In June 2009 Dutch Olympic rider and Junior/Young rider chef d'equipe Tineke Bartels wrote a column for the Dutch equestrian paper De Paardenkrant in which she took the controversial stand that the Dutch "have got the guts to do it differently." Following the glorious conquest of the Dutch at the 2009 European Dressage Championships, Bartels explained why theses successes happened:
When I stated in June during the Rotterdam competition that Dutch Dressage is five to ten years ahead of other countries, everybody seemed surprised. Various international media reported on this. After the European Championships last week, nobody questions these words any longer. A new trend has not arisen since last weekend, it was already there. The difference is only that we are no longer criticized but admired for our system.
The medals of last weekend are a result of hard work for ten years or even longer. The Germans now have their hands full to reach that same level at which The Netherlands are now. They noticed too late what we were doing and only now they seem interested. They will have to build everything from scratch.
Top Sport Mentality
Why are we in The Netherlands so good? It concerns various factors. Firstly, it is the power of Sjef Janssen's system. He demands a top sport mentality of his people. Not a single detail can be missed and everything has to be arranged to perfection. Every single Dutch dressage team rider is athletic. Imke, Anky, Adelinde and Edward all work on their own personal condition. You notice that Great Britain is already following this trend, but unfortunately there are enough countries lagging behind.
We all learned a lot from the teaching theory in which Sjef and Anky run ahead. Their way of training is a very comprehensive game of question and answer. They are very consequential in this: one question, one answer. And this starts at the basis. Many people only see the rollkur, just like they have battled against low, deep and round riding in Germany. They never realized that a whole phase goes ahead of it. First you have to be able to communicate well with a horse, before you can tell him which muscle he has to use when and in what way. In Germany they insist on the classical way of riding: the Skala der Ausbildung. Straightness is only one issue which is dealt with in both systems, just like balance. But it are the little bits which make you achieve this. The fine tuning already takes place at the basis. We are very conscious about the process, "how do I communicate with my horses." We looked at people such as Emiel Voest and Monty Roberts. We looked at how the horse is pieced together and how we can apply different theories. It works.
A horse like Totilas is unique. Such a horse is not born every year. You can still see that Edward is in the middle of fine-tuning his question-and-answer game. This shows in the single tempi changes which did not excel in the kur to music. Horses like Salinero and Sunrise already have that fine-tuning, just like Parzival, but they are older. And of course there are still are small things that go wrong.
Harmony
The Dutch team had four combinations which were very harmonic in their appearance. Everything looks natural. But not only these four riders can do it. Hans Peter Minderhoud, for instance, is equally good and there are several more.
Of course Laura Bechtolsheimer is very good. She has a fantastic horse. By training such horses in every detail and lifting all barricades, one can come to such performances. The Rabobank Talent Team plays a big role in this whole. The gap between the top and the "normal" people has become much smaller. Young riders get exposed to the top riders. Coby van Baalen, Anky van Grunsven and myself have worked on this. Instead of a trophy, riders could win lessons from us. Anky was of course the big attraction in this system. Like this, young people, such as Adelinde, make an easier transition to the top. We've noticed recently that there is much interest from abroad in the way the Talent Plan is set up. Our youth riders grow up with the idea that besides their horses they also have to work on their own body. Sport psychologists are included. It is a very important part of the total image.
Enjoyed
I have enjoyed the European Championships tremendously. Of course I'm proud of Imke. She had the bad luck that only three riders per nation can move on to the Kur. Sunrise went fantastically and if she could have maintained that shape in the kur, she would have finished fourth or fifth. In Turin, Imke won bronze twice and Sunrise didn't go worse there. Edward, Anky and Adelinde are hard to beat but if one of their horses is not in top shape, it can be done. I believe that Anky can stay close to this top.
What I have learned these past few years is that you don't have to put energy in things you don't control. We only get involved in matters which can be influenced. Dressage is a judging sport and we have to live with that.
Article courtesy: Horses-Academy.nl
Related Link
Dutch Dressage: "We've Got the Guts to Do it Differently"