About Us

Katharina riding her newest acquisition Olympia at a Schooling Show in Franklin, TN.

K&M Pferdehof specializes in training young horses that are quiet and thus suited for the adult amateur who wants to ride dressage, but also feel safe on a trail ride and going over small jumps. We purchase directly from the breeder and only select horses with good temperament and quality movement. They are then trained to be attentive, obedient, forward and calm partners using classical dressage principles. Over the course of their training they have been exposed to many different experiences such as tarps, water, hills and a variety of obstacles. They are also taken to shows that feature equine activities such as team penning, barrels and timed trail rides. The goal is to have a well rounded dressage horse with perfect ground manners that travels safely. All of our horses are very easy to work with because they are relaxed and confident.

Katharina, who trains all of the young horses at K&M Pferdehof, is a native Austrian who has been riding since she was 9 years old. Classical dressage training has been her life long companion and the practices of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna are her guiding light. She has studied with German Master Ed Rothkranz and is currently in training with Pam Bullington, Ed’s long time student. They taught her how to double-lunge and long line which is a wonderful tool when working with the young horse. Additional influences were Walter Zettl, Kurd Albrecht von Ziegner and of course the great Reiner Klimke. After moving to the US in 1998, she was also introduced to Natural Horsemanship which opened her mind to the importance of a variety of ground work exercises to make a horse safe to ride for the adult amateur rider/owner. She has studied and applied the principles of Chris Cox, Pat Parelli, Mark Rashid, Sam Powell and Mark Russell in her daily training. Katharina is also very active in her GMO, Little Egypt Dressage Association (LEDA) where she is the newsletter editor and a member of the board. She also organizes local dressage schooling shows at Clearview Farm in Shelbyville, TN. References upon request.

Michael did not know much about horses before he met his wife in Vienna, Austria over 11 years ago. He has been a quick study though and takes much pride in his wife’s accomplishments. He does have a special bond with “giant” Klaus, a 17.3 Rhinelander who is Katharina’s advanced competition horse. Mike does all of the fencing and mowing on our 35 acre property and is a master at fixing everything on the farm. Without him, there would be no K&M Pferdehof. Thank you, dear husband for all your support!!!