FRITZ STECKEN

Often accused of making slow progress, but the validity of his method was born out of the lightness and ease of the numerous horses he trained to Grand Prix

Extract from John Winnett (Student of Stecken & US Olympian in Dressage and Showjumping) Trained by equerry August Staeck in Berlin during the two World Wars and the Spanish Riding School, Stecken's method was strongly influenced by French riding master François de La Guérinière and German riding master Gustav Steinbrecht. Stecken became one of the most successful dressage riders in Europe and was often accused of making slow progress, but the validity of his method was born out of the lightness and ease of the numerous horses he trained to Grand Prix Stecken made me aware of the correct lateral and longitudinal exercises and the influence they have on a horse's development. He pointed out the dangers of counter bending on curves and circles, which places the horse out of balance on his outside shoulder. He was not a proponent of leg yield, and pointed out its harm. He used leg yield, as the Spanish Riding School does, at the walk in the very beginning of training to teach the horse to move off the rider's leg. I became aware of the importance of the gaits, their rhythm, and training horses within a tempo free of tension to avoid physical and mental resistances. I became aware that brilliance should not be allowed to overshadow correctness of gait. Brilliance achieved at the cost of correctness is always more entertaining to the uneducated eye, while correctness while correctness achieved at the expense of brilliance is more aesthetic to the knowledgeable eye achieved at the expense of brilliance is more aesthetic to the knowledgeable eye.