Day 6 - Oliver Oelrich

On Sunday we met with Oliver Oelrich, German young rider and young horse coach. He was coaching the German U25 and young rider quadrille in Aachen. Oliver described to us how they try to bring young horse and young riders together to be mutually beneficial. Germany has a large number of quality young horses but many of the breeders cannot afford to have their young horses in training, while at the same time there are many talented young riders that cannot afford a quality horse. Oliver has worked to bring the young horses and riders together under the watchful eyes of trainers. Often they make contracts for two years with the horses being sold as the end goal. Typically the riders will receive some money when the horse sells. Before pairing a young horse and rider, they first look at the quality of the horse. The goal is to go from young horse to the developing PSG to developing GP. 

Oliver told us about a young rider that had been training with him since she was 16 and he wanted her to hear another "voice" while riding. I found it refreshing that he as a trainer wanted one of his students to train with someone else for a fresh perspective. Different trainers will have a slightly varying emphasis and perspective on training.  Sometimes it takes hearing things in a new way to help them set in, you can learn something from everyone you ride with.