A Few Outstanding Individuals

The universal nature of my profession has allowed me to come in contact with many interesting and remarkable people from all walks of life. My years with the Spanish Riding School alone afforded opportunities to shake hands with celebrities such as Jacqueline Kennedy, Robert Taylor, Eddie Albert, Omar Sharif of Dr. Zhivago along with a host of prominent guests from all over the world.

The years immediately following WWII were known as the years of rebuilding Europe and Germany became the leading force in equestrian Olympic competition. In Dressage, the influence of Otto Loerke was still strongly represented by trainers like Willie Schultheis and Herbert Rehbein who continued in this Old Master's spirit by creating many first class European, World and Olympic Champions. Bubi Guenther, a former jumping rider who trained Dr. Joseph Neckermann's horses joined forces with Schultheis to dominate the field of Dressage for years to come. Hans Guenther Winkler achieved fame with his Olympic ride on Halla in Helsinki, 'the mare that could jump houses', along with Walter Thiedeman, another highly successful jumper who believed very strongly in the importance dressage plays in the development of any horse. Thiedeman illustrated his point repeatedly by showing a few effortless flying changes a tempo before entering the arena. To watch those masters of the horse compete against each other attracted huge audiences and instilled in me the desire to one day become the best I could possibly be in my field of horsemanship.

My time in Brazil was filled with adventure and the good fortune of meeting many exciting people. Senhora Diana Osward for example, was my most dedicated and successful student. Diana had been educated in Europe and spoke several languages fluently. Her Swedish husband Bibi Osward, an enthusiastic horse lover and connoisseur, was once selected to be a member of the Swedish Cross Country team at the 1936 Olympiad in Berlin. One of Bibi's friends, the late Col Gustave Nyblaeus, long-time President of the FEI, often visited him in Rio where he enjoyed watching me work, all the while expressing great admiration for my old world equestrian education. I considered it a great honor to be accepted into such special company.

In Brazil, my home base was the Clube Hippico Metropolitana in Rio de Janeiro, situated under the Corcovado, the hill from where the statue of Christ reaches out into the bay of Guanabara. Nelson Pessoa was the upcoming jumping star and every time he worked his horses, he had questions about how to create a higher level of suppleness, submissiveness, etc. etc. sometimes asking me if I would mind sitting on his horses. Whenever I accepted his invitation, I found myself wishing for this level of suppleness and agility present in 'Neco's' jumpers in the dressage horses I was given to ride.

Another natural talent over fences was a young lady named Rita Bezerra de Melo, who became quite well known in Brazil with her horse Chivas Regal. Her picture shows the perfect bascule in front of one of Rio's hills called 'the two brothers' or 'os dois irmaos'

Brazil and my travels through South America allowed me to fulfill my dreams: to visit and discover new places and experience the last remnants of active cavalry units in a widely still untamed country, to take a trip back into the past when horses were the only means of transportation for the average person as well as for the mounted soldier.

Once while visiting the world-renowned competition in Aachen in the early sixties, I was treated to an experience of a lifetime. William Steinkraus and the exceptional US Jumping team under the tutelage of their Hungarian born coach, Berthalan de Nemethy demonstrated to the world how style and courage in connection with a keen eye could become an unbeatable combination in World Class Jumping Competition. Little did I know then that one day I would work out of Great Island, CT, the Steinkraus estate, training horses for dressage and galloping with Bill on their private race track, shooting trap or being invited to listen to him play the violin, of which he also was a master. Once I asked him why he had such an extraordinary feel for space and distance. Humbly he answered: 'by looking at the spacing of the notes, when I play the violin.'

Once during my 1976 to 1980 stay at Great Island, Tempel Smith from Chicago visited and approached me about becoming part of his dream to create an American Spanish Riding School. This resulted in my moving to Tempel Farms in Illinois where I stayed with brief interruptions until 1997. On one of the many field trips with the Tempel Lipizzans, I met another outstanding horseman, the best Charro Rider of the century: Jerry Diaz from San Antonio, TX. A true horseman and outstanding rider, Jerry admired our Lipizzans and we in turn admired the performances he gave at the Belmont racetrack on Long Island. Jerry permitted my wife Lynn to sit on his favorite horse and I am proud to have this picture.

- KM