”I have had the pleasure to appreciate lessons with Maria for a couple of years already. I like her kindness, her patience and the most I like her knowledge! She has a special talent in explaining the things very logically and make them easy to understand. Thank you very much Maria!”
Maria Weiss, Switzerland
”I met Maria in the spring of 2011. Her way of working with the horses and riders impressed me straight from the beginning. Maria has tought me how to understand and help horses better. She has inspired me to ride with my seat and develop my aids more and more precise. Marias exercises develop the horses balance, lightness and collection. I am impressed with Marias empathy towards horses and people. She has the skill to share her knowledge about how to ride lightly and get the horse moving well. Thank you Maria for your very nice lessons in Switzerland and Portugal. I hope I can keep learning from you and your horses in the future. ”
Stefanie Donatsch, Switzerland
Maria Weiss and Cisca 
Maria, Nina Könönen and Habil
I met Maria in 2010 when we brought her a horse for schooling. Lucky! Since then I have had lessons with her either here in Switzerland or in Portugal. In a calm but demanding way she taught me to ride with fine but effective helps from basic exercises until piaff. Maria seems to have an endless stock of exercises to resolve horses and riders problems. I really enjoy her lessons!
Andrea Nigg, Switzerland
”Marias best feature is her brilliant mixture of the lightness of classical dressage combined with competitive dressage. She always takes the exercises all the way to the end goal. Maria is demanding, inspiring and is good at always finding the right exercise for the horse. This is not only a job for Maria. She does it for the love of the sport.”
Pamela Malmström, Finland
”Maria has proven herself as an excellent coach! She is interested in her clients longterm progress. Maria has a very good background in classiscal dressage with because of her good teachers and work history. She uses her competition career in her teaching as well. She focuses on exercises that improve the suppleness, selfcarriage, balance with light aids and a good seat. She aims on getting the horses moving better and bigger. Maria is demanding as a teacher but she sees her students as individuals. Her mental images of lightness and sensitivity have been very good for me”
Elina Parpala, Finland
”Marias style and approach suits my sensitive horses very well. We have improved beyond my hopes with Marias coaching. Marias ideology about focusing on basic work and seeing the horse training as a long term project and commitment suits us very well. Her best featurer are versatility, consistency and being thorough. She has a solution to every problem and the problems are solved through different exercises in cooperation with the horse. I always have a good and successful feeling after Maria’s lessons and our quick progress in the last year is mainly due to Maria’s good teaching. .”
Tiia Hyysalo, Finland
Joana Gaudencio and Ricky 
Tiia Hyysalo and Betty 
Andrea Nigg and Castanho
”I want to thank Maria for the years I have been able to train with her in Finland and in Portugal. Maria has helped me improve my riding as well as given me new ways to read and understand my horse. Maria is an excellent and inspiring trainer who manages to make even the most difficult exercises easy and understandable..”
Jeannette Kortman-Blom, Finland
”Maria has been able to given me advice on how to get my horse moving in the right way with small aids. We never work by force with Maria. She always finds different exercises for different horses that suit them the best. ”
Pia Blom-Johansson, Finland
”I have participated in Maria’s clinics every few months for two years now. We have been focusing on the basics with my hobby horse. Maria’s way of training has improved my horse’s ability to move in self carriage in a way that makes even difficult exercises easy. Maria encourages to train long term and listening to the horse. We have improved every time in between the clinics. ”
Eijamari Pietikäinen, Finland
”I am happy and grateful that I have been able to train with Maria even though I am a less experienced rider. She always gives me exercises that are easy tnhat day and I always feel like I am improving beyond my imagination during every lesson. Maria is very positive and horse friendly and this helps me to relax and listen to the horse.”
Saija Westerlund, Finland
”I met Maria for the first time 7 years ago. I knew people who knew Maria which was the first step to reach my dream of learning to ride. Her friendly character and help helped me find TimTim, the worlds best schoolmaster, from Portugal. TimTim came to Finland in the summer of 20112 and our journey together started. Her patiance, positivity, her skills to read the riders from the horses movements and a thousand correcting exercises is what makes Maria a great coach. I have found great moments of enlightment and inspiration during her clinics when she gives exercises to make difficult things simple. The horses physical and mental wellbeing are very important in Marias lessons. I have been watching her train other horses and riders during her clinics and it has been rewarding to see tense horses become relaxed athletes. We are still on our journey with TimTim and are always waiting for Maria with joy. ”
Kristiina Kontio-Jalanka, Finland
Pamela Malmström and Hedda 
Maria and Caramba (owner Stefanie Donatsch)
”First I saw Maria giving lessons in Switzerland in Summer 2014. There were many different horses and riders. I immediatly enjoyed her way of teaching: She has an excellent eye for movements and she is very sensitive with all horses. She is suppporting riders and horses to become agil, to get into a good balance and to become beautiful and proud. she always gets the best out of the not so talented horses. It was really enriching to see her working with the horses. So I decided to benefit more from Marias skillful work: In summer 2015 I visited therefore Maria in Portugal and got lessons for ten days. I could ride on very different horses and I learnt a lot. I also loved the way she included my style of riding in her style of teaching – her lessons were really adabtable to my way of riding. I felt the first time what it means to really have a straight horse! What a great experience! Maria has also a great personality: She is a very humourous, concentrated, patient and sensitive woman. It is great to have met a soulmate to share my passion. My riding level advanced through her gifted support. Since then I spent every year a intense week of training in Portugal with her – and also with my friend Sandra. Maria is very well connected in Portugals classical riding scene. She helped me to find two wonderful horses: Havano is still with me. He is a lovey lusitano with a fantastic character and light movements: A dream came true! I hope that we can spend thousands of happy moments together. Good riding makes happy! And I am blissful to have Maria from time to time on my side. ”
Karin Meierhofer, Switzerland
”I have been training with Maria since 2018. I started with taking lessons on her horses when I was living and working in a dressage yard in Portugal. I noticed Immediately that I have found an excellent coach who will work on the important basics till I am ready to go forward. I think the mental and physical wellbeing is the most important part of dressage and Maria shares the same idea with me. This makes training with her very nice. I trust her advice are always going to improve me and the horse in a way that enhances the wellbeing of the horse. I feel very lucky and grateful to train with Maria. She is a rare gem! I feel I can ride my clients horses so much better thanks to her as well as train other riders. I can use my seat better every time I have had a lesson with her. There is so many good features in her as a trainer and person. Her positivity and high criteria in good quality riding from the horses point of view are what makes her an exceptional trainer in classical dressage.”
Nina Könönen, Finland
MFC Dressage 