FEBRUARY 2006 • VOLUME 6 • HORSES For LIFE™ Magazine

o who is Walter Zettl? We can look at the statistics. When he was born. Walter Zettl was born in Altrohlau, Czechoslovakia, in 1929.

When did he start riding? When he was 16, he entered the riding school of Bad Kissingen in Kronberg, Ludwigsburg, where he worked for eight years with Col. Aust and began a lifelong pursuit of equine teaching and education.

What were his accomplishments?

But like everyone Herr Zettl is more then just a bunch of statistics.  We are incredibly fortunate in that Herr Zettl is still with us and that we can talk to him directly to benefit from his experience and his knowledge.

We are pleased to present the following conversation that provides us with glimpses of the passion and ethics of the riding master, Herr Zettl.

Nadja: Hello, Herr Zettl.

Herr Zettl: May I help you, my dear?

Nadja: I was going through the magazine that we are getting ready for this issue. I was reading the article that Susannah did on your clinic in Texas. She does such a wonderful job, describing how enthusiastic everyone was. You'll have to read it.

Herr Zettl: It was very easy because everyone did try so hard.

Nadja: One of the things we do each month is we do one article that is called "Who is..?"  Introducing the masters. We have done Decarpentry, Wynmalen, Oliveira, and so on. I would really like to do an article on Who is Herr Zettl for the Who is...series., for this issue. I was wondering if I could get some personal impressions for the article. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions.

Herr Zettl: Sure! I am an easy goer.

[One of the things one enjoys most with any conversation with Herr Zettl is his wonderful sense of humour, and we spent as much time laughing as we did talking.]

Herr Zettl: Just got yesterday a  beautiful letter from my publisher in Germany.

Nadja: What did he say?.

Herr Zettl: How thankful he is how deep I get into the classical trainig...that I keep to the ethical training. The dressage riding really did get worse and worse. That is why I was very proud of it.

Herr Zettl: Well, I love my horses and I love to help.

Nadja: Your first teacher was Col Aust.  Colonel Aust - what was he like?

[When he was 16 he entered the riding school of Bad Kissingen in Kronberg, Ludwigsburg, where he worked for eight years with Col. Aust and began a lifelong pursuit of equine teaching and education. ]

Herr Zettl: He was the kindest gentleman you can imagine.  He never.. I never in all those eight years I was working with him... I never saw him losing his patience. He always did say Soon as you are loosing the patience... Soon as you yell, you are wrong. That means that you were not able to explain in a good manner what you like to tell the people...

Nadja: That is wonderful.

Herr Zettl: Not only was he a great teacher, he was also like a father figure for us. Everybody did try to  copy him for those that were around him.

Nadja: What an incredible beginning. What was the riding school like where he was.

Herr Zettl: We did start out working for the Americans. We had those horses from the former German army, So the officers, and the officers' wives and the children and also the GIs, were riding with us.  And almost two years after this terrible war we did start already with the help from the American, the English, and the French riders starting again shows.

Nadja: That is wonderful So how would you describe his riding style?

Herr Zettl: Absolutely classical.  The priority of his horses was always kindness. The horse came always first. That the riding really shows how I teach. I only take this over for him. A partnership, partnership between two completely different lives, the rider and the horse.

Nadja: If you would look at a picture of your riding instructor and you would look at the average picture today, what would the comparison be?

Herr Zettl: I would see kindness. I would see the horse proud in his work.  I would see a partnership of the rider and the horse, and now what I see.. Now is really is master and slave.

Nadja: Do you see a different carriage?

Herr Zettl: Sure. The classical riding is to make the riding more brilliant, and this new riding really is control. In a partnership if you're married or friends, you  know a partnership is really trusting,  a matter of trust. The horse has to trust the rider and the rider has to trust the horse. You can see this especially in jumping.  If the horse doesn't trust you, he gives up.

Nadja: Would you have seen a much higher head and neck carriage?

Herr Zettl: Absolutely. In  a relative elevation.  That means created  from a low hind leg over a nice rounding up back, up to the withers, and the highest point always the poll.

Nadja: You don't see that much anymore.

Herr Zettl: No, not anymore. You hardly see any horse that really looks proud.

Herr Zettl: Yes. Yes, the same most people, they come and when ride with me.  What is the most impressive? What we have in your riding in your teaching, everything was so light. We did not have so much strength... the horse did everything much easier. So it should be.

Show the horse what to like him to do and let him do it.

We give the horses so  strong aids...so what they really do.. is to try to get rid of our aids rather then respond to our aids.

Nadja: So you were actually selected to ride for the German dressage team in the Helsinki?

