Recently we had the opportunity to host Walter Zettl and his wife, Heide,  at The Oaks of Lake City for the first annual Walter Zettl clinic on October 18-20, 2008. This was our first clinic at The O'Connor Signature at The Oaks Equestrian Center, since we had just had our Grand Opening the weekend before.

We took the opportunity to interview Walter during those evenings to get his thoughts on this equestrian facility.

Interviewer: What is your overall impression of The Oaks?

Walter Zettl: It is spectacular!

What is your impression of the riders participating in the clinic?

All of the riders tried very hard to get their horses in harmony with themselves. They all tried to get the horse obedient without any force, and they were all nicely dressed with polished boots and clean horses.

When I was 16, I was grooming horses in the barn (every day) - eight horses, from basic level horses to Grand Prix in dressage and jumping. I had to clean each horse, saddle, bridle and pads, so that at any time, I could go to the show. I also cleaned the box stalls and aisles, so that I was always ready for inspections that came without warning. Sometimes, another trainer would come behind us and put a piece of straw into the horse's tail, which had been carefully combed out, and if the trainer came into the arena and saw this, the rider would get the night-shift. So, every one of the workers tried to have the cleanest horses so they didn't have to take the night shift.

You were never late. If you were punctual, then you were 15 minutes late already.

Does the Oaks facility lend itself to teaching a top clinic?

 Absolutely! It is a well-thought-out facility; the footing is super and springy without being too deep, very horse-friendly. One has the ability to train horses in both cross-country and pleasure riding. For every type of riding, the facility is super: for dressage, three-day eventing, or pleasure riding, and there are many wonderful trails.

Was there a professional approach to the clinic by the staff, the administration and the facility?

They were professional and very helpful to me; the spectators and everyone else could feel at home. Everything was very clean, including the barn, the viewing lounge, the office and the wash rooms. You can see how well the facility is managed in the smallest details.

Would you like to return to give another clinic?

For every clinician coming to this place, it would be an honor and a pleasure. Yes, absolutely... Let's pick a date when we are through!

What would you change if you could?

I would add circle points to the dressage arena (or markers to show the take-off and the landing at each letter). I would also like to see in this wonderful place "the prayer of the horse" on the barn's wall - everyone should be able to see and read it.

During the clinic, I took the following notes from Walter during 16 hours of auditing:

1. Be playful with the horse. For example, when we first started cantering, we would take the short side and ask two one-tempis to do something on the short side, since nothing ever happens there. We cantered a large serpentine over the rails of the dressage arena, and then we asked for a flying change on the shallow serpentine over the long rail to get the hind leg more suspension (or the suspension gets a little higher). All these playful elements help keep the horses sharp.
   
   He made the students take up the reins *carefully*, and then sometimes asked them to do canter or half-step trot right away; the point of this being that when the reins are taken up, the hind leg should be engaged enough to do anything out of the walk (like turn on the haunches, canter, rein back, take half-steps in trot - anything!
   
2. Always read his book (especially know the exercises) before riding with him.
   
3. One of the directions that Walter repeated over and over is that the riders' leg aids should be invisible, so the rider must find out how little she has to do to make the leg aid effective, and always turn the toes in because a lot of riders have their heels on the horse, putting the spur more on than off.
   
4. Make hundreds of transitions during the lesson, such as: walk-trot-walk, walk-halt-walk, walk-canter-walk, canter-halt (only two or three steps), walk-halt-rein back, and rein back-half-step forward. This will help the rider to always think about getting the hind leg active in between.
   
5. Be sure that when the horse is stopped, he stays long and quiet while the rider does nothing.
   
6. Ride up in heaven - not down below earth. A Chinese proverb reads, "Rider and horse should always strive to get in harmony." Learning is like rowing against the current; when you stop rowing, you go backwards.

O'Connor Signature at The Oaks Equestrian Center, Lake City, Florida