{"id":9807,"date":"2013-01-30T12:58:11","date_gmt":"2013-01-30T01:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/?p=9807"},"modified":"2015-01-22T07:28:08","modified_gmt":"2015-01-21T20:28:08","slug":"training-young-horses-in-germany-with-ralf-kornprobst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/2013\/01\/training-young-horses-in-germany-with-ralf-kornprobst\/","title":{"rendered":"Training young horses in Germany with Ralf Kornprobst"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DevinabyDaCaprio2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ralf and Devina…\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

It has been 15 years since I first met Ralf Kornprobst. He was the bereiter at Rudolf Zeilinger\u02bcs yard just outside of Bremen when I went there to train. He was a good rider then; he\u02bcs a great rider now. Today Ralf operates his own yard just 10 minutes from Munich airport and it was here that I got to catch up with the rider who is currently blitzing the dressage young horse classes in Germany.<\/p>\n

\"FranzJosephKornprobst\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0…and with Franz Joseph – now winning at Prix St Georges level with more than 70%<\/em><\/p>\n

Ralf enjoyed great success in last year\u02bcs German Bundeschampionate aboard Freckle (who placed third in the six-year-old final, now sold) and Franz Joseph (who placed fifth in the six-year-old final, now winning at S level and Prix St Georges). This year he has qualified four horses for the championships: Devina, Diamond of Glory, Finja and Balesteros.<\/p>\n

We start with a tour of the beautiful stables, each with a yard and surrounded by trees, where I meet some of Ralf\u02bcs \u201ckids\u201d. You really feel like he\u02bcs talking about his own children when he talks about his horses.<\/p>\n

The first star we meet is the chestnut, Devina. The mare by Da Caprio qualified for this year\u02bcs Bucha at Baden Wurtemberger Regional Championships in T\u00fcbingen by becoming the six-year-old grand champion. That makes her the winner of her age class at this show for four years in a row.<\/p>\n

\"Ralf<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0Ralf helps his bereaver, Damaris<\/em><\/p>\n

Franz Joseph is a seven-year-old stallion. Ralf explains, \u201cI really love this one. I got him when he was two. I prepared him for his stallion k\u00f6rung and then his stallion testing. He is so special. He already starts very nice half steps.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ralf began riding at nine years of age. \u201cTwenty years ago\u201d, he\u02bcs actually 40. Although he loved his riding, to please his parents he began a \u201cproper\u201d job as an apprentice in an office before giving computer science a try for a year. Riding remained his dream and he decided to try it full time. \u201cI liked it a lot\u201d, he says and this lead to an apprenticeship with Michael Deters who in turn had been trained by Herbert Rehbein.<\/p>\n

With his apprenticeship completed, Ralf moved to Zeilinger\u02bcs yard for one and a half years before riding for Ulla Salzgeber. Ulla still drops in to watch Ralf train whenever she\u02bcs heading off to the airport to give one of her many international clinics. Ralf then went to Isabell Werth\u02bcs yard as a bereiter. In 2001, he decided to start his own yard close to his family here in Notzing. \u201cI decided I needed to earn money!\u201d he explains, half jokingly.<\/p>\n

Ralf trains mostly on his own now but gets the odd brush up from Jasmine Sanche-Burger. Although having competed to Grand Prix successfully (his first Grand Prix mare Gwendy, now 19, is still in the stable), he prefers the young horse classes. He likes to see the progress with the babies and seeing him with them, you can really sense the bond he has with each one. Ralf has help from Damaris Lelke, his bereiter, but with no groom, he does most of the work himself and it suits him well. \u201cI like checking them all, checking their legs and also what mood they are in. It\u02bcs also good for bonding which is especially important with the mares. I really feel it makes such a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first horse out to train is the third horse qualified for the Bucha, Balesteros. The six-year-old bay stallion by Belissimo M has two other stallions as stable neighbours. I show my surprise as they are all so calm and well behaved. Ralf puts it down to the fact that all his stables have yards attached. Every horse, including the stallions, also enjoys time in the field each day. Balesteros is fresh from a week off and is rather excited to be in the arena once more, trying his hardest not to squeal with joy, especially in the outdoor school. But through calm riding with no whips, no spurs and no contraptions Ralf has the stallion settled in no time.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_5447\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI think I have my own training system\u201d, Ralf tells me as he cools Balesteros off. \u201cI don\u02bct care if the head comes low or high, the horse needs to feel comfortable in his body.\u201d Ralf likes good communication with the horse through a light, supporting leg, not with the leg completely off the horse, but just there, ready to \u201ctalk\u201d and \u201clisten\u201d. The hand just needs to follow the horse\u02bcs mouth.<\/p>\n