Herr Zettl: The trouble was over lunch time I talked to Gustuv Rau. He was the creator...again after the war the whole riding though the farmers still had horses in the back yard. They were working on the field  and then during the evenings in the week ride with old officers or sergeants  two or three times a week... and then on Sundays they went to shows. That is what I'm writing in my new book.

Nadja: But you couldn't go because you were a professional...?

Herr Zettl: Dr. Rau did try everything so that I could ride. I was working as a groom for the Americans and I did get a salary from the Americans. And they did tell that no he is a professional...he can't ride.

Nadja: That's terrible!

Nadja: Tell me about your very favourite horse.

Herr Zettl: That is so difficult.

Nadja: I know, every horse is special.

Herr Zettl: Every horse comes in my arena, and the rider, is the most important.  All the horses that I did train I tried to get the most out of without any force.

Nadja: Tell me the horse that taught you the most.

Herr Zettl: Weiner Walter, Wunderstern, Apollo he did go grand prix dressage and grand prix jumping. So did Weiner Walter . Many horses that did give me on the show...that refused with other riders. They did great with me because they did trust me...immediately. Sometimes I only had five or ten minutes of time to know the horse.

I have a great feeling for the horses and the horses for me.

Herr Zettl: The horse feels your deepest thoughts.

Nadja: You can't lie to them.

Herr Zettl: No, nothing you can hide.

Nadja: So you got Reitlehrer certification at 25?

[In 1955, at the age of 26, Zettl became first assistant to his mentor Col. Herbert Aust in Ludwigsberg. Here he coached three young riders aged 18 to 20 to Gold Riding Medals.]

Herr Zettl: First at 21. I was the youngest to get the golden riding medal...you had to ride dressage and in jumping.

[One year later Zettl was chosen to succeed Otto Loerke and Willi Schultheis as trainer at Gestuet Vornholz. He received his Reitlehrer certification giving him professional teacher status after reaching the minimum age of 25.]

[Before going to Ontario from 1957 to 1965 Mr. Zettl served as Chief trainer in Munich where his students were successful in many championships. Zettl continued to compete and win at the International Grand Prix in Salzburg and the Bavarian Dressage Championships.

In 1965 Zettl moved to the Reitclub Heidelberg where he was Chief trainer for over 10 years. He again coached successful riders, young and old, in dressage and jumping competition.

In 1981 Zettl was recruited to move to Canada and serve as Managing Director of the Canadian I.E.S.S.  During this time he coached the young riders dressage team from Ontario. The team went on to win three consecutive team gold medals, one individual gold, two individual silvers, and one individual bronze medal at the North American Continental Young Riders Championships.]

Herr Zettl: And here in Canada I did get two diplomas from the government of Ontario for excellent training with amateurs. Then I was working with the Canadian three days event team as a dressage coach.

[In 1984 Walter coached dressage for the Canadian 3-day event Team at the Los Angeles Summer Olympics. During this time he was awarded by the Province of Ontario in Recognition for Distinguished Performance in the field of amateur sport. ]

Nadja: What was that like?

Herr Zettl: It was great.

Nadja: Do you prefer doing something like that or doing  the clinics that you are now?

Herr Zettl:I like to get as much as possible the classical riding.,, In clinics because you can help much more then, maybe 10 riders.

Nadja: That makes sense.  So how many clinics do you do each year?

Herr Zettl: Around 32 to 34 clinics.

Nadja: Oh my word! Are you ever home?

Herr Zettl: That is why my wife is always with me. Otherwise we would never be together.

Nadja: So you have been teaching for so many years now and you have seen so many changes through the years...

Herr Zettl: Really I never did change my teaching style. Never.

Nadja: But you saw it change around you though?

Herr Zettl: The trouble is many teachers or riders they try to have big success.  They get in the success pressure but what they really do they  do is  more harm to the horse and themselves then if they would take the time.

Because they want to have the big success.  And themselves... we have to get much quicker to success. But you can't with a horse. He needs time to understand. He only understand the aids.

That means the   short cuts. This means you cut something off. That is what you are missing later and then you have to go back and start all over.

Nadja: You've been around so many years, what do you think of the different riding styles?

Herr Zettl: When we were still riding in Germany, when we saw the Americans riding for the first time, we did like their riding in jumping because it was the same. We have to ride the horse so that everyone else can ride the horse. The same we should never make the horse a dressage machine or a jumping machine. They should all do everything They should have fun as well in cross country.

Nothing is worse for the poor horse then mechanical training.

