ANSWER:
There is some validity to that. Remember that the current "German" training system originated in the army, i.e. it was designed for a majority of lower level riders with relatively little education or sophistication, who served for 2 - 3 years. They never needed to go beyond very basic walk - trot - canter in formation. Some of the officers were educated in more advanced dressage. The best were sent to the cavalry riding school in Hannover or to the SRS in Vienna, occasionally also to Saumur (like colonel Waldemar Seunig) in order to learn something about high school dressage. The army system had to be foolproof. It had to be safe and successful for even the most mediocre rider and horse, with a minimum of pitfalls, that didn't require too much thinking or equestrian tact.
The training system in Vienna is by comparison much more sophisticated and differentiated, because it was designed to bring out the absolute best in every horse, and the riders had lifetime positions, with no pressure to be ready for a war (or a show) at a certain time, and with no financial pressure to make a profit or break even. So they had the luxury to develop a training system that takes a very long time to fully understand and master in practice, and that takes a great deal of tact and intelligence.
In all traditions the true masters develop very much their own personal style of riding and training. They master the techniques that their teachers taught them and make them their own. This becomes the basis for their riding. And then they all add their own personal touch to it, as they make the transition from accomplished craftsman to artist.
- Thomas Ritter
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Last Update: February 24, 2007