After Ralf gives Balesteros a bath, it\u02bcs time for Diamond Star to train. At just four years old, the Austrian-branded stallion has been at the yard for two months. He joins his half-brother, Diamond of Glory (owned by Nadine Plaster and Simon Kohlenbrenner of Pferd24) who Damaris already has working in the indoor.<\/p>\n

Both Diamond Hit stallions command a double take. Diamond Star already has a gorgeous, big rocking horse canter and is as cute as can be with a very sweet temperament. \u201cI\u02bcm a big fan of the Donnerhall blood, they have very good rideability and are very sound so to make it to the Grand Prix.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"IMG_5590\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I was to learn later that Diamond Star had qualified for the Austrian Bundeschampionate in September. Ralf excitedly told me, \u201cI am so happy with my boy. It was his first time at a show and he did such a great job in the ring. He got a 10 in the total impression, because he did such an excellent test.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next ride is Ralf\u02bcs favourite. High on Emotion (or \u201cHottie\u201d as she\u02bcs known in the stable) is Balesteros\u02bc four-year-old half-sister. \u201cWe stood in the stable and talked for a few weeks,\u201d Ralf explains of the young mare\u02bcs arrival at the beginning of the year, speaking more to Hottie than me as he kisses her on the nose. \u201cHer temperament is so special. She was so shy when she came and she trusts people so much now. She\u02bcs made so much progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"IMG_5395\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The enormous bay mare begins work in the indoor and it is clear that she is still a little wary of things. But her trust in her rider is obvious; everything is calm, quiet and gentle. Once she has warmed up, it\u02bcs time to take her outside to the big field where Ralf loves to canter and jump the horses. He also likes to take them into the river. \u201cFranz Joseph especially loves it, but Hottie\u02bcs never been out here before\u201d. He trots off but the mare seems very happy, trotting and cantering around in the open space and Ralf really allows her to stretch out.<\/p>\n

There are 12 horses in the yard and Ralf will ride nine a day. \u201cI cannot concentrate after nine horses. You can sit on them and exercise them, but serious training is not possible anymore.\u201d He also has no time for other forms of exercise. And when I ask if he has any special diet, he laughs, \u201cI eat a rider\u02bcs diet. I just eat anything I can grab and run. There is no time for anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finja is the next out and Damaris already has her tacked up. Ralf starts walking the strong chestnut mare. \u201cBMW has an ad, \u02bbPower without control is nothing\u02bc. This could apply to this horse!\u201d But Ralf has the powerful and sensitive mare very much under control. No gadgets or force, just very strong abdominals, as Ralf describes his good and effective position. The pretty mare is almost too willing but so through it\u02bcs hard to believe she\u02bcs just five. She has the rhythm of a metronome and doesn\u02bct miss a beat.<\/p>\n

Ralf doesn\u02bct teach much, as he is way too busy training the horses, but two of his students have come for lessons for a few days. The young horses really change over their sessions. It\u02bcs interesting to see the \u201cbefore\u201d and the \u201cafter\u201d picture. By the end of the lessons, all of the horses are much more through, active, even on both reins and steadier with the contact. The training requires them to be real athletes and power along. No chins to chest or necks being twisted around. Big figures and lateral work are the order of the day. Nothing looks constrained or forced, but they are expected to work with good balanced activity.<\/p>\n

\"Ralf\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Before finishing up, Ralf checks in on Devina and Franz Joseph. He decides the stallion looks like he needs a handful of oats, so goes off to find the feed cart to give him a treat. And that sums up Ralf. It is not enough for him just to ride the horses; he spends a lot of time with them on the ground and he treats them all like his children. He cares about each one and knows their personality inside out. It\u02bcs a joy to listen to him talk about them and watch him fuss over them. When asked if this one or that one will be sold, he hugs them and says, \u201cNo, I hope not this one!\u201d about each and every horse.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Story: Rebecca Ashton
\nPhotos: Roz Neave and Rebecca Ashton<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It has been 15 years since I first met Ralf Kornprobst. He was the bereiter at Rudolf Zeilinger\u02bcs yard just outside of Bremen when I went there to train. He was a good rider then; he\u02bcs a great rider now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[20,534,380],"class_list":["post-9807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dressage","tag-dressage-training","tag-ralf-kornprobst","tag-young-horse-training"],"acf":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9807"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9807\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20536,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9807\/revisions\/20536"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}