The years before, during and after WWI proved to be the most difficult time the Riding School had ever experienced. In 1912 Emperor Franz Joseph died and the School lost an enthusiastic supporter of the Lipizzan horse. When WWI came to an end, it was fashionable to do away with everything connected to the Imperial Courts and plans to transform the riding school into a public swimming pool and sell all the horses to the butcher were set in motion. Thanks to the courage and dedication of Chief Riders Herold, Zrust and Polak, the Institution was saved and its vast equestrian heritage could again be passed on to younger generations.

Alfred Cerha:

Among all the teachers I’ve had the privilege of knowing, one stands out and overshadows all the others. His name was Alfred Cerha. When he entered the SRS in 1912, he became a student of the great Meixner who formed a direct line in his teaching philosophy to the legendary Max Ritter von Weyrother. Although small of stature, Cerha was a giant as a rider and trainer. He believed a horse should be educated to the highest level of sensitivity, suppleness and obedience and ought to be easy for everybody to ride, even by the less experienced person.

Cerha’s horses were chosen to train the foreign students and in spite of being handled month after month by many different people, they never lost their sound basics or good manners. I once had the privilege of riding one of Cerha’s stallions in a lesson where we worked on Piaffe and Passage. The movements and the transitions were so effortless and easy that I was in near shock. Suddenly, without any obvious reason - so I thought, the horse abandoned the exercise and smoothly took the left lead canter. When Mr. Cerha asked, "Why did you take the canter"? I replied that I hadn’t. "Yes", he said, "you did". "You tilted your head slightly to the left and the horse responded to the subtle shift of weight". Such fine instruments were Cerha’s horses. He knew how to combine practical knowledge and the finer points of scientific riding into a harmonious system that created easy to ride horses. His advice: "Do as little as possible but as much as necessary."

Hans Irbinger:

Oberbereiter Hans Irbinger, one of my long-term mentors, was the last rider trained in the cavalry to fight with pistol, saber and lance from horseback. A practical horseman whose lessons were based on cavalry type movements with interesting formations in all gaits and tempi, Mr. Irbinger earned recognition as an expert on long reining. Chief Rider Irbinger’s love for working with the young stallions in a group reflected in fun lessons enjoyed by riders and horses alike. He stressed the importance of dismounting at certain intervals, walking the horses a few minutes to stretch and bend them from the ground or asking for a turn-on-the-forehand-in-motion, then to mount up again. This was done three to four times during a lesson. The stallions learned to stand still when being mounted, they learned that mounting or dismounting does not signal the beginning and the end of a work session, but can be repeated several times during a lesson. This training technique created relaxed and attentive equine partners that developed good stamina and great trust in their riders.

While well into his 50s, Irbinger was known for his demonstration of vaulting exercises to the amazement of all the younger riders. He could easily perform the scissors backwards and forward in all gaits, pick up a handkerchief from the ground, jump down, up and over the horse in all gaits thus earning the nickname: Hans the Cossack.

Ignaz Lauscha:

Ignaz Lauscha was a controversial figure and the late Col. Podhajsky was not in approval of his hunchback-like position on horseback. Because of that, it took Ignaz twice as long to be promoted than any other rider during my time. Chief Rider Lauscha was an expert in work-in-hand and airs above the ground. When Siglavy Bresoviza, our last Courbette horse trained by Chief Rider Polak was retired, Lauscha provided most, if not all Air Horses from Capriole to Levade and Courbette, producing quite a few impressive jumpers. It was on Lauscha’s horses that I was introduced to the airs: Conversano Montebella and Siglavy Morella - the Courbette, Neapolitano Brezia - the Levade and Conversano Valdamore - the Capriole.

There were of course other trainers, such as my very first tutor, Rider Joseph Riedler, who taught me many valuable techniques. Mr. Riedler was, what we would call nowadays, a natural. Elegant on the horse, blessed with an instinct to do the right thing at the right time he never felt upset when his horse didn’t go on the bit right away. He believed in giving the horse time to arrange all his other muscles and joints as well as his mind so that on-the-bit would merely be the result of this development.

Although I was given the opportunity to ride with Chief Rider Weibold, Colonel Handler and Georg Wahl, I must say that Cerha, Irbinger and Lauscha exercised a much greater influence on me than all others. I consider them my most important mentors who shaped me into the horseman I am today.

Isao Ichikawa:

In the summer of 1965, Hanshi Isao Ichikawa, a Japanese martial arts expert, journeyed to Vienna from Japan via the Siberian Railroad on an invitation from the Military Academy to teach the Austrian Rangers the finer points of self- defense. Tenth DAN and founder of Doshinkan-Karate-Do, Ichikawa loved horses and in exchange for riding lessons, taught me the mysteries of Far Eastern Philosophy and empty hand skills. Through Hanshi’s guidance I acquired an improved understanding for developing a physical and mental balance second to none in all of my horses and as a result was able to respond to their inner feelings in a way I never thought possible. Hanshi stressed the study of kata-disciplined basics until they became second nature. He once explained that throughout the years of hard training he cultivated the ability to stretch time. A second for the average person became six seconds for the Master.

Years later, while riding a horse in Brazil that required quick actions, I suddenly felt that I too could stretch time and the words of the Master became reality for me. Being able to stretch time is the ultimate form of relaxation. The skill to respond to the unexpected actions of a horse with ultimate calmness, almost in slow motion, is one of the miracles of high-level riding. Thank you Hanshi for sharing your wisdom with me.

- KM