™™
..over the
neighbour's fence - Germany UnLtd. |
| The Reken Test Centre - an institution (not only) for leisure riders During the 1970th horse sports in Germany became more and more a matter of
business and money. As a consequence the treatment and training of horses was subordinated
to that aspect. Thus horses slowly decayed to 'sport-devices', especially since the riding
schools also adapted their education targets accordingly. |
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| She found a former farming-estate near
the city of Reken in the Münsterland region in Northrhine-Westphalia and began to
reconstruct and renovate the buildings and stalls. Together with some competent
horse-people she sat up clinics for horse-treatment and riding where she tries to mediate
her theory of 'the light way of riding'. She also introduced Linda Tellington-Jones, whose
theories imprinted the spirit of Reken ever since. |
 Part of the open stables, each
fronted with a paddock. |
| But Ursula Bruns's intention was not only to show her scholars how to ride and treat a horse the right way, she also tried to change the way of keeping horses. She always criticised the dark and closed stalls, that are usually to be found in riding stables and always compared these with 'imprisonment' of the horses. Horses need room, fresh air and sun. As a consequence you won't find loose-boxes or stalls with swinging rails at Reken, instead they have big paddocks that are partly sheltered against rain and wind, so the horses can choose if they want to go outside or stay under the roof. This 'open' stalls are also beneficial for the social contacts between horses, another important item of the Reken philosophy. And of course they have big pastures, which is always the best place for horses. |
 Embedded in the big arena: a pond
with a bridge and a ford. Both are wide enough for carriages. The whole arena is sized
about of 150 by 70 yards. |
| By and by the Reken riding school got
the status of an institution. Over the years the program of the riding school was extended
into all sorts of riding styles and they also began to test materials and equipment for
stalls, pastures and riding, so the name 'Reken Test Centre' was born. Meanwhile the knowledge and experience of the reken institution is generally acknowledged and respected. It's influence reaches far into the riding scene for the benefit of the horses. Within the last few years several well-known competition riders went to Reken for learning and teaching. Anyway the Reken Test Centre stays what ever it was meant to be: A different riding school for the average rider and horse-owner, always trying to teach them the appropriate way to care for their four-leggeds. H & G Wahl |
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