Dear Rita,

I think about Mr. Schultheis nearly every day, but it has been a long time since I wrote more stories about my time with him. A reader’s comment on one of the old Schultheis blogs prompted me to tell this story about his cat.

During my time at the Schultheis stable, we had a pack of dogs (two Jack Russells, one Corgi—in this case three is a pack) that wrecked havoc on the place whenever possible. Their unruly numbers were only quelled by the cool stare of one cat: The Chef.

Dear Rita,

Last year we had a fun contest on this blog site for World Cup fans! But because I think it is bad luck to vote for or against yourself going into a competition, we have to avoid speculation on the outcome of the whole starting list this year.

On the other hand, we could do some betting on other things! Eighteen pairs start in the Grand Prix on Thursday, April 28, and 15 go on to the Grand Prix Freestyle Final on Saturday night. The following competitors and horses will start in the Grand Prix:

Dear Rita,

Winyamaro and I are on our way to Leipzig! This will be an exciting part of our ongoing journey together. The Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage Finals will be held in Leipzig, Germany, April 28-30, and we are going to take part!

I would remind you, Rita, that W will be competing in THE WORLD CUP FINAL before he has completed his first year in international Grand Prix competition. I sit back and smile at that.

The information in this blog will probably be my most important life contribution to the contemporary world of dressage. Be warned, my opinion comes from a school of traditional riding. It works for me, and I have witnessed it work over and over and over again, at clinics all over the world.