Taking Up the Reins: A Year in Germany with a Dressage Master [Hardcover]

Priscilla Endicott (Author), Denny Emerson (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1999

A personal memoir chronicling an American woman's intense year in Germany studying with the great dressage master Walter Christensen.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dressage rider Priscilla Endicott lives in Harvard, Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 332 pages
• Publisher: Trafalgar Square Books (November 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570761345
• ISBN-13: 978-1570761348
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,328,622 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Wish I Could..., September 12, 2000

By 

Lynne Holt "Lynne" (St. Paul, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Taking Up the Reins: A Year in Germany with a Dressage Master (Hardcover)

If wishes were horses (and for many of us, they so often are), then just about any passionate dressage rider would want to follow in Priscilla Endicott's adventure. She clearly chronicles what it is like to enter into a relationship with a wonderful horse, and then to trust her mentor, Walter Christiansen, with that relationship far from home. She submits herself and her horse to the regimen so often looked upon with envy and awe by American riders...German dressage training. She takes us from the barn she comes to call home for a year to visits with the great Herbert Rehbein; and from Christine Steuckelberger and her trainer, Georg Wahl. Mainly, though, she takes us deeper into her growth as a rider and as a person, and into those extraordinary way horses and dressage teach us about life.

It is a wonderful read first from the standpoint of horses and the art of dressage, but it also speaks of the courage to leave your own country to learn from another culture. I loved this book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not what I was looking for, December 16, 2005

By 

Gloria "amboise" (Greenwood, CA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Taking Up the Reins: A Year in Germany with a Dressage Master (Hardcover)

The book was written like a diary with most of the interesting parts removed. Priscilla does a nice job of sharing some of the people and personal observations of her experience, but does not cover what I was interested in. Where was she at in her riding when she arrived, what did she accomplish while she was in training, and how did that opportunity help her when she returned? She did share what she saw in stable management and horse care, but mostly at an observer's level. I was interested in finding out what she learned and how working with a dressage master changed her own riding.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Training in Germany!, August 10, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Taking Up the Reins: A Year in Germany with a Dressage Master (Hardcover)

Priscilla Endicott did what many people only dream about. She ventured to Germany for a year to train with master trainer, Walter Christensen. The ups and downs of the year were clearly explained and the ups always conquered the downs. The routine of teh stable was like nothing I have ever seen or read about before. And Priscilla came back to America with an experience that she will never forget. I got the book as a gift and could not stop reading it! I have loaned it out to my horse friends and they have all loved it! It is a must read for all dressage riders. It will make you more determined than ever to get to Germany and train with the best in the world!