Classical dressage evolved from
cavalryCavalry were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat. Cavalry were historically the second oldest and most mobile of the combat arms...
movements and training for the battlefield, and has since developed into the competitive
dressageDressage is a path and destination of competitive horse training, with competitions held at all levels from amateur to the Olympics...
seen today. Classical riding is the art of riding in harmony with, rather than against, the horse.
Correct classical riding only occurs when the rider has a good seat and a correct and well-balanced body position, moves with the horse's motion, and gives and times the aids correctly.
Natural abilities of the horse
The origins of classical dressage and
collectionCollection is when a horse carries more weight on his hindlegs than his front legs. The horse draws the body in upon itself so that it becomes like a giant spring whose stored energy can be reclaimed for fighting or running from a predator...
lie in the natural ability of the horse and its movements in the wild. In fact, most modern definitions of dressage state that the goal is to have the horse perform under saddle with the degree of athleticism and grace that it naturally shows when free.
Horses naturally use the concept of collection when playing, fighting, competing and courting with each other. When trying to impress other horses they make themselves look bigger, just as other animals do. They achieve this by pumping up the chest, raising the neck and making it bigger by flexing the poll, while at the same time transforming their
gaitsHorse gaits are the different ways in which a horse can move, either naturally or as a result of specialized training by humans.-Classification:...
to emphasize more upwards movement. When fighting, the horse will collect because in collection he can produce lightning speed reactions for kicking, rearing, spinning, striking with the front feet,
buckingBucking is a movement performed by a horse in which the animal lowers his head and raises his hindquarters into the air, usually while kicking out with his hind legs. If powerful, it may unseat the rider enough so that he falls off.-Reasons for Bucking:...
and jumping.
This natural ability to collect is visible in every horse of any breed, and probably inspired early trainers to reproduce that kind of behavior in more controlled circumstances. This origin also points out why, according to most Classical dressage trainers, every healthy horse, regardless its
breed, can perform classical dressage movements, including the Haute Ecole jumps, or
Airs above the ground,even though it may perform them a little differently from the ideal performance due to the build of its body.
A history of classical dressage
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The earliest surviving work on many of the principles of classical dressage was Xenophon's
On HorsemanshipOn Horsemanship written c. 350 BC by Xenophon is one of the earliest extant treatises on horsemanship in the Western world . In it, Xenophon details the selection, care, and training of horses for the use both in the military and for general use...
.
XenophonXenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens and Xenophon of Thebes, was a soldier, mercenary, and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates...
emphasized training the horse through kindness and reward.
In the 15th century, brute force training largely came to an end while artistry in riding was once again coming into its own. Along with these developments came indoor riding. The
RenaissanceThe Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe...
gives rise to a new and enlightened approach to riding as a part of the general cultivation of the arts. By the Victorian age indoor riding had become a sophisticated art, with both rider and
horseThe horse is a hoofed mammal, a subspecies of one of seven extant species of the family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
spending many years perfecting their form. Gueriniere, Eisenberg, Andrade and Marialva write treatises on technique and theory.
The horses were trained for a number of airs or schools, above the ground movements that enabled their riders to escape if surrounded, or to fight more easily. These included movements such as levade, capriole,
courbetteCourbette may refer to:* One of the school jumps or "airs above the ground" performed by horses in classical dressage* Courbette, a commune of the Jura département, in France...
,
ballotadeIn equestrianism, a ballotade is a leap made by a horse, such as between two pillars, or upon a straight line, so that when his four feet are in the air, he shows only the shoes of his hind feet, without jerking them out.-References:...
. Movements still seen today in dressage include the
piaffeThe piaffe is a dressage movement where the horse is in a highly collected and cadenced trot, in place or nearly in place. The center of gravity of the horse should be more towards the hind end, with the hindquarters slightly lowered and great bending of the joints in the hind legs...
,
passageThe passage is a movement seen in upper-level dressage, in which the horse performs a highly elevated and extremely powerful trot. The horse is very collected and moves with great impulsion....
, and
half-passThe half-pass is a lateral movement seen in dressage, in which the horse moves forward and sideways at the same time. Unlike the easier leg-yield, the horse is bent in the direction of travel, slightly around the rider's inside leg...
.
Classical dressage vs. competitive dressage
Modern
dressageDressage is a path and destination of competitive horse training, with competitions held at all levels from amateur to the Olympics...
evolved from the classical school, although it is seen in a slightly different form than its ancestor. Competitive dressage is an international sport ranging from beginner levels to the Olympics. Unlike classical dressage, competitive dressage does not require the aires above ground, which most horses cannot perform well even with correct training, due to physical limitations. Instead, competitive dressage focuses on movements such as the
piaffeThe piaffe is a dressage movement where the horse is in a highly collected and cadenced trot, in place or nearly in place. The center of gravity of the horse should be more towards the hind end, with the hindquarters slightly lowered and great bending of the joints in the hind legs...
,
passageThe passage is a movement seen in upper-level dressage, in which the horse performs a highly elevated and extremely powerful trot. The horse is very collected and moves with great impulsion....
,
half-passThe half-pass is a lateral movement seen in dressage, in which the horse moves forward and sideways at the same time. Unlike the easier leg-yield, the horse is bent in the direction of travel, slightly around the rider's inside leg...
,
extended trotTrot may mean:*Trot , a genre of Korean pop music*Trot *A trotline*A literal translation of a foreign text*A mildly negative epithet for Trotskyist*Trot , a character from the Oz books of L. Frank Baum...
,
pirouetteA "Pirouette" is a French word for the Ballet reference, " to whirl about."A pirouette is a two-track lateral movement asked of a horse in dressage, in which the animal makes a circle with its front end around a smaller circle made by the hind end...
