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Fact or Fiction?
Whatever your preference, we've got it for your summer reading and viewing pleasure By Jennifer O. Bryant
From the Modern Master She had the great, enviable advantage of being the daughter of the late legendary German dressage master Dr. Reiner Klimke. Ingrid Klimke carries on the family legacy and then some, excelling in dressage—although her primary sport is eventing—and becoming what many call the world’s finest horseman of our time. Students of dressage know the Klimkes through their classic book, now called The New Basic Training of the Young Horse. Ingrid Klimke builds on that text with her new book, Training Horses the Ingrid Klimke Way (Trafalgar Square, 170 pp.). This isn’t a standard how-to dressage text. Instead, it’s the closest most of us will come to spending an extended period of time in the Klimke stable. Klimke takes us through “My Guiding Principles for Training,” including the equipment and the people who help keep Team Klimke and its horses happy and healthy. She discusses the elements of her training programs, from cavalletti to jumping exercises. In the final third of the book—perhaps the most fascinating—Klimke discusses “My Horses: Character Types from Shy to Go-Getter.” She introduces some of her top horses, describes their personalities and strengths and weaknesses, and outlines her training plan for each horse. It’s a wonderful insight into a top rider’s training decisions and how she customizes the work to suit the individual horse.
A Fictionalized Romp Through the Dressage World Dressage enthusiasts first made the acquaintance of the Georgia-based USDF-certified instructor/ trainer and USDF L graduate with distinction Karen McGoldrick through her first novel, The Dressage Chronicles. In that book, readers met Lizzy, a dressage working student embarking on an uncertain equestrian career. Lizzy’s journey has since carried her through two sequels, and now there’s a fourth installment in the Dressage Chronicles series, called Rings of Fire (Deeds, 397 pp.). Thanks to McGoldrick’s dressage expertise, all of the details in her books have the ring of authenticity. She doesn’t shy away from using dressage terms, but the stories are still accessible to those who aren’t steeped in the lingo. And the characters—if you’ve been around the barn for a while, you’ll recognize all of these people. The Dressage Chronicles novels are fun reads, whether you’re inside or outside the dressage arena.
Healing Touch One of the key players on Olympian Ingrid Klimke’s team (see review above) is the veterinarian Dr. Ina Gösmeier, who specializes in
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such methodologies as acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In Acupressure for Horses (Trafalgar Square, 152 pp.), Gösmeier shows horse owners how to use acupressure, the non-needling form of stimulating acupuncture points, to help relieve their animals’ minor aches and pains and stimulate their well-being. Beginning with explanations of the concepts of TCM and a guide to determining your horse’s dominant element according to TCM principles, Gösmeier provides a step-by-step guide to this noninvasive way of helping horses feel and perform better. Ample clear color photos show the meridians, acupressure points, and techniques.
Have a Ball I was skeptical the day my instructor handed me two dimpled, slightly squishy green balls— about the size of tennis balls— and told me to put one under each seat bone as I sat in the saddle, then ride as usual. Feeling slightly oddly perched over my saddle, I was sure the balls would slip out and fall to the ground as my horse trotted and cantered. But they stayed in place (OK, they’re not for rising trot), and although the feeling was weird it wasn’t uncomfortable. And they helped me tap into the way my instructor was trying to get me to use my seat. They’re called Franklin balls, whose inventor and namesake, Eric Franklin, is a Swiss bodyworker and founder of the Franklin Method, which has been used to teach dancers, physical therapists, and others to move in a more integrated way. Franklin balls, as I discovered, can also be used to help give riders the feeling of using the seat differently in the saddle. In their new DVD, Riding with Franklin-Balls (Pferdia TV; distributed by Trafalgar Square),