I’ve been riding for 40 years, and because I wasn’t born a naturally gifted rider – one of those to whom everything comes easily – I’ve had to learn everything the hard way. So I know HOW I did what I did to earn a good seat.
My training
Walter Zettl, Erik Herbermann, Karl Mikolka, and Egon von Neindorff have been my teachers. They’ve all been widely published and their names are revered in the world of dressage.
I also studied the biomechanics of horse and rider with German Ph.D. kinesiologist Eckart Meyners, who has worked to improve the performance of the riders of the German Gold Medal Olympic Dressage Team. He has certified me to teach his methodology.
Dr. Meyners’ unique blend of movement theory and practice has extracted the rider-relevant portions of the world’s most recognized schools of movement, including Feldenkrais, Alexander Technique, martial arts, yoga, and Pilates. He has published several well-received books about movement and riding, and his method has been incorporated into the curriculum of the German national rider and trainer licensing organization, the German National Riding Federation.
I also worked with Jill Hassler-Scoop, author of Equestrian Instruction: An Integrated Approach to Teaching and Learning, and nationally recognized as an outstanding teacher of teachers. So I not only have subject-area expertise, but I can teach it so that you can understand it, too.
This unique blend of knowledge and experience is what sets The Rider’s Seat Doctor apart.
My mentor, Walter Zettl, and I at one of the many Houghton College clinics I rode in.
I studied with Dr. Eckart Meyners, Ph.D. for several years.
Karl Mikolka and I posed for this snapshot at my second clinic with him.