therefore realize the difficulty in finding one that fits the need, is healthy, and affordable. The right horse is the one that is well ahead of the student in its skills and yet can be ridden by the student - with the help of a professional trainer - to its level. In the sport of Dressage for a rider who is just past the beginner stage in her riding it would be very difficult to ride any FEI test correctly, no matter how advanced the horse is. Her minimum skill level must be that of second level.
     Sometimes it is possible to talk a great deal without ever being understood, just simply because people do understand the meaning of a word differently. To avoid such a misunderstanding here, I would like to explain exactly what I mean by the term “schoolmaster.” Let us just look at the term SCHOOLMASTER. It consists of two words, school - a place of learning, and master - someone who is expert in his field. That describes our horse as an expert who teaches. It is obvious that a horse can not teach like a professor would. He acts as an assistant to the professor. He must without hesitation do as asked even when the communication is at times a bit fuzzy and often inconsistent. In order to show the difference between a “first horse” and a “schoolmaster” allow me to tell you about an experience I had as a young man preparing for my assistant teacher certification in Muenster, Germany. On the last Sunday of a three month course I participated in a music ride to exercise some of the boarders’ horses. I was given a third to fourth level horse. To best describe the impact that ride had on me, consider this happened forty years ago, I have ridden many very good horses since then yet I have not felt that good about a ride again. It was sixty minutes of total harmony. For three months Mr. Stecken and his assistants had explained to us the importance of lightness and harmony in lectures, dressage lessons, and jumping lessons and had given us a very good idea what these mean for the success in training and showing. Within one hour this mare showed me that everything we had been taught was absolutely correct. It also showed me that I had greatly underestimated the quality of such training and the lift such a ride can give to a person.
     This horse was a master in the subject of harmony! I will never give up conveying to my students the importance of striving for and improving upon it. I just wish I knew who trained that horse. I would want to learn more from him.
     There are very few horses that can be considered masters at everything, so in your search for the horse that will take you to your potential you must first evaluate yourself, determine where you need the most help, and then look for the horse that is especially strong in that area. Try this horse and make sure you two will get along, and with a little fine tuning he will respond to you correctly. It has always been my belief that the responsibility for learning lies - at least in the case of adults - with the student. You have chosen the professional you are comfortable with and whom you trust so you should follow the professional advice you receive. Please keep in mind, however, that the value of this advice depends upon the correctness of the input coming from you. Please be honest with yourself and your instructor! After all it is your progress, your enjoyment, and your money.