This past weekend, we had a special guest visit Windwood! Arthur Kottas, who is a dressage LEGEND, came over and gave us some great tips! We absolutely loved having him here and everyone had a wonderful time meeting and speaking with him. Mr. Kottas was born in Vienna in 1945, and went to elementary and secondary school there as well. When he was nine years old he received his first horse, and developed his passion for horsemanship and riding. He studied at the oldest riding school in Austria (operated by his parents) and began competing in jumping and dressage at a young age. At just fourteen years old, Arthur won the Austrian Junior Dressage championship and at sixteen the Jumping championship. He joined the prestigious Spanish Riding School as a teenager. After only eight years, Arthur became the Spanish Riding School’s  “Bereiter” at the early age of twenty five. Eight years is the shortest amount of time any rider has ever made the step up to Bereiter. As Arthur got older, he continued to work hard until he became Chief Rider and finally First Chief Rider of the Spanish Riding School, which is a huge honor and achievement. Since then, “The Master” has trained and mentored many skilled riders, working on levels all the way up to the Olympics! Arthur has had an amazing career in the riding world, and is one of the best dressage riders of all time. What an awesome experience it was to have a dressage “celebrity” come and hang out with us here! We were so delighted to have Arthur come and visit us at Windwood, and we hope to see him again very soon! Here we have a couple of our favorite photos from Arthur’s visit with us. Thank you so very much, Mr. Kottas!