About Petra
Petra's roots are in the eastern Bohemian mountains of the Czech Republic, where she rode and drove horses from childhood. She studied at the National school of agriculture, where she specialized in animal husbandry and horse breeding. It was in her position as Stud Manager at the National Stud at Kladruby nad Labem that she consolidated this background.
Petra was the first woman in the history of the stud, which goes back to 1579, to hold this position. She was responsible for the stud book of the Kladruber horses that have been bred there since the 16th century. (For more information on the stud and the breed see www.uskha.com). As well as maintaining the extensive computerized records of the 350 horses at the stud Petra also had to be up to date on the 40-50 horses sold annually . She was also directly involved with the raising of young horses and the preparation of select horses for performance testing, which were eventually used for breeding. Her expert opinion was used by the sales committee in determining the sale price of the horses.
While at the Stud, Petra also deepened her passion for dressage, mainly under the tutelage of the Stud director, Dr Norbert Zalis, a proponent of classical dressage and author of several books on the subject. Petra rode the young Kladruber horses and successfully brought on some for competition. She also had the opportunity to train at the Reitinstitut Egon von Neindorff in Germany and with the renowned German classical rider, Richard Hinrichs, who was a regular visitor to the stud.
Dr Zalis picked a young stallion, Generale Ariosa XLVIII-4 for Petra’s dressage career and she competed with him in the Czech Republic for 4 years. In 2003 Petra moved with Ariosa and five Kladruber mares to California, where she helped found the Kladruber Breeding Farm Inc. She continued to compete with her stallion in the US until 2006. Since 2008 Petra works regularly with riding master Arthur Kottas Heldenberg, first Chief Rider of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Austria. She is also starting to work with Melissa Simms, a former head rider and instructor of the Reitinstitut von Neindorff in Germany.
As well as teaching academic riding, Petra is currently studying to become a licensed veterinarian technician.
In 2007 Petra established the United States California Kladruber Association with two fellow Czech and Kladruber owners with the aim of promoting this beautiful breed in the US through training, showing and sales. You can read more about USKHA on www.uskha.com.