When the French came, the Saumur riding with very loose reins, so we always would say, it would be wonderful if we mixed our style and the French  style! It would be great.

Nadja: Decarpenty said much the same thing. But that never happened.

Nadja: Did you always love horses? From the time when you were born?

Herr Zettl: No.  I really did start with the rocking horse, then the carrrige horse. Then in the Hitler movement we had the possibility we could do any sport we would like to. Then I got to know my boss and then, I was really hooked forever.

Nadja: It has been a life long endeavour.

Herr Zettl: Really riding should  be an art...Like with every art, like in a picture, when the colours are not harmonic with each other. It's not art. The same with riding.

Every movement should move harmonically from one movement into the other.

Nadja: There are only so many you can reach at one time.

Herr Zettl: Some of my students, they really do the classical teaching and riding. They don't like to be pushed from the success pressure. It's very, very hard because you know they get students, this teacher goes so much quicker. They want the quick successess. It's tough for them to stick to the system. You have to be really sure of yourself. I don't care who is there or who is coming. When they like to ride, then we have to take time.

Time is so important.

Nadja: Every horse is different.

Herr Zettl:That's right.

Nadja: So you are writing a new book?

Herr Zettl: It will come out soon.  Next week it is going to the publisher. The title is Sharing to Success. The horse in the middle..on top is the breeder, on the side the trainer, the rider. The responsibiltiy they all have to the horses including the judges.

And I've almost finished the next book. How to correct them at the root. The mistake is not where the mistake shows. But the root of the mistake is much further back.

Nadja: When will that book be out?

Herr Zettl: I am waiting while my wife is putting this in the computer and I hope also next year. This book is coming in two parts. In the first part, the expression in riding terms.  Almost a lexicon. Many times you say to the students and they say what is he talking about.

Nadja: Always a good place to start...we have to give them the language.

Herr Zettl: Who is using force, creating force. You know. who is forcing the horse on the aids...

Nadja: Cause and reaction.

Herr Zettl: That is right...really it makes me sad more than anything else. Try to make it easier for our horses to live with us.

========================================

So who is Walter Zettl? We can look at the statistics. When he was born. Walter Zettl was born in Altrohlau, Czechoslovakia in 1929.

When did he start riding? When he was 16 he entered the riding school of Bad Kissingen in Kronberg, Ludwigsburg where he worked for eight years with Col. Aust. and began a lifelong pursuit of equine teaching and education.

What were his accomplishments?

In 1950 Zettl was awarded the German Federation Gold Riding Medal, an honor for success upper level dressage and jumping for a single competitive season. At the age of 21 Zettl was the youngest person ever to be awarded such a prestigious honor.

Did he ever compete internationally?

In 1952 Zettl was selected to ride for the German dressage team at the Helsinki Summer Olympics, however his professional riding status prevented his participation.

One year later Zettl was chosen to succeed Otto Loerke and Willi Schultheis as trainer at Gestuet Vornholz. He received his Reitlehrer certification giving him professional teacher status after reaching the minimum age of 25.

In 1955, at the age of 26, Zettl became first assistant to his mentor Col. Herbert Aust in Ludwigsberg. Here he coached three young riders aged 18 to 20 to Gold Riding Medals.

From 1957 to 1965 Mr. Zettl served as Chief trainer in Munich where his students were successful in many championships. Zettl continued to compete and win at the International Grand Priz in Salzburg and the Bavarian Dressage Championships.

In 1965 Zettl moved to the Reitclub Heidelberg where he was Chief trainer for over 10 years. He again coached successful riders, young and old, in dressage and jumping competition.

In 1981 Zettl was recruited to move to Canada and serve as Managing Director of the Canadian I.E.S.S. During this time he coached the young riders dressage team from Ontario. The team went on to win three consecutive team gold medals, one individual gold, two individual silvers, and one individual bronze medal at the North American Continental Young Riders Championships.

In 1984 Walter coached dressage for the Canadian 3-day event Team at the Los Angeles Summer Olympics. During this time he was awarded by the Province of Ontario in Recognition for Distinguished Performance in the field of amateur sport.

For the last twenty years Walter Zettl has continued his lifelong work of teaching riders the art of dressage combined with communication with the horse. In 1998 his book “Dressage In Harmony” was published. He has also written many articles for German and US publications. His latest work is a three-video, instructional series called “A Matter of Trust.”

================

But these are just facts. They do not show the heart of this man. The gentlest of souls that you would ever want to meet. Who truly does believe that no force is ever necessary in working with horses. That horses only want to please us. It is an honour and a priviledge to be able to share the wonderful words of this riding master. Herr Zettl.