My own horses Jewel and Tiëgo
As I didn't have a horse of my own, there had to be one. Through Mr Brammeyer we bought Juweel, a beautiful bay gelding by Enfant de Normandie who had competed at double M level. So Juweel also went with us to Manege de Prinsenstad in Delft. I found a room in Overschie and my riding life began. What a contrast with Stal Toonen! There were (by then) almost 100 horses, there were two indoor riding arenas, a real canteen and I can't remember how many staff. Half were trainees like me and the whole Duijndam family worked very hard! There was also plenty to do, of course.
I had to get very used to it, before that I was almost always alone, now it was always busy. Before ten o'clock, all the stables were dusted, fattened once a week and all sorts of other chores were done. There were so many riding lessons back then, so brushing and saddling the stables' horses and ponies went on all day. For our own horses there was not so much time, I usually rode after work. We had lessons once or twice a week from Anton Duijndam and sometimes jumping lessons from Jos Duijndam. I struggled a lot with Juweel, he was always not quite rad, but a real cause was hard to find. Until one day he really stood on three legs and after examination it turned out he had acute laminitis. It was the first horse I had to put to sleep... for the first time I doubted whether I should continue; I was devastated.
Then came Topaas, by Sabatini... my first chestnut, but he really couldn't jump. Fortunately, I found a sweet lady who enjoyed him for many years. Via via I ended up at Maathuis Stables and bought the just 5-year-old Tiego, a Waldo out of a thoroughbred mother. So a reverse F1 product, bred by the Rootveld family. Tiego jumped great, kept running and was very modern for the time. That he could move more than average well, I did not know then at all. Because he was so hot and relatively green, Anton still sometimes sighed what on earth I had gotten myself into! But I had no alternative left, after two ‘failed’ purchases my savings had run out and I had to make do. Besides, I was crazy about that horse... Later it turned out I had gambled correctly after all.
Private lessons
During this time, though, my right arm started acting up more and more often. But I kept my mouth shut and worked very hard. Fortunately, it turned out that I did have a talent for teaching and I was increasingly assigned to all kinds of lessons. But what I enjoyed most was giving ‘private sitting lessons’ to real beginners. These were given in ‘The Tower’, a haystack converted into an indoor lunging circle. I especially liked the peace and quiet and working one-on-one with a client. Getting away from the hectic pace of the big company. And however good I had it there, subconsciously it was clear to me that I did not see myself continuing in the ‘riding school world’.
What stayed with me most from my Delft days was the fun with a group of boarders. A whole bunch of nice girls I hung out with a lot. Thanks to Facebook, I am still in touch with some of them! With one of them, Joke de Groot, not only did I share a house, but I was allowed to bring her dark brown gelding Pascal, by Comet, to Deurne as a dressage horse. Pascal was a sweetheart and I could work fine with him. Tiego went along as a jumper. It was soon clear that it was better to bring a good all-rounder for three months in Deurne. Tiego was far too green and too hot. Pascal really saved me: dressage, jumping, cross-country: he did it all! Peter Strijbosch did make the effort to help me with Tiego a bit more and when he was on it, you really didn't know what you saw... What a world horse! But thanks to Pascal, I was also able to finish that year of Deurne well.
How to proceed...
After my ‘Prince City time’, I started wandering a bit, not only literally but also mentally. I couldn't really find it how I wanted and needed to go on. Tiego roamed cosily with me, though. In the end, it was Annemiek Ravensteijn in Zwaanshoek who took care of me and Tiego like a mother hen. Annemiek rode Small Tour, had a nice little stall and a bunch of nice boarders in her stable. I started working there and Annemiek taught me so much! Especially about feeding, stable care and keeping horses fit. If I have seen passion for the horse anywhere it was there, finally I could give ‘hands and feet’ to my own passion too!
Ravensteijn Stables was a dressage stable that also jumped. I stared my eyes out, because there were quite a few horses running at level and so I was introduced to the higher dressage sport! I wanted that too! And everyone said that Tiego was such a great dressage horse. I remember over coffee we were talking about the ideal dressage horse. It was Wim Mons who said that such a horse should have Tiego's gaits... I didn't know what I was hearing....
Edy Overliese and Douwe Rinkes and my first steps as a dressage rider
Besides Annemiek, Edy Overliese became my main ‘mentor’. With endless patience, she taught me about dressage riding. Nothing escaped her eye and she knew how to tell it so flowery. Part of my current teaching style has a lot to do with her.
There were also many competitions there and Maarten and Tiego went along. We started in the B level... after a year I was already Z dressage. That same year, Douwe Rinkes joined us and I was able to take lessons from him. Because Edy was also taking lessons from him, things went very well together and Tiego kept improving. Series, pirouettes, starting piaffe; more and more fell into place for me. With no predetermined goal, I had become a dressage rider. Thanks in part to Annemiek, Edy and Douwe... I had found my passion and it never went away....
In part 4, I like to tell about my time in Ermelo, the instructor training of the Orun, in order to end up in the present via a big jump in time, and share my views on teaching, unlearning, training and being curious.
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