PrintDear Rita,
There I was, riding across the threshold into Schultheis’ arena. I had clambered over his garden fence, left footprints in the rose beds, trespassed on his property on horseback, and somehow he still wanted to see me ride. Looking back on this now, I am dumbfounded.
In retrospect, I don’t think Mr.Schultheis ever found out that I had walked through his rose garden. I’m pretty sure he went to his grave without that knowledge. His roses were his pride, and he invested a lot of time in them. It would be amongst these same roses that he would be found dying from a heart attack two years later.
I entered the arena, pulled the cooler off my horse, and started around the track in working trot. Schultheis watched from the middle. He asked me to change rein. Then he said, “Stop. Wait.” And he disappeared for 10 minutes.
When he returned, he had a Bereiter in tow, and he in turn had a horse in tow. Mr. Schultheis took me off my horse, put his rider on my mare and then handed me the reins to the other horse. “You ride this horse.”
After I mounted, he pulled the stirrups off my saddle and said, “Sit. Trot. Hands forward.” I did just that. I made it almost 20 meters before he said “Toes down.” I thought he had misspoken so I put my heels down further. He screamed, “TOES DOWN!” I obliged. He said, “Good.” After that, every time I passed his corner he said, “More forward.” As the horse warmed up, we gained more and more and impulsion until we were nearly flying around the track. It was exhilarating!
In the meantime, Schultheis’ rider had picked up the reins on my mare, put her poll at the highest point, left her neck free and started riding her through some basic movements as if she were trained by the Keeper of the Light himself. She was transformed. I was impressed.
Twenty minutes passed. I didn’t think about anything other than what Bodo had taught me. Sit in rhythm, swing with the horse’s back, keep your hips and lower back loose. Don’t pull. Ride straight. Ride forward. Go with the impulsion, don’t sit against it.
Schultheis was not saying much, and slowly I got very much into the feeling of sitting the trot on that young horse. Later I found out that it was a 4-year-old Trakehner. I thanked my lucky stars that Bodo had taught me the basics of sitting and riding into the contact.
I was even more grateful that I knew how use the Schultheis saddle—aka Stubben Tristan Extra—and that I was comfortable in it. For riders who are used to using knee rolls, the conversion to a Schultheis saddle can be shocking. But I had learned to sit in that saddle—I had always ridden in it—and back then I didn’t even know that it was considered special. I just was proud that I could sit on that horse so easily and handle the level of impulsion that Schultheis pushed us to.
After 20 minutes Mr. Schultheis said, “Stop. Walk now.” I did, and eventually his rider got off my horse and took the other one away.
Mr. Schultheis patted my mare on the neck. “Good horse.” Then he pointed at me. “You have a good body for riding. How many kilos do you have?” I said, “65 kilos.” He said, “Me too. It is ideal for a rider. Lighter is no good. Do you want to train here with me?”
I said, “Oh yes.”
But oddly, that angry look reappeared—the one that had crossed his face when he caught me riding up his lane. It was intimidating. He said: “The stable is full. I have no place for you.”
