Iris Smalbeek

- Expert Profile and Services Overview

How it started… When I was 9 years old I started taking riding lessons at the riding school. I could be found here every day caring for and riding ponies and horses. In 1997 it became possible for me to buy my own horse. I bought Kartouch, a 5-year-old black KWPN gelding, who was only saddle broken. He helped me develop into what I do now. After a number of years of training, his deep-lying problems came to the surface. In retrospect, he had already given several signals about this. Eventually it emerged that Kartouch had congenital defects in the hind legs. After three hind leg operations, I did a lot of rehabilitation to get him straight and flexible again. In this phase I gained a lot of experience with various therapies. Continuing the upward trend in training or keeping it stable became an art in itself. Getting the horse to move in the right way fascinated me more and more. I learned a lot about gymnastics, biomechanics and the physical condition of the horse. I also studied saddles in order to allow a horse to move optimally in this area. Ultimately I rode with Kartouch up to and including class Z2. Unfortunately, after a creditable retirement in 2019, Kartouch passed away peacefully at the age of 26. In 2020, 2 sweet treasures came my way that I work with and enjoy every day, and of course learn a lot from.