Clinic by legendary Ingrid Klimke at Aino Arena January 2026
All finnish equestrian enthusiast had the priviledge to enjoy a inspirational day with the German super talent Ingrid Klimke, when she came to snowy and cold Järvenpää to hold a clinic. The clinic was held at Aino Arena's great facilities, where the indoor were heated up to +17 degrees. I was very lucky to get a ticket for the day and here is a short summary of my notes…
Riders and horses that took part in the clinic, were all from different disciplines. There were dressage, showjumping and eventing riders, who all were riding on different levels. From young horses and riders to Grand Prix and 4* eventing. For every rider the aim was to create a horse that wants to please its rider and is ridden with invisible aids. Klimke was very positive and friendly towards everyone.
Klimke was very precise that the horses walked through their body from the beginning. Warm-up started with walk cavallettis with one pole and the poles were gradually added up to four poles, and then same in trot. Working with the cavalettis helped the riders to make the horses supple and push the hindleg more towards center of gravity on the horse. In canter Klimke engouraged the riders to light seat and riding forward and then again shortening the stride. All groups did different exercises with the cavalettis.
Working phase included a lot of transitions between walk and trot and trot and canter. The walk and trot transitions included only 2-3 steps of walk. Klimke was very exact of position of the riders hands and of soft contact to the horses mouth. "Close fingers with rubber fists", she said. When the horse is insecure, hold hands down close to wither. Otherwise hands should be carried close together above the wither and keep your elbows in front of you.
In another exercise the riders were working in trot circles on a figure of eight, each time they switched circle they rode through cones and made a transition of one step walk. On the circles they rode over four cavallettis. When some mistake accured, Klimke told the rider to ingonore the mistake and pat the horse when done right. After the cavalletti work, the riders found very easy to work on shoulder-in and travers, because the horses already became so supple with the cavalletti work. Riders also made a lot of simple changes to get weight of the horse more on its hindlegs.
About flying changes it is important that the horse learns to do clean changes from the beginning. Because it is quite difficult to correct afterwards. For example, when changing from right to left (counter canter), move the horses shoulders to right (right rein also new outside rein), riders left leg a bit behind, weight more on the new canter and move your left leg forward when you want the flying change to happen. Give the change-aid when the horses front is in the air. When the horse is properly and well enough collected, it is easier to get the flying change to come through.
Klimke also told what to look in a dressage horse: the hindlegs should be active from behind to the center of gravity and the horse should have free shoulders. She also noted, that the rider creates the horse. "Help the horse to find the right way of moving", she said.
Personally for me, it was a great day! Because not every day you get to see a multiple Olympic medalist and a champion to give a clinic! A lot of inspiration how to use cavallettis in different disciplines and also note, that the basic work is once again most important. I am also grateful for the events organizers, because Klimke is still actively competing and she only will have two clinics this year, so it was really wonderful that she came to Finland!
Ingrid Klimke – Career Highlights (AI generated)
Dual‑discipline excellence
- Ingrid Klimke is internationally renowned for competing at elite level in both eventing and dressage, a rare achievement in modern equestrian sport.
Olympic Games
- Five-time Olympian for Germany (2000–2016) in eventing
- Team Gold – Beijing 2008 (with Butts Abraxxas)
- Team Gold – London 2012 (with Butts Abraxxas)
- Team Silver – Rio de Janeiro 2016 (with Hale Bob OLD)
World Championships & World Equestrian Games
- Team Gold – 2006 Aachen (Eventing)
- Team Gold – 2014 Normandy (Eventing)
- Individual Bronze – 2018 Tryon (Eventing)
- Team Bronze – 2022 Herning (Dressage), marking her championship debut for Germany in dressage
European Championships (Eventing)
- Multiple team gold medals (including 2011, 2013, 2019)
- Individual European Champion – 2017 and 2019 with SAP Hale Bob OLD
- Team gold in dressage 2025 Crozet
National & professional recognition
- Multiple-time German Champion in Eventing (spanning 2000–2023)
- Awarded the prestigious title "Reitmeister" (Riding Master) in 2012 – only the second woman to receive it in Germany
- Winner of the FEI Best Athlete Award (2019 and special historical award in 2020)
Legacy & influence
- Daughter of legendary dressage rider Dr. Reiner Klimke
- Widely admired for her classical, horse‑friendly training philosophy and her impact as a trainer, educator, and role model in international equestrian sport.
https://www.ingrid-klimke.de/?lang=en
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/90698
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingrid_Klimke
https://www.cavallo.info/en/about-us/brand-ambassador/ingrid-klimke/
https://bios.fei.org/bios/Person/10009695
https://horsesport.com/magazine/profiles/ingrid-klimke/