The Warendorf Diaries ~ Days 6 & 7

Days 6 & 7:

As mentioned in an earlier post, we are not permitted to take photos or videos inside the riding school. It’s very difficult to convey the exact vibe here without having visual documentation! I touched earlier on the jumping expectations and how much more forward, sporty and exuberant the horses are. The horses jump with much more of a pronounced arc, and they are used to being jumped significantly higher and faster by the people that come here for professional training certification. They are very much “overachievers”! Combine that with the cold snap we’re experiencing and you get the idea. Likewise, the dressage lessons are also extremely different from what we are used to back home. The horses are very fresh! The lessons and tests are done in small groups…like a quadrille, but with no music. Although the dressage exercises they are doing here are not terribly advanced, every move MUST be done perfectly. “Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily.” (Johann Frederick Von Schiller – was compelled to quote a famous German!)

The entire group is absolutely freaking out over all of the Theory they are learning and are really stressing about the exam on Friday. To add to the difficulty, there are some words that simply do not translate from German to English. Annie is spending every spare second studying and was quizzing me last night. I must say…I’m pretty sure I’d fail miserably!

FYI…these photos were not taken during the lesson, but just afterwards, so I did NOT break the rules!