Anita:

I was asked to write an article for a national dressage magazine. Much of the article was edited and unfortunately the revised article did not give Karl credit for my expanded education. I have taken the cut parts of the article and added a little more. It all has to do with rhythm and timing.

My own personal basic education in dressage began many years ago. With the traditional European instruction available in this country I brought my first horse up the levels reaching Grand Prix in 1996. I had acquired USDF Silver and Gold Medals along the way and became a USDF Certified Instructor. Subsequently I advanced a few more horses up to Grand Prix and assisted many of my own students on their journeys through the levels but I was still feeling there was an element of trial and error in the process. I needed more answers.

The amazing thing about this sport is that the learning never ends. The Old Masters said it takes two lifetimes to learn how to ride. I continue in this lifetime to 'fill the blanks' by furthering my own education. In this quest I encountered Karl Mikolka. My student Adam Cropper had been riding in clinics with Karl and he kept telling me I should really ride with Karl as his exercises were in sync with my teaching.

My first lesson with Karl in 2002 started with Karl asking me why I thought I knew how to ride. I proceeded to tell him that I didn't and that was why I was in his clinic to learn. The initial thoughts on his systematic exercises drawn from the Spanish Riding School were that they resembled piano scales. Through repetition they focus on the rhythm and timing of your aids within the rhythm. In the beginning it felt like I was at the piano again and scales were not my favorite part of playing the piano, but the results quickly became apparent. My horses started to think and actually understand the exercises. Anticipation was used in a positive way where my horses understood what was coming next. My muscle memory started to kick in and the exercises took less and less brainpower. They became second nature, similar to how posting the trot becomes second nature. Pretty soon canter zig-zags were like a dance instead of a nightmare.

Karl can actually teach feel and teach horses and riders to think. His exercises have explained and simplified the training of the movements and removed the ‘trial and error' part of the training. Thankfully I have been much more successful in training numerous horses and students further up the levels with less confusion and resistance.

A prime example of the power of Karl's exercises is Cannonball, a horse owned by my student Barbara West. Cannon was purchased two and a half years ago as a 3rd level horse who had competed in Denmark with his amateur owner. Barbara's goal was to reach the Grand Prix before she turned 60 and this was the horse that was going to take her there. Cannon came with no pirouettes, no piaffe, a little fake passage, short flat changes and no medium or extended trot. We had a lot of work to do. After six months of instruction and intermittent training by me Barbara won the Amateur Prix St George at the NEDA Fall show.

After that Cannon was sent to me full time for eight months. During that time, using all of Karl's exercises that he had given me to that point, Cannon proceeded to learn pirouettes, earning marks of 8's, changes down to one tempi, piaffe that earned him 7's in his first Intermediare II and a very expressive medium and extended trot. His highest score with me showing was a 68% in PSG in Wellington. He also got a 64% in his second Intermediare I and finished the season at Intermediare II. He was ready for the GP but the show season was over.

Cannon was sent home to California and Barbara proceeded to show him at Pebble Beach and got a 62% in her first Intermediare I. I have been traveling to California monthly to work with Barbara and her horse, continuing to confirm suppleness, submission, obedience, sensitivity and complete harmony through the use of Karl's exercises.

We were all rewarded for our hard work when Barbara and Cannon scored a 64% at Grand Prix at Yarra Yarra Ranch in Sacramento this summer. I must admit that Cannon would have been only a 4th level horse if it weren't for Karl's techniques.

My students also have noticed an improvement in my teaching. The outcome has been higher scores than ever for me and my riders that earned Regional and National Awards, including two of my students being on their way to Grand Prix on horses that we trained. Many others managed to receive their Bronze and Silver Medals due to Karl's remarkable and demanding system of specific exercises that teach horses and riders to think and to develop the essential skills to time their aids within the rhythm.

I am looking forward to many more lessons with Karl.
Judy Westlake