Story by Chris Hector, photos by Roz Neave and Peter Stoop<\/em><\/p>\n Our little Dressage prospect, Waca has been quietly progressing in his work with Silva Stigler, now it\u2019s time for another step up – and for our training session photo shoot, we decided to do it in style, and at the same time, see how the \u2018baby\u2019 would handle the pressure of a new arena.<\/strong><\/p>\n Just down the road from Boyd and Silva\u2019s Lochinvar base, is Carroll\u2019s Ranch, a state of the art equestrian facility with both indoor and outdoor arenas. In deference to Roz and her camera, Silva rode the horse in the outdoor, with its spectacular Hunter Valley backdrop\u2026 not that any of it affected the little guy. Waca worked like a dream. He has such a big trot \u2013 with so much of that fashionable modern knee action \u2013 that you could see him get a little unbalanced at times with a tendency to lose rhythm, but the canter is simply AMAZING, so big and under himself \u2013 like the famous world champion, Farbenfroh, and the walk is way above average\u2026<\/p>\n And Silva, well she just sits there, so quiet, so correct, and getting the result she is looking for, not that she is looking for anything much at this stage.<\/p>\n With a baby horse like Waca, how much is there you can do? They accept the bridle right from the start? It might be easy for you to say that coming from Germany where every horse seems to go on the bit. When you see a four year old class in Germany, they all go round in a nice outline, but I regularly see so-called FEI horses competing in Australia, and one minute they are above the bit, and the next second behind it, and the rider\u2019s hands are dancing round like a puppeteer with a marionette \u2013 why does it look so simple in Germany? How deep do you like your young horses to work? Not Anky deep? You are aiming Waca for Dressage with the Stars at the end of the year, what will be your program for him? The walk and the canter look fairly flash? Have you had any problems \u2013 issues like straightness? \u201cHe is happy to do whatever you want him to do.\u201d SILVA – A LIFE<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI started riding when I was little, about seven years old \u2013 I just rode in the little pony club stable. I finished school. My dad is a lawyer, so he wanted me to go to Uni, but I didn\u2019t want to do that so we had a little argument, but it was alright, I started my Bereiter in Paul Veck\u2019s stables.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a government owned stable and stallion station in the Rhineland breeding area. I worked there for three years \u2013 Paul Veck actually trained Jean Bemelmanns, he was a great trainer. He is nearly 70 years old, so he is from the old school. It was a hard three years. We worked seven days and started early in the morning and finished late at night, but it was worth it. I learnt heaps and heaps.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI saw all the stallions from Warendorf that came there for the breeding season \u2013 like Florestan \u2013 and saw them work. I competed a lot at that time, many young horses and up to Prix St Georges. Then I did my Bereiter\u2019s license in Warendorf, at the Westphalien State Stud. I was graded one of the best riders in my class and won a scholarship to train with Herbertus Schmidt for three months. That was great, and even better, he kept me on for another year.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat was the best time, working with him because he is such a nice guy. There are so many horses there, and it is really exciting. I got lessons on every horse every day.\u201d<\/p>\n He has a very distinctive way of riding, a very light contact \u2013 it is beautiful to watch?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt is just amazing to watch him work, he is very very focussed, and he really loves his horses. The funny thing is that he is just a farmer, he\u2019s not up himself \u2013 he does his hay and straw himself, and he does all the stable work \u2013 in between he rides a couple of FEI horses.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause he has bereiters that have been there for ten, twelve years, he rang Rudolf Zeilinger, and I got a job with him. I stayed there for three years, which is great as well, different to what Hubertus does, not much, but a bit. I got lessons on every horse, rode eight or nine horses a day. In his stable he has about 30 horses, and at least 20 are Grand Prix! You go through the movements every day.\u201d<\/p>\n Is that important, to get the Grand Prix movements so they are like riding walk, trot, canter?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt is hard if you just have one horse, you can\u2019t ride every movement with that horse every day, but if you have the chance like I had, of riding that many Grand Prix horses, it is just amazing how quickly you get used to riding one times, or piaffe or passage. It\u2019s the best way to learn it, to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI got to compete which is unusual in stables like that, so I was very lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n![\"newwaca2122\"](\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/NEWWaca2122.jpg\")
With Boyd and Silva Martin<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"wacafeet\"](\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/WacaFeet.jpg\")
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\n<\/em>\u201cNot so much. The only important thing is going forward and straight, try to get them round without putting any pressure on them. Just try to keep it fun and get them confident.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>\u201cNot right at the start. When you break them in, it doesn\u2019t matter where their head goes, they just need to learn to go forward. You don\u2019t have to do much, you just have to have an even contact, and all of a sudden they are on the bit. There is not much you do, it works out by itself.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/em>There might be some riders who make a big deal out of riding young horses, I think the main thing is to leave young horses alone, ride them forward and straight. I don\u2019t think you need to try and pull their head in or anything. If you just leave them alone it will come. Make sure you have even contact on both reins, and they will drop down and reach.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"wacacantergood\"](\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/WacaCanterGood.jpg\")
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\n<\/em>\u201cI like them to reach, I like them to drop their neck down to where the wither is, just reach down so the back comes up, and the back swings. I like them as deep as you can without losing the contact.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>\u201cThis is not what I learnt. Anky is doing a great job, she really wants them round, round, round but this is just different from what I learned.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"wacacanterbacklit\"](\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/WacaCanterBacklit.jpg\")
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\n<\/em>\u201cI want to just keep going. Doing what I am doing now. Keep him confident and forward. I want to try and improve his trot a little, so he has a bit more schwung \u2013 I don\u2019t know the word in English. I don\u2019t think we\u2019ll have any problems with that. I think he is already on the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>\u201cAmazing, you don\u2019t have to do anything with them. The only thing is that the trot is a little unbalanced at the moment because he has only been in work for a couple of weeks. I think he will be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>\u201cNot at all, Boyd broke him in, and took him in and out of the arena. He was very confident and not scared at all. By the time I got on him, he was just so confident, I just had an even contact and he was there. He is a horse with a wonderful nature.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"wacatrot\"](\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/WacaTrot.jpg\")
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\n![\"silva1\"](\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Silva1.jpg\")
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