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A
Walk on the Premises of Dr. Cesar Parra
Happy Hour
 It
is easy to praise an expensive barn in which everything
has been built for the well being of horse and rider,
but it is not so obvious to say that the major strength
at Piaffe Performance is the wonderfully, positive
attitude that reigns there. Katie Riley,
manager of Piaffe Performance, supervises the
daily routine. She teaches students, when Cesar
is away, and constantly helps the riders even when
they are training independently.
When you go to shows in the U.S. Cesar Parra's students
stand out, not only by their top performances at local,
regional and national shows, but also by their sympathy
towards strangers (me and others). They immediately
embrace you and are always available for a fun talk.
 I
wanted to
put this to the test and see if this attitude was
maintained at their home territory, where there is
the daily stress of getting everything done at the
end of the
day, and where
there is no public supervision nor scrutiny by strangers.
And yes, it is true.. there is a general positive
attitude beaming from the barn. There was constant
giggling and joking to be heard in the corridor.
The people who fill up the barn daily, i.e. "the girls"
who help Cesar groom and
ride
some horses,
Michael
Shondel, groom Jen, and recent import Thomas (a young
German rider from Hubertus Schmidt's barn) were cheerful
throughout the weekend.
 Percy
the pigeon is the resident bird of the barn, cleaning
up the chaff on the ground. Michael Shondel's
military inclinations did surface for a moment, as
he drew a target on the white board strategically preparing
himself
to shoot the bird. Of course, the girls knew this was
just male show off...
Text
and Images copyrighted Astrid Appels/Eurodressage.com.
No Reproduction Allowed
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