Dressage Masters (page 1)
Anyone who endeavors to master a subject must learn about all of those serious practitioners who came before them. It would be unheard of to graduate with a degree in Psychology, having not studied Freud. The learner’s practice is guided by the principles set down by those who came before. This occurs in all disciplines. If it were not for Socrates, Plato could not have developed his theories and if it were not for Plato’s theories, Aristotle would not have gone even further building upon them. Without this cycle each practitioner “reinvents the wheel” and progress across generations is not possible.
Riding and horsemanship are certainly not exceptions. Any person who is serious about learning to ride horses must do quite a bit of studying. Not only must she learn all about the health, wellbeing, and maintenance of the horse, but she must learn: how to understand horse behavior; how to work with and not against the horse; how to move in unity with the horse so as not to annoy or confuse it; and how to help the horse understand and comply with her wishes to ride it.
Traditionally this is gone about by hiring a riding instructor with a lot of experience who can teach and mentor the fledgling rider through this process. This is a very wise practice, but it is not sufficient. There is no way around it, the rider must study riding as well as practice it. De la Gueriniere puts it thusly, “Every science and every art has its own principles and rules that lead to new discoveries and perfection. Why should horsemanship be the only art for which practice alone is needed?”
With this in mind, we recommend you become acquainted with the great masters who have written their theories and experiences for our benefit. Though there are many more than those listed below, we believe these constitute a great start to one’s education.
Xenophon wrote one of the earliest surviving horsemanship treatises “On Horsemanship” in 350 BC. Xenophon was a Greek soldier and contemporary of Socrates. His writings emphasize the fair treatment of the horse and the psychological aspects of training. Xenophon wrote, “Anything forced and misunderstood can never be beautiful”.” Sadly, Xenophon’s work would be abandoned during the dark ages and horsemanship as an art would hibernate until the Renaissance would begin in Italy and Federico Grisone would read Xenophon’s book.
Antoine de Pluvinel (1552 - 1620) was a tutor and principal ecuyer to King Louis XIII. He revived Xenophon’s emphasis on using sound judgment, patience, gentleness, and appealing to the horses mind. He was a student of Pignatelli but he was radically different in his horsemanship than Pignatelli and Pignatelli’s teacher, Federico Grisone. He advocated against their brutal methods of “breaking” the horse and emphasized instead the “gentling” of the horse. He founded “Academie de Equitation” in 1594 as a place to train the young nobleman not only in horsemanship, but in the classical humanist values he espoused.
William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle (1593 - 1676) wrote “A General System of Horsemanship” after leaving England during the English civil war. He spent his time riding, teaching riding and writing this very comprehensive book. Newcastle’s work would have a great influence on de la Gueriniere and Baucher to name a few.
Francois Robichon de la Gueriniere (1688-1751) was the equerry to Louis XIV. His book, "Ecole de Cavalerie” is considered “the bible” of dressage. It is said to form the basis for the everyday practice at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. DLG is credited with inventing the shoulder-in, which he used to supple the horse in all gaits. DLG also called the hand the first aid, placing great emphasis on the importance of clarity and lightness in the bridle.