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Horseytalk.net Special Interview
Linda Parelli - on Dressage
Interview sourced from Central Horse News
www.parelli.com

The countdown is on to the 2009 Parelli Celebration and visitors both old and new are set for a spectacular showcase of Natural Horsemanship.

Linda Parelli working with Walter ZettlAt the Parelli Celebrations around the globe Linda Parelli has been working with top dressage mentor Walter Zettl. Here we catch up with Linda on the journey so far and find out how Walter is helping to make a difference......

Says Linda: “Working with Walter is very inspirational and I am really enjoying the sessions with him as part of the Celebration events.

“Walter has a wonderful way of gently reminding me of certain postural requirements without nagging and micromanaging me in the lesson. When instructors keep screaming at you about your position and hands and legs and and and, it can be crippling because on top of all of that you are trying to ride!

“What's brilliant about Walter is that first he makes the horse feel successful, then he tweaks on me. From a riding perspective he's urged me to find the structure required for collection and engagement without the stiffness.

Linda Parelli

“The real brilliance of what he teaches is the exercises (patterns) because if you really learn them they will shape the horse and the rider. Then as you do the exercises he makes small adjustments on you and reminds you of certain pieces rather than trying to load you up with all of them all at the same time - all of the time!

“As a teacher I really understand the importance of this for the student and Walter as my teacher does the same thing - he pushes me to the limit, but not over the limit.

“Well, sometimes I can feel as if I'm over the limit but I'm not... when you're striving for excellence, being uncomfortable is part of the package!

“I had reached a place in my horsemanship where a lot of things were really easy for me, and I had thousands of people in the audience applauding me for what I found easy - things like riding bareback and bridle-less, jumping bareback in a halter, doing fantastic things at liberty, having my horse want to be with me more than anything else - I had actually achieved my dream with horses!

“So what is challenging about this is more about pushing myself to the next level, going back to my dressage interests that had become so painful and having those memories enhanced by the brutality of what I've seen today and in years past of horses being forced into so-called collection by pushing and pulling and now this whole hyper-flexion tragedy for horses.

Pat & Linda Parelli

“I am so grateful to Pat for telling me that he was not going to be the one to teach me about dressage now that I was ready and that we would find the right person.

“When we met Walter, Pat said: “that's him.” So I trusted that and of course Pat was right. But along the way I had to really re-evaluate what it was I was doing and wanted.

“Today, I am more than grateful for the opportunity and I am once again the student at every level... and it helps me identify once again with our own students and what they go through, like me, when they push through comfort zones.

“My riding has improved in every way... and as I go through those improvements I'm constantly thinking about how to teach more quickly what I am learning at such an extreme level, a level most people of my origin would never have the chance to do. That's my role in Parelli life - to discover and simplify what these masters are teaching us: Pat Parelli, and now Walter Zettl.

Pat Parelli with Walter Zettl

“I'm learning about dressage from a modern dressage master who truly loves horses and puts the relationship first.

“The more we delve into each other, the deeper we prod from both sides, the more it validates everything that true classical dressage stands for, and that Parelli principles are the foundation for.

“Just as Parelli experiences, dressage has and continues to experience through its deviations and misinterpretations from the original truth. The people who don't get it and are the most vocal or visible, will influence others and take them down a completely different track.

“We (Walter, Pat and I) are constantly discussing this. There is NOTHING that we have come across yet that is oppositional to Parelli horse psychology and relationship principle that Walter has conveyed about the true principles of the classical dressage which is German in origin.

Linda Parelli

“Today, German dressage gets pounded, and yet it’s the misinterpretations that prevail. Walter teaches the truth and very few in the world today do so - and of course there are others although few and far between. 

“What prevails is the competitive and sometimes brutal and indignant treatment of horses in the name of "collection" and "competitive dressage" and "winning". And it gets labelled as “German".

“So! Put the relationship first and follow the principles and proven methods.”

To see Linda and Walter working together book your tickets now for the 2009 Parelli Celebration at the LG Arena, Birmingham, November 21 and 22.

For further information contact the Parelli UK team on 0800 0234 813 or visit parelli.com / tickets can also be obtained from www.theticketfactory.com or 0844 338 8000

Read more on Linda Parelli here and here

Buy your Parelli books in the Horsetalk Shop

Natural Horsemanship Raise Your Hand If You Love Horses: Pat Parelli's Journey from Zero to Hero (Western Horseman Books) Natural Horse-man-ship: The Six Keys to a Natural Horse-human Relationship (Western horseman)
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