Four young women from Japan spent five days at Hof Kasselmann in Germany to improve their skills in dressage during a dedicated clinic held from 7 - 11 March 2016.
Learning from talented schoolmasters that are based at Hof Kasselmann stables, the Japanese Young Riders were coached by Kasselmann trainers Heike Hamel and Frederic Wandres and all of them enjoyed receiving valuable tips for their equestrian future
On the final day a training competition was held for the participants. They all had to ride a Prix St. Georges test and were judged by German U25 national coach Jürgen Koschel.
“All competitors managed well, especially when I consider the difficulty for them to compete on an unknown horse. All of them would be competitive in a German starting field as well," said Koschel.
Participants Maria Takada, Akiko Shimizu, Ayano Kobayashi and Yumi Sakai all considered the clinic a huge benefit.
“At home we train and compete with horses which are educated at the same level. However, in Germany we were able to ride Grand Prix horses”, explained the 22-year-old Yumi.
Akiko and Maria have set Grand Prix level competition as future goal, so both were able to learn a lot from the Kasselmann horses and trainers. The 21-years-old Maria even dreams of the Olympics. "But at the moment, it would be a dream to stay in Germany for a longer period to gain more experience and compete at international shows and Championships," all of them agreed.
Photo © Kasselmann
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