Australian Grand Prix rider Mary Hanna arranged for international dressage supremo Steffen Peters to make the trip to her magnificent Drysdale property to conduct a three day clinic. Mary has been in close contact with Steffen
from the time he was last in Australia in November 2010 when he triumphed at the Dressage Spectacular and his Masterclass at EQUITANA Melbourne where he partnered Mary’s supremely talented young stallion Shiraz Black. The horse has since made the trip to the USA and is based with Steffen who told me he that they hope to have their first start together in May 2011.
Mary said, “There were many people who would have loved to work with Steffen, but spots for this clinic were limited. I tried to give some of the Victorian Squad riders who did work with Steffen at Equitana, the chance to be part of this clinic. Steffen was also keen to work with a nice young horse and a promising small tour candidate and so two of my pupils with appropriate horses were invited to join in. It is really good for me to observe Steffen at work with the riders that I teach, it refreshes my observations and brings in another expert opinion … we have all learned a great deal by having Steffen visit Australia and I hope we can do it again!”
Although Steffen’s 3 day clinic in was closed to outside spectators, I was fortunate enough to be able to sit in the corner and listen to the words of wisdom from the Master and take in some of his refreshing ideas and intuitive observations. I caught the last half of Mary’s lesson on her EQUITANA winner Umbro and Steffen was able to coax some pretty special passage and piaffe sequences which demonstrated the lightness and harmony that we saw Steffen achieve with his riders at the EQUITANA clinic. Steffen’s message embodied the concept of “less is more” and he never spoke in terms which implied force or dominance, he is about showing the horse what you want… and then allowing the horse to offer the correct response.
by Berni Saunders
Read the full report (with photos) of the clinic on Cyberhorse.net.au