RONALD J. POSTLEB
Founder/Owner
Crown Dressage International
Ronald J. Postleb is the founder, owner and master trainer at Crown Dressage International, a Brewster, N.Y.-based training and boarding facility he opened in 1997. CDI trains all levels of dressage, from Basic through Grand Prix. Postleb has more than 40 years of international dressage training experience and earned a German master's degree in horsemanship or the Reitlehrer FN in 1980. He has won numerous championships at FEI levels.
Postleb has built a reputation as an excellent clinician and is retained by a number of equestrian centers throughout the United States and Canada to provide practical dressage clinics and theoretical seminars on a variety of topics related to dressage. In 1991, he was a member of a national committee convened to re-write all the dressage tests of the Canadian Equestrian Federation.
Postleb is a qualified equine appraiser and has served as a consultant on the design of various equestrian centers in Germany and in North America, advising on such areas as barn construction and design, and arena set up. He also has 30 years experience as a consultant to buyers and sellers of dressage horses around the world.
His desire to grow his business convinced Postleb to move from Canada to America where there appeared to be more opportunity. He was recruited by High Court Equestrian Center in North Salem, N.Y. in 1995 and a year later joined River Run in Patterson, N.Y. Those experiences convinced Postleb to open his own facility, Crown Dressage International.
From 1984 to 1995, Postleb owned and operated Shadow Lane Equestrian Center in Surrey, B.C., Canada. Shadow Lane was a complete training and boarding facility that focused on dressage. At the time, this center had the highest standard for dressage in the greater Vancouver area. Lessons and training were available to students and horses at all levels from beginner to advance. As principal instructor, Postleb was hands-on with all his students and employed a staff of qualified professionals to assist in the day-to-day operation of the business.
A long-term advisor and mentor relationship with Dr. Reiner Klimke that started in Germany and continued after Postleb moved to Canada, helped form many of Postleb’s opinions about dressage training. Klimke was the most successful dressage rider in the history of the sport. He is the only one who holds five consecutive Olympic gold medals in dressage.
Postleb believes that riding must be a source of enjoyment for horse and rider, derived from dedication and hard work. Rather than looking for quick-fixes, Postleb focuses on the long-term success and satisfaction of each rider and horse combination. His experience provides a depth of knowledge of different exercises and when they are useful. His focus balances training of the horse, the rider and the two together.
In 1981, Postleb was appointed principal instructor and trainer of the Landes-Reit- and Fahrschule Rheinland in Wuelfrath, a renowned dressage and jumping school in Germany that had more than 100 stalls and separate housing for up to 40 students. Postleb was responsible for training the Bereiter of the school and all the apprentices, and managing a staff of close to 20 people. Postleb was responsible for planning and organizing courses as part of a government program to improve the standard of equine knowledge of amateurs and professionals. The school held courses and examinations for dressage judges up to FEI level.
But Postleb wasn’t born into dressage. He comes from four generations of German opticians. At 24, after training and graduating with a degree as an optician, Postleb decided to pursue a career as a professional dressage rider and trainer. He apprenticed at the Landes-Reit-and-Fahrschule Rheinland under the guidance and tutelage of Albert Brandl. At 26, Postleb passed the Bereiter FN examination with honors in two years vs. the typical three. He then attended the main German Government Riding Academy in Warendorf and qualified to take the Reitlehrer FN exam which he passed in 1980, two years earlier than average.
Further specialization in dressage training occurred under the tutelage of Dr. Reiner Klimke, George Theodorescu and Jo Hinneman.
Besides dressage, Postleb is an avid scuba diver and motorcyclist, and enjoys traveling, riflery and piano.
He lives with his wife Barbara in New Fairfield, Conn. They have two grown children, their son Philip is in the construction business in Canada and their daughter Lisa earned her Bereiter FN in Germany and has joined Ron as a trainer.
Top Photo: Training session with Roby WII
Owner: Richard Malloch
Rider: Ron Postleb
(click photo to enlarge)
Contact Information
Ronald J. Postleb
Crown Dressage International
Primary Phone Number is Ron's mobile phone 250-942-9222
Fax: (to be updated later)
E-mail Address: RonPostleb@gmail.com
Mailing Address: PO Box 1604, 217 Tal Crescent, Lake Cowichan, BC V0R 2G0
Available for Clinics throughout the United States and Canada
Please call or e-mail or find me on Facebook for more information.
Thank you for visiting CrownDressage.com
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 "Roby WII - click to enlarge in new window")
