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The International Academy for Equestrian Studies Grand Opening
Ms. Jill Hassler-Scoop
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A German academy for American riders opens
The International Academy for Equestrian Studies Grand Opening
The Academy is officially open! It took only two years from inspiration to inception. January 26th the International Academy for Equestrian Studies opened its doors to North American riders who want to expand their education and appreciation of the horse world with studies in Germany. The first class of riders (ages 18 – 29) for the Certified Rider Degree Program, the Pilot Class, began January 12th with nine students representing California, Canada, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Virginia and Washington.
The Grand Opening brought together the founders and some 250 equestrian professionals and educators from all over Germany and the US in Warendorf, Germany. Highlighting the festivities was a beautiful demonstration ride to music by a team of 12 pony stallions and their accomplished riders and a presentation of a Grand Prix Kur by Hubertus Schmidt, one of Germany's top dressage trainers, short listed team rider and member of the Academy’s faculty. Many German dignitaries, including Dieter Graf Landsberg-Velen, President of the German National Equestrian Federation (FN); Dr. Hanfried Haring, CEO of the FN; and several current and former German national team trainers and team riders joined the celebration. The American delegation was pleased to have Linda Zang, one of the USA's two 'O' level dressage judges, and Barbara Funk, representing USDF, attend the ceremony.
The idea for the Academy came from a brainstorming session with Scott Hassler, Janet and John Paxton and Ekkehard Brysch at the 1998 USDF Convention. Their creative energy arose from concerns for the training and handling of young horses in the North America. Ekkehard Brysch took the idea to heart and put it into motion. John Paxton set to work creating the non-profit organization, International Academy for Equestrian Studies, and oversees fund raising. Scott was consulted as the program developed to match the needs of North America horsepersons with the resources available in Germany. Jill Hassler-Scoop and Tanya Boyd took care of the start up organizational details and communications in North America and helped creating the course requirements.
In addition to attending the Grand Opening, I got to spend four days at the Academy. My visit gave me an inside view, not only of the beautiful facility, but of the Academy’s fantastic staff. A more qualified, efficient and caring team to be in charge of every aspect of the Academy can’t be imagined. Mr. Stephan Kiesewetter, the Chief Training Administrator is a gifted and insightful instructor. The Academy currently has 32 horses, 52 stalls, a beautiful indoor hall, lecture room and offices. Students stay at the nearby Freckenhorst Academy, a charming Seminary nestled in the woods among hacking trails.
The instructional program includes riding, classroom work, and field trips. Students are so busy learning with their 6:30am-6pm program that their German language classes had to be moved to the evening schedule. Students each ride two horses a day, have two-and-a-half hours of in-depth lecture daily, and go off-campus once or twice a week to enjoy the world of horses in Germany.
Lectures for the Pilot Class in the first two weeks covered a lot of ground: gymnastic training of older and younger horses (Stephen Kiesewetter), the anatomy/physiology of the riding horse (Dr. Regine Hoffmann-Kiesewetter), The German Riding System (Ralph Michael Rash), cavaletti for the riding horse (Ingrid Klimke), breaking and training the young horse (Susanne Miesner), the seat of the rider (Eckard Meyners), conformation of the sport horse (Dr. Karsten Kuehl), history of the art of riding (Anke Froemming) and basic training for eventing (Martin Plewa).
Off campus activities during the same period included: “Day of the Open Door" where various equestrian facilities usually closed were open to the public for touring. The group went to the North Rhine Westfalian State Stud. The facility has laboratories for collecting the approximately 60 stallions and working with inseminations. On this same day, the Pilot Class visited the German National Riding School, enjoying demonstrations and a tour of the facilities. All German “Bereiter” (approved professional rider) must visit this school and take their exam; then after three years of working as a “Bereiter”, they can return to the school to prepare for their Masters exam. Students also visited a stallion presentation by stallion owners who had brought their stallions to show to potential breeders. A highlight of the off campus activities was watching the Rolinck Cup horse show in Muenster where the students saw Grand Prix dressage tests, musical kurs, and lots of Grand Prix jumping. “It was very educational to watch so many of the top riders,” one student commented.
Several short courses are available in addition to the Certified Rider Degree Program. All Academy courses are designed to provide top quality training. Students will go home with a plan to integrate what they have learned in Germany with their own horses. Up-coming courses include Adult Amateur Intensives and Junior/Young Rider Intensives, both for different levels of rider, and a series of courses for training the young horse.
In every way, the Academy offers a truly inspired education for the serious minded student of the equestrian arts. I’m looking forward to my next visit and to working with Academy students and their horses. For more information on the IAES, contact Tanya at: info@equestrian-academy.org or fax her at 312-527-5931.
Ms. Jill Hassler-Scoop is a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Academy of Equestrian Studies. For more information regarding the Academy, you may visit the web site at www.equestrian-academy.org.
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