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with Carlos De Cleermaecker

WORDS - Sarah Holmes IMAGES - Show Circuit magazine

I was one of 11 working pupils at the Riding School, administered with the extreme discipline of imposing Military Majors. I did kitchen shifts during the day, making breakfast, lunch and dinner for the Military and Riding School staff and by night, I slept in the stables caring for the horses during the night shift. I made DM 4 (Deutsche Mark) a day!

Where did you grow up?

I was born in the Congo, and my parents worked in the cotton industry. My dad managed the staff, and my mum was the company secretary. In the 1960s, when I was five, my family, including my brother, moved back to Antwerp, Belgium. I immigrated to Australia 20 years ago, in 2003.

Are you married and is she horsey?

Yes, I’m married to an Australian, Melinda, and we live in the Hunter Valley, NSW, with our four dogs. Melinda runs her own coaching business, MDC Dressage, and she breeds quality performance dressage warmbloods with European bloodlines, including Secret, Charmeur, Sandro Hit and Totilas. We have a very promising yearling colt by Secret out of our Charmeur mare. Unfortunately, we will have to sell him as Melinda has had another serious accident that has made her unable to ride at the level she would like.

How many children do you have?

Two boys, Eric and Jan. Both, hate horses, love soccer and currently live in Belgium.

How would you describe your riding and training style?

Classical, following the German Training Scale. I focus on the foundations of training a horse, improving the paces and frame quality. Then, with a talented horse and a good rider, the Grand Prix movements will be achievable with time.

What made you move to Australia?

In 2003, a Belgian friend living in Australia begged me to come to Sydney to teach dressage. Well, I did, and I met my wife, and the rest is history! I enjoy the warmth of Australia and have enjoyed my roles as both Queensland State and New South Wales State Dressage Coach over the years. Currently, I have a great bunch of clients who I teach, from Novice through to Grand Prix, including young riders, adults and professionals. I am also an NCAS Level 3 accredited coach with Equestrian Australia.

Where did your love of horses come from?

When I was seven, my father encouraged me and my brothers to play sports. My dad liked animals and took me trail riding, which led me to join a riding school in Belgium. During my school years, I went to Germany for every Christmas break for three years, where I rode with a coach who jumped 1.60m tracks while also competing in Grand Prix dressage. I did a lot of show jumping early on with great jumping trainers, including Hermann Baron von Nagel, and I won the coveted “Vor” title as a 13-year-old. However, by age 18, my passion was for dressage. I decided to become a professional dressage rider at a time when there was no such thing in Belgium!

Tell us about your early training in Germany, where you achieved your Pferdewirtschaftsmeister, the highest level of qualification in Germany.

Once I decided to pursue dressage full-time in the 1970s, I had to move to either France or Germany. France was too expensive, and I could get paid to work in a riding school in Germany. I joined the Westphalian Riding and Driving School in Münster under Major Paul Stecken, one of the great influencers of classical dressage. The Riding School was attached to the Germany Army at the time, so I rode and studied my Bereiter levels in between cooking in the military barracks and doing stable work.

I was one of 11 working pupils at the Riding School, administered with the extreme discipline of imposing Military Majors. I did kitchen shifts during the day, making breakfast, lunch and dinner for the Military and Riding School staff and by night, I slept in the stables caring for the horses during the night shift. I made DM 4 (Deutsche Mark) a day!

Major Stecken, who died in 2016 at 100, produced over 1,900 professional and amateur trainers and 108 apprentices, including Dr Reiner Klimke, his daughter Ingrid Klimke, and many other top riders.

I completed my Pferdewirtschaftsmeister in the years following, working for independent trainers – the Pferdewirtschaftsmeister is the highest level of Bereiter, including qualification as a ‘Coach Educator’.

What did you do after the Westphalian Riding and Driving School in Münster?

Around 1973, when Johann Hinnemann was leaving his posting at the Riding School to start his own training business, I asked him for a job. I only had my Level II Bereiter at that stage, which was ‘nothing’, but Johann took me on. That is where my training, learning and riding really gained momentum. I finally appreciated the discipline I’d learnt from those Military influences at the Riding School. Later on, I was called up for 10 months of Military service, which I completed before continuing with my dressage career under trainer Heinz Lammers, another defining riding master of the Westphalian equestrian sport.

Johann trained with Dr Reiner Klimke, and in 1986, with ‘Ideaal’ won Team Gold and Individual Bronze at the World Dressage Championships, followed by Team Gold and Individual Bronze again in 1987 at the European Championships. In 1996, Johann was awarded the rarely bestowed title of “Reitmeister –Master Rider”.

Was there one coach in particular that moulded your riding career?

There are three: Heinz Lammers, Georg Wahl - an Oberbereiter of the famous Spanish Riding School in Vienna, and Johann Hinnemann.

What are important qualities to have as a successful rider?

Physical and mental fitness, a deep seat in the saddle that moves with the horse, and an interest in seeking a thorough understanding of dressage theory. Riders should grow their knowledge by reading books, particularly those that relate to their current level. It is interesting reading about the Grand Prix but reading and understanding the Training Scale and the qualities of a correct seat is just as important.

What do you see as the best attributes of a horse?

Correct conformation, with an uphill frame. A trainable temperament and interesting personality, not lazy but not crazy. Three good paces with ‘Schwung’, which with effective training uses the horse’s natural paces, combined with suppleness and elasticity. C

“ Riders should grow their knowledge by reading books, particularly those that relate to their current level – it is interesting reading about the Grand Prix. Still, reading and understanding the Training Scale and the qualities of a correct seat are just as important.”