipline children, but sometimes it is best to try again later." When Bimbo Peilicke gave a clinic last year in Sydney he often was seen to work a horse for over two hours to get it 'through'. "If you have a horse's brain against you, you will not win, even if you ride him the whole day. When I first began riding I would do something like that, but my experience now tells me I have no chance, Find a good point at which to end and begin again from that point the next day." Glennis Barrey nee Scott, who has trained and competed in Europe and who was responsible for bringing out Peilicke, attended the Isselhorst school with both her horses. "It seems there are two schools of teaching which ultimately achieve the same result," she said. "Bimbo's from one school but it should be pointed out he works with a lot of problem horses which are sent to him for weeks at a time; and Ralf is from the other school." Glennis was impressed with Isselhorst's teaching manners and attitude. "He taught on a person-toperson level and didn't put himself up on a pedestal. Many European teachers have this tendency and it's difficult to ask them questions." "My work with Raif basically dealt with riding forward and collection. He collected Leo and Livius far more than I had ever done before and neither horse was hassled by it." Even the very best can become hassled and tense. The Theodorescu-trained "The Entertainer" was a tad tense when he was taken over by Michael Klimke who attributes much of his riding success to Isselhorst. Pik Ramos a Prix St Georges/Inter 1 horse upon which Klimke had his first triumphs as a junior was trained by Ralf. They continue working together today. "With The Entertainer Michael, who's a super talent, and I went back to the basic work," recalled Isselhorst. "From the way the horse is built he's not easy. He has a very stiff poll and short, thick neck, he wasn't going through the poll so we did lots of halfhalts and relaxed him."
"He had problems with the flying changes so we only rode straight across the diagonal and did nothing. He gained confidence, came better through the poll and was happy. We worked with him for six months. He's now at the club working with the pupils and grooms as a 'schoolmaster'." He stated that the right way to begin training any horse for dressage was to begin when they are broken in at around 31/2. "At four they can do the basic work, without collection and at five they do the first collection and that doesn't mean a flying change," he said firmly. "That means counter canter, collected and medium trot and half pirouettes at the walk. At six years they're allowed to go 'M' requiring flying change, shoulder-in and half-pass. We teach these movements during the winter season just before the horses reach six years." "Another year after that, when they're good, they can go Prix St Georges, that is the earliest time. And you must remember the horses in Germany have more talent to do these movements, their breeding is better. You don't have trouble with, say, collecting and bending; from their nature they have more self-carriage." During an evening seminar at the Equestrian Centre when Klimke's instructional videos were screened Isselhorst commented on these tapes. He explained the four basic steps of the training method: 1. Warm-up in along, low frame to get rid of stiffness. 2. A short rest period at the walk. 3. Work - making the horse gymnastic. 4. Finish on a good positive note and relax the horse in a long, low frame again. "You work first on rhythm and balance, then on a steady contact with the mouth, then to transitions. This makes the horse gymnastic, smooth and relaxed." "The hindlegs carry the weight," he said. "You must work on them coming deep in the transitions. You must test relaxation of the back through the rein back - the walk steps won't be diagonal if the backs stiff." "The natural horse has his weight on the forehand; but the bones are stronger behind. With the added weight of the rider you must collect the horse or he'll become 'stuck on the forehand'." Janice Usherwood, F.E.I. rider and entrepreneur of the palomino-led 'Usherettes' was delighted by her sessions. "He was just great. Theoretically he was unassailable," she said. "He was an elegant, very correct rider and, above all, he seemed to like horses. I've found many of them don't appear to really like them very much. Philosophically and practically his was the way I like to be taught." "I've always worked long and low but didn't realise just how long and low I should have been going. We should all stay on 20m circles until we get it right." "I would just say, though, I don't really agree that there's anything too wrong about many of our horses here. Ralf says they're not particularly talented but seen at novice level so many go forward softly and rhythmically - the problem is something seems to happen as they go up through the levels," A-level judge, Julie PetersonSmith, who attended the clinic both as a rider and an observer felt that no rider could misinterpret his training methods. "With every horse I watched he honed in on the problem, moving on when he saw an improvement. It refreshed my eye and took me back to home base. I felt I could see the dressage we need to see in Australia." Peterson-Smith spent many months at the Spanish Riding School. Matthew Dowsley, who rides in such a way Isselhorst thought he might have been trained overseas, attended the clinic for three days. "I found the canter exercises very helpful - forward and back on small circles in preparation for the pirouette. These exercises weren't just useful with the horse I was riding in the school but with the others I have on training." "And he made me even more aware of preparation before movements, achieving selfcarriage and accuracy." Janet Stableforth, who took her 9 year-old gelding by N.Z. Hanoverian Witzbold gave full credit to Isselhorst for his perseverance. "Finally Waly started to swing his back, which made him easier to ride and this more relaxed way of moving was maintained after the lesson as well when he became a much pleasanter horse to handle. He used to have a tendency to be rather pushy. "I have a video of my fourth lesson with Raif and each time I watch it I end up totally exhausted!" "Both horse and rider need to be fit to get the most out of a lesson," added Diane Perkins, who attended eight days with her two Duellschutz mares, a yet to be competed 4-year-old and the Prix St Georges/Inter 1 Twentieth Century Foxy. "My favourite quote from Ralf was 'riding is sport, yah?' and it is important to be in shape." Diane is a featherweight sportsperson, her horses are heavyweights nearing l7hh yet Isselhorst did not deem it necessary to exhaust these animals in order that they could be effectively ridden. "He didn't work them hard, he worked them well. When he rode Foxy he displayed his superb position and quiet manner. He was demanding and used a whip but lightly and quickly, along with instantaneous vocal praise and patting of the neck to which the mare responded." "He's a confident, competent and communicative trainer who watched and corrected every move, at the same time making it simple." In the last few months New South Wales alone has been visited by three overseas trainers, Boldt is to arrive in January. Do all of them have such a revolutionary approach to dressage training which sets them apart form some of our resident teachers who have trained and competed in Germany? Is their manifesto so different? Will they be able to assist us in getting our act together and bless us with the expertise and co-ordination so necessary to ride good dressage, be it upon an Australian thoroughbred, an Anglo-Arab or a fullyimported European horse? Have not so many of Isselhorst's words been said to us before? Or do we tend to listen and try harder when we pay eighty instead of forty dollars? Whatever the reasons, if Ralf Isselhorst can be instrumental in helping us develop he should be encouraged to return. It seems NSW will not have to wait too long. He will be back at the Dural Equestrian Centre in 1992 bringing his wife who will be sharing his workload.

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This article first appeared in the December 1991 Horse Magazine