68 SIDELINES NOVEMBER 2011
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Continued on page 70
A Few Minutes With Axel Steiner
By Lauren R. Giannini
Axel Steiner is a genuinely gracious, unoffcial global
ambassador of dressage. His riding began at the age of
nine in Germany where he later attended two schools:
Warendorf, which conducts tests of trainers, and
Neindorff, founded by Egon von Neindorff, author of “The
Art of Classical Horsemanship.”
After Axel’s move to the US 1961, he competed his own
as well as horses owned by the US Modern Pentathlon
Team (fencing, shooting, swimming, cross-country
running and riding) until his duties in the US Air Force
called a halt to his competitive drive.
Axel has judged in 35 countries from shows in remote
equestrian outposts to the World Cup Finals, Pan Am and
Olympic Games. Granted his frst National judge’s license
in 1968, his status was elevated to FEI-O, now designated
FEI-***** (fve star), in 1988, the year he retired as a Lt.
Colonel. Popular as a teacher and clinician, Axel is a
long-time member of the USEF Dressage Committee, a
judge-examiner, and serves on the faculty of the USDF
“L” program. He lives in California with his wife, the well
known equestrian artist and photographer, Terri Miller
Steiner.
Sidelines:
How has dressage changed for the better?
AS:
The quality of the horses has improved greatly,
certainly in the last 10 years. It’s getting better each
year that new horses and new young three and four year
olds are coming out: they’re getting better and better for
the simple reason that they are now being bred for the
sport. They’re not the all purpose type horse that could
probably do most anything.
They’re now carefully bred
for the dressage, and it
really shows. The riding
and training over the years
has gotten much better,
recognizing some of the
bio-mechanical principles.
So everything has become
much more sophisticated.
Sidelines:
Is horse
quality the main reason
we’re scoring better
internationally?
AS:
No, I don’t think that’s
it. The world’s horses are
getting better. It isn’t just
our horses. Horses in
general around the world
are getting better, especially
in Europe. Most of the horses we get come from Europe. The
reason why we are getting closer to the European standard is
because we spend quite a bit of time competing and training in
Europe, picking up the European training ideas.
Sidelines:
What are the challenges of judging the best?
AS:
Judging is always a challenge because you put your career
and your reputation on the line every time a horse comes down
the centerline. So you’re trying to do the best job you can.
Sidelines:
Do you fancy riding a superstar horse and who
would it be?
AS:
Everybody would love to sit and feel what piaffe and
passage on Totilas would feel like – absolutely! I would love to
get the feel now with one of these three and four year old horses
of how much different they are than the older traditional horses
that I grew up with – absolutely! Would I do it? No. But I still
work with a lot of riders and horses from the ground.
Sidelines:
What good has come out of the Hyperfexion debate?
AS:
Anything that is forced is no good. At the same time I see
the pendulum swing the other way, and we have some people
so hypersensitive that anytime a horse comes a little bit behind
the vertical they’re screaming “Hyperfexion!” which is total
nonsense. For a horse to be properly gymnastically worked they
have to be worked a little low and behind the vertical to really
be able to loosen the back. It just has to be done properly and
humanely with lots of breaks in between.
Sidelines:
What do you think of the partnership between
Moorlands Totilas and Edward Gal?
AS:
That’s really what it was: it truly was a partnership. They’d
known each other quite a while and because anytime you know
each other quite a while, you may be able to communicate your
wishes without everybody seeing it and do it relatively quietly.
The horse understood he had the confdence that the rider would
let him do it and not interfere. It looked sometimes like Edward
was sitting there passively and letting the horse do his dancing:
Axel Steiner
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“
Steffen Peters is right now the leader on the small tour
team for Pan Am [with Weltino’s Magic]”
All competition photos by Sue Stickle