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The Spanish Riding School: A Rider’s Look Inside Europe’s Oldest Classical Academy
For over 450 years, the Spanish Riding School has been a centre for cultivating classical riding from within the baroque walls of the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. Once at the seat of the Holy Roman Empire, the School began in the 16th century, and continues today with dressage performances all around the world with its riders and their famous white Lipizzaner stallions. As the oldest and perhaps most well-known of the four classical riding academies in Europe (the others…
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João Pedro Rodrigues: Breeding Some of Portugal’s Best
Just across the river from Lisbon, located amidst the pine forests, grasslands, and cork trees of the Ribatejo region, João Pedro Rodrigues breeds and trains some of Portugal’s top Lusitanos at his stud farm, Coudelaria João Pedro Rodrigues. Also the Headmaster of the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art, as a breeder João Pedro has won the most championship titles of any Portuguese breeder at the National Feira of Golegã, and bred the most Lusitanos competing at grand prix level as…
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The Portuguese School of Equestrian Art: Classical Foundations for Modern Riding
As one of the four great classical riding academies in the world, the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art aims to preserve and pass on the classical riding principles of the 18th century, that were refined and practiced in Portugal’s royal court. These principles, developed across European courts during the baroque era, have laid much of the foundations of riding today. And, while the School focuses on preserving and performing 18th century court riding, many of its riders have also gone…
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Straightening the Crooked Horse: What’s your Horse’s Asymmetry?
As with people, horses often tend to be slightly asymmetric. However, many riders don’t realize that challenges they face in their riding can often develop from issues with the horse’s straightness, stemming from this asymmetry. Issues such as the horse pushing in or out in one direction, being heavy on one rein, having trouble picking up one canter lead, or struggling to maintain rhythm in one direction, are just a few examples of the symptoms that can appear due to…
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Combining Steinbrecht’s Critiques with Baucherist Riding
As an outspoken critic of François Baucher’s work, Gustav Steinbrecht described his critiques of Baucherism in his classic book, The Gymnasium of the Horse, as he advocated for following the training methods of the Old School. While both horsemen lived in the 19th century, Baucher and Steinbrecht had quite different approaches to training the horse – with Baucher seeking lightness and balance, and Steinbrecht seeking “throughness” and collectability. Yet while Steinbrecht’s Gymnasium can sometimes be painted as if opposed to…
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Making Sense of Baucher Part 3: Comparing Baucherism, Steinbrecht’s Gymnasium, and German School Dressage
François Baucher’s training methods brought a unique system of developing a horse in lightness, yet his techniques countered some of the fundamental, prevailing ideas of horse training in his time. His methods continue to offer a philosophy that at times significantly differs from German School riding that we now see most commonly in dressage. This has led to quite a bit of skepticism, criticism, and controversy over his methods, as his philosophy offers an alternative view to some common, closely…
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Making Sense of Baucher Part 2: Baucher’s Evolution
Over his career, François Baucher refined his methods considerably. But while his earlier work (the first manner) became quite well known, his second manner, which first appeared only in the 12th edition of his New Method of Horsemanship, sadly didn’t achieve the same reach. Thus, there’s sometimes some vagueness about his philosophy and methods, as it can be easy to find only his first manner (especially in English), which can at times appear to contradict his later ideas. For example, the opposition of hands and…
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The Conformation of Balance
I don’t know about you, but I remember learning conformation as being very complicated. There can be endless diagrams, angles to analyze, triangles and squares to visualize, and various different methods of analysis. But really when it comes down to it, all that matters most to us as riders is how a horse’s conformation will impact its movement, our riding, and its training. If we want to bring a horse into balance and lightness, where it can move with the…
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Making Sense of Baucher Part 1: The Principles and Philosophy of Baucher
An influential horseman who brought a new philosophy of riding in lightness, François Baucher worked to develop a system of training to bring any horse into balance. The author of the now often-quoted principle of “hands without legs, legs without hands,” and whose work greatly influenced the riding of horseman Nuno Oliveira, Baucher was in fact a highly controversial figure in his time whose work was often rejected. Perhaps the most fundamental of his discoveries was that balance and lightness…
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Why Aren’t Riding Stallions More Common in North America?
Learning to ride in the Pacific Northwest of Canada, there were very few stallions around. I remember meeting maybe four stallions in all the riding schools I ever visited, all of which were privately owned. Even today, stallions are quite uncommon in the average riding stable, and can sometimes be seen as unwelcome or complicated additions. Across North America, stallions appear far less popular among amateur riders when compared to places in Europe, such as in Spain and Portugal. Why?…
