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Herr von Neindorff

Egon von Neindorff
May 19, 2004

Egon von Neindorff, Classical Master, who lived his dream of teaching classical dressage to anyone who was willing to learn, passed away on May 19 of a heart attack at his home after a day of teaching at his Reitinstitut in Karlsruhe, Germany.

Last November, he celebrated his 80th birthday, with friends and students from around the world coming to his school for celebration performances, as his birthdays were always celebrated. In former years, students would meet after work to practice the quadrille patterns on foot, half wearing white and half black according to the color of the horse they would ride. Table for food and beverages including champagne would be set up on the tribune. Most of the gifts would be for the horses -- exactly what Herr von Neindorff would want most. Baskets of carrots and apples.

Although I only rode a couple of weeks in group classes with Herr von Neindorff, as with everyone else who rode there, I was touched by the classical dressage as taught by the schoolmasters. Egon von Neindorff lived his dream of giving classical dressage to the world. He will live on in the teaching of his thousands of students.

"There is not another school like this one in all of the world, because there is not another Herr von Neindorff. The school will be around for a long time, maybe forever, but Herr von Neindorff will not. And when he is no longer here, the school will not be the same. It may have good trainers, maybe even great trainers. Maybe even a trainer that is intimately familiar with and follows Herr von Neindorff's philosophy to the letter. And that would be a great thing. But everyone at the School knows, and everyone speaks in whispers about the fact that when Herr von Neindorff is gone, the tradition, the aura of the school will be gone, too. I can't find words to really make someone who has never been there understand what I mean, but all those who HAVE been to the school, even just for a small amount of time, know what will be lost." ... more

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