Dressage Experience

In 2019 I was asked to work for a year as an instructor for the dressage riders of the famous Heilan Equestrian Club in Wuxi, near Shanghai. Together with three other Dutch instructors I taught 24 Chinese riders. These riders in turn taught about 40 show riders.

The level of the horses and riders was higher than my expectations. The best combinations competed at the level of the Small Tour. I was amazed to discover that these riders had all started riding relatively recently. All textile workers, appointed by their boss and the founder of Heilan Group, Mr. Zhou Jianping, to go horse riding. Most had never even seen a horse up close.

The ease with which they learned new exercises was because they were required to practice two hours of Tai Ji every day. Originally a Chinese martial art, but an art that is nowadays often practiced as an inner art of movement. The riders had incredible body control and agility and could follow my directions with ease. As a result, they learned quickly and were able to develop into Small Tour rider in 4-6 years.

That got me thinking. Together with my colleagues in China we took Chinese Yoga class. We considered ourselves flexible types, but turned out to have quite stiff limbs. In the Netherlands the difference with the Chinese riders is clearly noticeable. Pupils who have more experience with horse riding appeared to have many physical blockages and tensions. That kept them from growing with their horse. I continued my yoga class in the Netherlands and now use this technique in my classes. It is my mission to teach students to better harmonize with the movement of their horse and thereby to grow in their performance.