Sylvia Stössel. Sylvia Stössel was born on the 21st of May, 1962. Sylvia grew up in a small Swiss village near Zurich in a neighbourhood of donkeys, ponies and horses, catching the horse bug very quickly. Sylvia began riding at six years of age, having regular lessons with horses by the age of twelve. From this time up until she was seventeen, Sylvia had a horse to ride three times a week.

Sylvia is now a riding instructor who has successfully completed Philippe Karl's three year teachers course in his School of Légèreté and has completed her Level Four exam in 2007. Sylvia Stössel is coming to Australia in November, 2009.

Besides training both horses and riders, Sylvia has had several part time jobs as a secretary, which includes being a personal secretary and assistant since 1991 of the Editor and Chief of their local newspaper, Der Zürcher Oberländer in Wetzikon.

Curriculum vitae Sylvia Stössel. Focused on horse and riding experiences.

1969 ~ 78. Completed primary and secondary schooling;

1978 ~ 81. Completed an apprenticeship as a secretary;

1983. One year travelling around New Zealand, working half a year at a stable with pacers and race horses. Assisted in sulky training, including fast race training. Teaching all horses to also be riding horses (as good as I could at that time);

1984. Groom and training rider of Thoroughbreds at the stable of a famous and one of the most experienced racehorse trainers, F. Rindlisbacher;

1985 ~ 86. Worked at an adventure-therapy project for juveniles from Switzerland in Italy for teenagers up to the age of twenty that had several unsuccessful attempts living without drugs (Heroin). This included organising and realisation of a four week trek on horseback from Umbria to Toscana. This took two months of preparation in Apulia and Umbria. I later stayed in an old Italian farmhouse with fourteen clients, six therapists, ten horses, one cow with calf and more, near Siena;

1986. Three month holiday in Spain (to recover), buying my first Lusitano, Bocasio and started to discover the books of Nuno Oliveira and a different way of riding;

1986 ~ 89. Running my own stable part time (together with riding instructor Heinz Baumgartner) with ten horses, mainly Lusitanos (two of our own horses, one horse for lessons, Lusitanos for sale and client horses). This included several trips to Portugal;

1989 ~ 91. Two and a half years in Portugal at the Morgado Lusitano Riding Centre, with fifty horses. Regularly having lessons with João Trigueiros de Aragão (known as one of the best students of Nuno Oliveira), Francisco Carvalho de Bessa (Quico) and Nuno Palma Santos (all are riders of the Portuguese Riding School), riding up to eight horses a day. Also assisting in administration of the riding centre and sometimes running the entire centre;

1991 onwards. Since September, 1991, I have been back in Switzerland. Since this time til now I have been riding clients horses as well as teaching pupils and their horses in what I have learnt and understood. I am having riding lessons once a week with Martin Bieli, who trained with the great circus man Fredy Knie Senior for ten years;

1992 ~ 98. Organised and participated in thirteen clinics with João Trigueiros de Aragão in Switzerland;

2000. First clinic with Philippe Karl at Mascot Arabian Riding Centre. Being blown away by the effect of the high hand and also feeling very happy to have found again a teacher just in the way I was learning with João Trigueiros de Aragão and Quico...and exactly what I had been searching for;

2001. Organised and participated in three clinics with Philippe Karl; in November (except the first one with Bea Borelle I only organised);

2002. Organised and participated in three clinics with Philippe Karl and two with Bea Borelle;

2003. Organised and participated in six clinics with Philippe Karl and six with Bea Borelle;

2004. Commenced (both organisation and participation) Philippe Karl's three year teachers course, Ecole de Légèreté with three clinics per year (four days each) including the organisation of three ordinary clinics with Philippe Karl and six with Bea Borelle;

2004 ~ 2007. Stable manager and riding teacher of Stall Ryterhuus at Auslikon with sixteen client horses;

2005. Organisation of and participation in three Ecole de Légèreté teachers clinics with Philippe Karl and organised six clinics with Bea Borelle;

2006. Organisation of and participation in three teachers clinics with Philippe Karl and organisation of two clinics with Bea Borelle;

2007. Attained Ecole de Légèreté License, Level Four. Organised and participated in Ecole de Légèreté exam and first refresher clinic for with Philippe Karl and three clinics with Bea Borelle;

2008. Organisation of and participation in three refresher clinics for licensed Ecole de Légèreté teachers with Philippe Karl and two clinics with Bea Borelle;

2009. Organisation of and participation in three refresher clinics for licensed Ecole de Légèreté teachers with Philippe Karl and three clinics with Bea Borelle.

Sylvia Stössel is an honorary member of Philippe Karl's "School of Légèreté". The distinction "Honorary Member of the School of Légèreté" is awarded to people who are especially committed to the School of Légèreté and promote its propagation.

Sylvia Stössel Clinics
Brookleigh Equestrian Estate, Upper Swan, Western Australia, 6069.
Group 1: 5 ~ 8 November, 2009.
Group 2: 11 ~ 14 November, 2009.

Website of Sylvia Stössel:

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