Wolfgang May –

Wolfgang May served his three-year apprenticeship in Germany at the stable of former German Olympic dressage coach, Walther "Bubi" Gunther. Upon receiving his Bereiter certificate he took his first position as trainer in Rome with a Countess who had mainly combined training horses, although he always wanted to specialize in dressage. He remained there until he answered an ad for a dressage trainer and rider needed in the United States. After being tested and hired, he took a required one year of training with the head trainer of the Spanish Riding School of Vienna to familiarize himself with Lippizan horses and their classical training - including airs above the ground.

In 1966-1981 Wolfgang trained and gave exhibitions on the Lippizan stallions of Tempel Farms in Wadsworth, Illinois (just north of Chicago). During that time, he was given the opportunity of working with many world-famous trainers, including Hans Irbinger (the head rider of the Spanish Riding School) and Willi Schultheis (another German Olympic dressage coach).

After the passing of Tempel Smith, the founder of Tempel Farms, Wolfgang moved on and started doing some freelance training and lessons. He purchased his own farm near Minneapolis where he remained for nine years and trained several horses and riders to FEI levels, both locally and out of state.

He sold his farm and began traveling around the West and Midwest doing clinics on a regular basis in Mexico, Washington, Wyoming, North and South Dakota, Colorado, Nebraska, Texas, North Carolina and Illinois. In the past few years these regularly scheduled clinics have produced numerous (as reported in the USDF Yearbooks) bronze, silver and gold medalists, and various Regional Champions and Reserve Champions in Regions 4, 5 and 9 from 1st level thru Intermediare 1, as well as the breed divisions. He has also helped match his clients with suitable horses from outstanding young prospects to FEI schoolmasters.

For the past few years - ever since judging a Doma Clasica in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico - Wolfgang has done clinics in San Miguel and Monterrey on a regular basis and also coached at the Mexican National Championships in Leon.

He has participated in the Andalusian Nationals in Ft. Worth, TX, as trainer and coach, and that year won five national championships, one reserve championship, seven top fives, and high-percentage dressage horse in the nation - all with two horses!

Wolfgang and his wife, Suzanne, have gone from being "Winter Texans" to permanently locating in the Texas Hill Country near Blanco. They are available to conduct clinics, give private lessons, and coach at the dressage shows.