70 SIDELINES NOVEMBER 2011
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
it was just a nice relationship, the same that a good couple
should have on the dance foor.
Sidelines:
Will Mathias Rath develop a similar partnership with
Totilas?
AS:
Mathias is a very nice rider, and I think he’s a bit
overwhelmed. All the pressure they put him under probably took
its toll a little bit. I’m sure it will be a different partnership with
the different training methods, but eventually he will do a fne job
with Totllas. Will it be as Edward had? Maybe not. Maybe less
brilliant in some ways, maybe in some areas technically more
correct. I wish them well. I feel a little sorry for Mathias, in that
kind of a pressure cooker. I’m sure he would like to ride and get
to know the horse without everybody watching.
Sidelines:
What about our Pan Am team?
AS:
Steffen Peters is right now the leader on both teams: the
leader on the small tour team for Pan Am [with Weltino’s Magic]
and certainly right now the leader with Ravel, the potential engine
[for the Olympics], but we need a few more cabooses. Heather
Blitz is a good rider on a very imposing horse [Paragon] and he’s
very impressive in St. Georges. He’s relatively young and I’m
sure he will be great for the Pan Ams. For Grand Prix we have
to wait a little bit. Cesar Parra has had consistently good horses
and tries to be very competitive. Whatever horse he has at the
time will make or break it for him. Right now he has a nice horse
[Grandioso] and he’s on the small tour team. Marisa Festerling
[Big Tyme] has been around for quite a while. She really shone
at Gladstone: very solid rider, very nice horse, very consistent
over the three days. That’s what you’re looking for when you
send a team to a major competition, consistent horses.
Sidelines:
How do you feel about the helmet rule changes?
AS:
People are working on a safety top hat. My question, right
now, is do we really need it? It’s so diffcult to have a safety
top hat with the edges that are necessary for a top hat. Some
of the new safety helmets coming out are really attractive and
a number of the riders look really good in them. You just have
to get used to the look. I’d go a step further: I would like to
change our riding uniform a little bit. It doesn’t make any sense
to ride in 100 degree weather in a shadbelly. We should have
a summer uniform. Some of the little jackets that people wear
at auctions are very attractive, cover what they need to cover
and look smart. We have to get away from the old fashioned
somewhat stilted ways we have of presenting ourselves.
Sidelines:
What is it about dressage that still captivates you?
AS:
I started riding dressage as a child: we had to ride a little
jumping, a little cross country, vaulting, dressage. We had to
become all around horse children, horse young people (laughs):
it’s kind of stuck. Dressage is never the same: every day is
different. I like the challenge, I enjoy working with the people –
they’re normally very dedicated. If you do it right, you can see
the progression in the horse. To do it right is the key.
Sidelines:
Do you still ride?
AS:
If I have the chance to get on something that’s nice and
friendly and it’s a trail ride, I never say no. A couple years ago I
rode a Paso Fino in paso gait across a feld with a champagne
glass in my hand: that was wonderful. We don’t have our own
horses anymore: with my wife’s travel schedule and mine, we
ride airplanes more often than we ride horses!
Sidelines:
If you’re teaching a clinic, what three ‘lessons’ do
you want riders to take with them?
AS:
Listen to your horse. Try to make him the best he can be.
Have fun doing it.
Heather Blitz is a good rider on a very
imposing horse [Paragon] and he’s very
impressive in St. Georges. He’s relatively
young and I’m sure he will be great for the
Pan Ams.
Cesar Parra has a nice horse in
Grandioso, Axel says
“Marisa Festerling and Big Tyme really
shone at Gladstone: very solid rider, very
nice horse, very consistent over the three
days. That’s what you’re looking for when
you send a team to a major competition,
consistent horses,” says Axel.