German Grand Prix Rider Teaches at Pine Lodge

German Grand Prix rider Uta Pulvamacher has just completed a three day working holiday teaching at Pine Lodge School of Classical Equitation. The school provided a wide range of standards for her to teach, from the UEA college team to Pine Lodge owner Sue Barber and her international dressage prospect, Infinito.

With the more advanced riders, Uta’s keen observation meant she quickly spotted problems like slightly incorrect weight distribution that prevented the horses from performing correctly. Her calm manner meant she could communicate the solution quickly and so enable the riders to improve the horse’s way of going. She was also able to make great improvements to the less experienced riders.

Back home in Germany, Uta is also a fully qualified and practising doctor. Becoming qualified took longer than average as she was competing on three horses at dressage and FEI (Sue, can you clarify what level she was competing at?). Now she often starts at 5am to muck out and school her five horses.

Uta has two horses working at Medium level and three youngsters, all German Warmbloods. Each horse is turned out in the mornings, the older horses are schooled for an hour every day, and the youngsters for slightly less time.

Uta believes her horses should work hard but also get a break. If the youngsters are fed up with dressage one day, they are turned out instead of schooled. In this way, Uta believes she can keep the character of the horse, necessary to produce the extra flair required in top dressage horses.

Comparing the typically British way of riding to the typically German style, Uta commented that in Germany more focus is given on loosening the horses before and after work, allowing them to work long and low to really warm up before work and then having a good stretch after work. Even the show jumpers in Germany take this approach, she said. She also favours a double jointed snaffle with a lozenge shaped joining piece, as this is softer. Interestingly, she had no preference for the copper mouthpiece, currently so fashionable over here.

In Uta’s area, near Dusseldorf, dressage is highly competitive, with between five and six Grand Prix level trainers to choose from and about five competitions a week. It is this environment that produces such disciplined and hard working riders as Uta.

Uta will return to Pine Lodge later in the year (after competition season in Germany is over). To book a lesson, contact Sue Barber on 07765 000869.