Germany and the Battle of Good vs. Evil (Riding)

I just got back from a wonderful visit to Germany where, amongst many other things, I went to the CHIO in Aachen, and watched the CDIO 5* Grand Prix tests. That was the day Isabell Werth ended up 17th because Emilio didn't like his bit and refused to piaffe, and Laura Graves won with an impressive 80+%. In between there was Steffen Peters with 71+% (a bit of gift, if I may say so), on an out of balance Rosie (very wide behind, hardly ever stepping under her center of gravity), and an underrated Dorothee Schneider at 75+%. but who IMHO showed best a horse on her seat, in self carriage, consistently reaching for the bit (see image on top), and not phased at all by a bunny rushing through the ring in the middle of her test. One can generally recognize the Dutch riders by the tension in their forearms alone, though I thought that Hans Peter Minderhoud presented a decent test.

In the warm up ring I also was able to watch Ingrid Klimke, who is the universally accepted Queen of correct riding and training. Her stallion was, while not always in front of the vertical, long in the neck, supple over his back and focused on his rider. 

Now, Isabell came back to re-establish her world domination, but not without fairly loud criticism of her training methods on social media (she's accused of using Rollkur), propelling that debate all the way onto German national news. Btw., Anky van Grunsven (inventor of the modern Rollkur, although a similar "technique" was originally introduced by Baucher) has successfully advocated abolishing the halt in Dutch tests ( Dutch riders tend to have problems with the halt because of the extreme tension in their horses) as it's "too much to ask of a young horse", and some judges have consequently resigned (my hat's seriously off to those judges!!). The western border regions in Germany are actually seeing an influx of Dutch riders who want to ride and get instructed properly. 

A lot of German amateur riders are quite disenchanted with the traditional German schools however, which, while often paying lip service to the classical principles (most notably not to fiddle/pull ("riegeln") the head of the horse down but to properly ride a horse back to front via straightening exercises) are much less proper in practice. I have heard a high ranking FN trainer and judge (who is also the coach for one of the "A Kader" team members) "explain" to an amateur student that the horse must be tight in the throat latch / behind the vertical first before releasing it out a little longer etc. To that I, and a lot of higher level amateurs (and those who can't sit the trot and trail ride  at the walk on a long rein on a crooked horse) say bullocks. True classical training is in high demand right now. 

That also gave rise to a very controversial school of so called classical riding, one that has a very prominent social media presence that calls what they are doing "riding in truth," which of course is the "only truth" you can find these days. In response to the Rollkur perversion on one side, they offer the "forward/downward" (i.e. proper stretching) is evil (as it causes horses to run on the forehand) propaganda.  Instead  they artificially elevate the horse's head with the hand so that their polls are up, but unfortunately the backs are down. They happily post pictures and videos on FB all showing horses that are out behind and not using their backs but presenting what they consider "lightness". This stable also very aggressively shuts down critics by deleting their comments and engaging in personal attacks. They have private FB groups with entry exams that require having read the Master's two books and some in which someone else who is already a member must vouch for the applicant's "true desire to learn" as to not allow any detractors.  Of course this has united a whole lot of riders on instructors on the other side as well. 

I hope that the current debates will result in a return to better basic education for all horses and riders, allowing horses the time to develop properly before chasing from competition to competition. It is equally misguided to believe that a Grand Prix horse shouldn't ever get spooked or that even in a tense situation, the rider should never, temporarily, take a bit more rein contact; as it is to accept that front to back riding, be it in absolute elevation or Rollkur, are acceptable means of training.