Bernie Schreiber

In starting our chat with the statement that Bernie pretty much heralded in a new way to ride, he burst out laughing and said: “That makes me sound as if I set out to change the sport.” He paused and then went on: “I was accused of trick riding, maybe ‘accused’ isn’t the right word, but the rub is I never wanted to change things – what I was focussed on was finding out ways to ride within the rules that existed at the time.”

Just briefly and this is my comment and not Bernie’s, in those days the merest suggestion a rider might hesitate gained a ‘five’ and maintaining forward motion was paramount. Bernie continued: “If by flicking or jumping I could change direction in a section while keeping moving, then so much the better – I didn’t think it was trick riding.”

Steering the conversation a little to how he began riding what