{"id":3005,"date":"2026-08-09T22:02:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T20:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clickertrainingpferde.com\/?p=3005"},"modified":"2026-08-15T12:08:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T10:08:38","slug":"til-7-from-ballerina-to-couch-potato","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clickertrainingpferde.com\/de\/til-7-from-ballerina-to-couch-potato\/","title":{"rendered":"TIL #7 \u2013 Von Ballerina zu Couchpotato"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In my last email <\/a>I showed you two photos of Blondie, taken two years apart. In the first she walks downhill, all her weight on her shoulders. In the second she carries herself beautifully. Last week I attended Anja Beran’s 2026 workshop<\/a>, and in one of the riding demonstrations, there they were. Both photos in the same horse, in the same minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A young Swiss rider, Max Jaquerod, rode with his horse Fantastico. Max learned to ride from his grandfather, Pierre-Eric Jaquerod<\/a>, who led the Swiss cavalry school in Berne for many years. Fantastico came from the Swiss army, trained to cross bridges and stay calm near gunfire, not for dressage. They worked a lot in a slow walk. Then trot and canter. And Fantastico was shining. He carried himself with elegance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Max writes about Fantastico’s training in a series on Eurodressage<\/a>. In one part he describes why he competes at all, which I found an interesting point of view.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Max gave him a break. He dropped the reins and let him walk, and Fantastico went from ballerina to couch potato in a few strides. The self-carriage he had held through all the work let go, and the weight fell back onto his shoulders. It was simply a horse taking his break. But for a minute I could see how Fantastico would move without the work. And when the break was over, Fantastico gathered himself and carried himself again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watching him, I saw Blondie. The horse in the break was Blondie in my photo from 2024. The horse in the work was Blondie in my photo from this July. Max and Fantastico are far beyond us, but the postures were the same postures. I could not take my eyes off him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Later that evening, Anja had another jewel for us. She had invited Nuno Oliveira’s daughter, Pureza, who spoke to us about her father<\/a>. About her early childhood, and about his. How he started with horses under the guidance of his mestre. After his mestre died, he decided to continue on his own, and with no arena to work in, he schooled the horses in the streets of Lisbon. Later, when his work had made him a name, he had a riding school of his own. She would come there after school and wait until he was done, and go home with him. And how he once set her on a perfectly trained horse while he presented it to visitors, and told her to do nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then two opera singers stepped into the arena, and Anja rode Osama. She had chosen the music as an homage to him. Verdi, his favourite. My eyes were wet, and when I looked around, I was not the only one.<\/p>\n\n\n

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