For Dutch team rider the 2008 Olympic Games must have been an event of mixed emotions. After winning team silver, Schellekens-Bartels had to withdraw her horse Sunrise due to an injury sustained in the award ceremony. The end of the Games, the end of her hopes for a medal or place in the individual finals. The day of her withdrawal, Schellekens was on a roller coaster of emotions.
"I had to sigh very often to keep control of my emotions," Schellekens confessed. "But what can you do. It is what it is and I have to take it into perspective. I'm happy about the silver medal, but stuck with a sad feeling. I really thought we were ready for more, but fate decided otherwise. Damn, but Sunnie will be fine and that's what matters."
Imke Schellekens has her two feet on the ground. After the 2004 Olympic Games her top horse Lancet got sold straight away and Imke had to start from scratch. In a short period of time, Schellekens has learnt the pros and cons of the political game of horse sport and has learned to stay grounded no matter what.
In an interview with the bulletin board Bokt, Schellekens-Bartels answered to the following questions:
Q: What is the message you like to convey to people about riding dealing with horses
A: I want when people think of me, they think of clarity. I'm clear in what I want. I'm conscious of my own body and selfhood, so that I can be clear to my horse. If you are not conscious of your own actions, how can a horse understand what you want. Understand that the horse is no human. Explore the horse as animal. You get so much richer and wiser if you explore yourself and your horse. This is the best way to develop your horse maximally on a natural way.
Q: What gives you most satisfaction with horses?
A: I get a satisfied feeling from horses in many different ways. The most enjoyable moment of the day is in the evenings when I'm feeding the horses myself and there is total peace in the stables. The horses nicker when you enter and there is nobody else in the barn, except me and the horses. I like to cuddle with them when they have finished eating and I check if they are feeling right and if their blankets are still on.
When I ride I find it challenging to disclose the hidden talents of a horse. For example: at the moment I have a mare in the stable. She's been in my lessons for years, but she's now in my training and I'm riding her myself. In the lessons, I never saw she was so talented. Now that I am riding her, she surprises me every day and I always get off her with a fantastic feeling. Every day I think, "what is her limit?" The challenge is the keep the fun in her work and still develop and express her talents as best as possible. I get most satisfaction when I feel that a horse likes working for me and that it is talented. It's an indescribable feeling!
I also very much enjoy working with students and finding the limits of their potential and that of their horses. To teach them feeling and respect for their horses and to make them perform together. The challenge is to stimulate the student to find these limits without crossing them. The moment a student realizes that they have progressed in their riding is a big moment of satisfaction to me.
Q: If you could compose a horse, what would the ideal horse be like?
A: It would be a mix of Sunrise and Lancet. They are the most beautiful horses I have ever seen with the best personalities.
Q: If you weren't in the horse business, what would you do?
A: I would always have done something with sport; which sport, I don't know but as a child I did gymnastics and tennis for a long time. I liked gymnastics the most, but I got too tall too early. I still think it's one of the greatest sports to watch. I would always have had dogs around me and maybe taught myself to teach them tricks. We have a poodle and he's so intelligent. If I were to spend the time I spend on horses into training my dog, I would have been able to teach him a fantastic circus act.
Q: What are the most important challenges dressage faces today and tomorrow and how do they differ from the past?
A: The most important challenge is to keep dressage an Olympic sport. The judging system has to improve! It's still the same system it was 30 years ago, while the sport has made big leaps forwards. The communication between riders has improved, but the communication between riders and judges has stalled. Riders and horses are of a much higher level than 20 years ago because of new training methods and joint communication. The judging system has not changed. To keep dressage an Olympic sport, there has to be openness, clarity and unanimity in the judging system.
Source: Bokt
Related Links
Imke Schellekens' Sunrise Injured at 2008 Olympic Games
Imke Schellekens Takes over Sunrise from Tineke Bartels
Lancet Sold to Emma Hindle
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