Silkes Story
How it all started
In 1995, Silke met the “cowboy” Pat Parelli, who was offering a clinics in Berlin, Germany at the time. Silke had signed up because the handling of her heart’s horse, the Friesian Biko, was anything but relaxed and sometimes dangerous. Pat Parelli showed the participants that it does not depend on strength and willpower to communicate with a horse, but rather on the right body language and the release at the right moment.
Silke was fascinated by this way of communication. Only a few days later she noticed a big difference in her relationship with Biko. Silke now worked strictly according to the Parelli program for two years. She was so successful that she was invited by Pat Parelli to Pagosa Springs, Colorado, to learn on the spot.
The beginning of her career as a trainer
In 1999 Silke spent several months at the Parelli Center. And even her biggest dream came true: To ride Biko herself one day. Silke taught her horse to lay down and stay calm when someone climbs quite awkwardly on his back. After a few days, the time had come: Silke rode Biko – first in the training arena and then even on a ride with Pat Parelli into the wilderness at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. An unforgettable experience. And to her great surprise, at the end of her stay, she became a licensed Parelli professional – at that time one of the first in Germany.
Silke with her beloved Biko next do Pat Parelli, riding at the foot of the Rocky Mountains
From then on, Silke taught the Parelli program, regularly participated in the advanced training weeks in the USA, but also continued her education with many other trainers. Among others, she learned from the legendary horse trainer Fredy Knie senior, improved her horsemanship skills with Ray Hunt, the “Master of Communication”, visited riding master Bent Branderup or exchanged ideas with the “horse whisperer” Alexander Nevzorow in Russia.
Passion “Haute École”
Silke never stopped seeking further education and training. Through these varied trainings, her true passion developed: high level dressage.
Throughout her many years as a trainer, Silke has successfully bridged the gap between horsemanship and “serious” dressage. Her horse training is based on harmony and communication, intuition, and gut feeling. Silke and her team show, that once you have established this communication, it’s no longer about WHETHER your horse moves, but HOW he moves. On this topic, her four part training DVD “A Mental Connection” was released in 2014.
Hippocampus Vallentin
More than a decade ago, Silke fulfilled a lifelong dream and bought a farm near the German city of Leipzig. Over the years, this became her training center “Hippocampus Vallentin” – an international learning place for enthusiastic horsemanship students.
The facility, which covers a good 7 hectares, includes spacious pastures, a paddock trail, a wide outdoor riding arena and a large horse playground with swimming pond, balance beam, bridge, seesaw and many other obstacles. The newly modernized indoor riding arena allows for relaxed, goal-oriented training even in bad weather. There Silke offers training courses, intensive weeks and vacation camps. For the students and their horses, overnight accommodations are available directly on the campus.
The Hippocampus is also the training center for Silke’s show team. Here they meet regularly to practice and to make music. They performed the horse musical “Fuego – Call of the Fire” and showed their knowledge at horse fairs and horse events all over Europe.
New changes in life
Silke Vallentin has been a Parelli instructor with heart and soul for over 20 years and can draw on more than 30 years of active experience and development with horses. Now it was time for a change:
On Jan. 1, 2021, Silke left the Parelli program to have more time to concentrate on her trainer activity on the Hippocampus. Today she combines dressage and healthy movements with liberty training, trust and her talent to catch and encourage people and horses at the right spot. She still passes on her wealth of knowledge in courses throughout Europe, but additionally trains her own Hippocampus-instructors.
Janek Vallentin, Juniorchef
Silke is actively supported by her son Janek, junior boss of the family business, full-time horsemanship trainer and qualified equine osteopath. His focus is mainly on healthy movement, trust work, trailer loading, liberty training and biomechanics.
Would you like to attend
one of my courses?
I travel throughout Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the rest of Europe all year round. During the holidays, I hold training camps where participants stay overnight at my training centre. You can find dates and information about where to sign up on my website.
