172 SIDELINES FEBRUARY 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Continued on page 174
2 SIDELINES JUNE 2012
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Leslie with Eisenherz, a stallion owned by
Sherry Tourino.
Leslie enjoying a quiet
moment with Harmony’s
Vanda did just that – and Leslie’s career took off.
She says the journey was incredible. Leslie and Erich
started from scratch. She admits that the first four weeks
she spent with him were completely on the lunge line and
then she gradually was able to start riding more. But who
could complain? She had an Olympic coach virtually all to
herself for the 12 years she trained with him.
He brought her up through training level and helped her
understand what the movements should feel like and
how to achieve them. He would go to shows with her and
ensure she did everything exactly the way he wanted and
then he would sit down with her and they would critique
other riders together. “I think that’s what made me a good
teacher because I learned so much just watching him,” she
said.
But perhaps the greatest lesson he taught her was how
to solve problems through gymnastic exercises. “He
taught me that for every problem, there is an exercise
to fix it. There was always an exercise to teach and/or
fix the problem and that’s how I came up with gymnastic
exercises.
