Flossy is well known to many on the British Dressage Forum as a teller of interesting stories and perhaps the odd joke or two. We have selected a few tales for your pleasure.

Paying in Euros

Marco de Graber the German trainer 2 day clinic was just coming to the end and one by one the participants were approaching him to settle their accounts.
Marco de Graber as every one knows is a man of little words and very controlled emotions, He has been there done and seen it all , it has to be some thing well out of the ordinary to raise his blood pressure.
As dressage is an individual sport so is the paying methods of the different students, some ask if cheque will be acceptable others prefer to pay by direct transfer which can be verified instantly on Marcos new Barclays I phone.
The first student walked to him simply handed him a wad of notes , he new it was all there no need to count , who would dare short change him, the Gestapo still carry some clout on these shores.
The next was a father of a young rider, a well known business man, very meticulously he counted each pound note, then again, and then one by one handed them to Senior trainer while counting loud so all could hear ;one, two, three,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, forty five ,forty six , etc. although the whole procedure took 28 valuable minutes ,there was not a glimpse of irritation or impatience from Marco de Graber just a quite “danke ” at the end.
Even the professional cheque book forgetter, the payers of tomorrow(TPTs) , or the creative adjuster that explained she deducted £4,and 42 pence from the lesson fee as Marco de Graber was behind a bush for 4 minutes and 42 seconds answering a call of nature, she did not mind Marco de Graber teaching technique of minimum words for maximum effect, but his presence and total attention is expected for the whole 3600 seconds she is paying for.
Marco de Graber demean did not register the slightest change for any of these HE IS COOL AS CUCUMBER , not even when Lady Livonia whispered some thing in his ear winked and walked away with her purse un opened did he display any hint of emotions .
Since the successes of our leading riders ,the UK became a focal point for dressage students from all over the world , they gravitates to England and make use of all the knowledge and expertise which are available in these islands , As Carl and Richard can only teach so many the trade filters down to other trainers and Marco de Graber had many students from his home country Germany , although the teaching was the usual Teutonic, the air ,the food, and water are distinctly British and that cant be bad for any body interested in the art of dressage.
It is not only Trainers that benefited from these global changes but the economy in general , M&S developed the British dressage under pants, that guarantee to improve ones stability in the saddle, they are called the the “ LB” sticky knickers , Sainsbury invested in a bottling plant on the out skirts of Gloucester they advertised the bottled product “as drunk by CH” both can hardly keep up with the export demands.
The last client to approach Marco de Graber was one such lady from his home country, which believed that by combining the traditional German training with natural British magic is the best way for dressage success (it worked for LB) this lady walked to Marco de Graber gave him an envelope and said some thing in a quite voice that none of the other present could hear.
During the whole clinic Marco de Graber not once showed sign of nothing but detached professionalism , his most emotive and only gesture was , when a perfect piaffe was demonstrated , he repeated twice the “ ACH ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ACH ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
Marco de Graber raised his head, gave her a look as if he was seeing ghost, the hair on his head started curling , his ears twitching and a scream of agony escaped his mouth.
All those that new Marco de Graber could vouch that they have never thought he was capable for such expression of feeling , his body language , the anger and desperation in his voice said it all
“NO! NO! YOU CANT PAY IN EUROS”