, and
tempi changesA lead change refers to an animal, moving in a canter or gallop, changing from one lead to the other. There are two basic forms of lead change: simple and flying. It is very easy to define the correct lead from the incorrect lead. When a horse is executing the correct lead, his inside leg will...
.
In theory, competitive dressage should follow the same principles as classical dressage. However, there has been criticism by some riders for the trend, especially at the lower levels, for "quick fixes" and incorrect training that makes the horse
appear correct, but that is in fact neglecting the basics. These short-cuts usually catch up to the rider as they move up the levels and need to be correct to perform certain movements. This is of course, a debatable proposition, as others argue that modern methods, such as the highly controversial
rollkurRollkur , now officially known as "hyperflexion of the neck," is a highly controversial training technique used by some dressage riders today. It was, and is still, used in other equestrian disciplines, most notably show jumping, before being adopted by some well-known dressage riders...
technique, produce winning animals.
It is also believed by some that competitive dressage does not always reward the most correctly trained horse and rider, especially at the lower levels. For example, some riders who consider themselves to be training classically would not ask their horse to hold his head near-vertical when he first began training, and this would be penalized at the lower levels of competitive dressage, marked down because the horse is not considered to be correctly on the bit. Other riders, who also would consider themselves classically trained, would disagree, saying that if a horse is not ready to travel in a correct outline (
on the bit) he is not ready for competition, and this is the reason such horses would be marked down.
The purest form of classical riding, as well as
dressageDressage is a path and destination of competitive horse training, with competitions held at all levels from amateur to the Olympics...
, High School dressage, of Haute Ecole, takes years for both the horse and rider to master. When a horse is advanced in its training, it can perform not only Grand Prix dressage movements such as collected and extended gaits,
passageThe passage is a movement seen in upper-level dressage, in which the horse performs a highly elevated and extremely powerful trot. The horse is very collected and moves with great impulsion....
and
piaffeThe piaffe is a dressage movement where the horse is in a highly collected and cadenced trot, in place or nearly in place. The center of gravity of the horse should be more towards the hind end, with the hindquarters slightly lowered and great bending of the joints in the hind legs...
, but some can also perform certain "Airs Above the Ground," although usually a horse will only be trained in one air, and only if they are particularly able.
The School Jumps
The "high school" or
haute ecole school jumps, popularly known as the "airs above the ground," include the
courbetteCourbette may refer to:* One of the school jumps or "airs above the ground" performed by horses in classical dressage* Courbette, a commune of the Jura département, in France...
, capriole, levade, and
ballotadeIn equestrianism, a ballotade is a leap made by a horse, such as between two pillars, or upon a straight line, so that when his four feet are in the air, he shows only the shoes of his hind feet, without jerking them out.-References:...
. Though these movements are said to come from when the horse was used in war, in their modern form, it is unlikely the airs were used in actual battle, as all but the Capriole expose the horse's sensitive underbelly to the weapons of
foot soldiersInfantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of the Combat Arms they are the backbone of armies...
, and it is more likely that they were training exercises used off the battlefield.
The
courbette is a movement where the horse balances on its hindlegs and jumps, keeping its forelegs off the ground, thus it "hops" on its hindlegs.
The
capriole is a movement where the horse leaps into the air and pulls his forelegs in towards his chest at the height of elevation, while kicking out with his hindlegs.
The
levade is a movement where the horse is balanced on its haunches at a 45 degree angle from the ground. It requires great control and balance, and is very strenuous.
There are two main breeds that are most well known for their abilities for airs above ground: the Lipizzaner and the
AndalusianThe Andalusian, also known as the Purebred Spanish Horse or PRE , is a horse breed from the Iberian Peninsula. It is extremely similar to the closely related Lusitano breed. There are several competing registries that cover the Andalusian/PRE breed...
. Other breeds that are known for their abilities in High School dressage include the
FriesianThe Friesian is a horse breed originating in Friesland, a province of the Netherlands. Although the breed's conformation resembles that of a light draft horse, Friesians are graceful and nimble for their size. During the Middle Ages, it is believed that the ancestors of Friesian horses were in...
and
Lusitanoj:For the Portuguese music theorist, please see Vicente Lusitano.The Lusitano is an ancient Portuguese horse breed, that until the 1960s shared its registration with the Spanish Andalusian horse. Both are sometimes called Iberian horses, as they originated from the Iberian peninsula. They were...
.
The
Spanish Riding SchoolThe Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Austria, is a traditional riding school for Lipizzan horses, which perform in the Winter Riding School in the Hofburg...
in
ViennaVienna is the capital of the Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 10th largest city by...
, as well as the
Cadre NoirThe Cadre Noir is an equestrian display team based in the city of Saumur in western France. The troop was founded in 1828, and gets its name from the black uniforms that are still used today. It is one of the most prestigious horsemanship schools in the world....
in
SaumurSaumur is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.The historic town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc...
, still practice and teach the
Haute Ecole. The Spanish Riding School exclusively uses
LipizzanThe Lipizzan or Lipizzaner , is a breed of horse closely associated with the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Austria where the finest representatives demonstrate the haute ecole or "high school" movements of classical dressage, including the highly controlled, stylized jumps and other movements...
stallions for their work.
Today the only remaining large schools of classical dressage are the
Cadre NoirThe Cadre Noir is an equestrian display team based in the city of Saumur in western France. The troop was founded in 1828, and gets its name from the black uniforms that are still used today. It is one of the most prestigious horsemanship schools in the world....
, the
Spanish Riding SchoolThe Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Austria, is a traditional riding school for Lipizzan horses, which perform in the Winter Riding School in the Hofburg...
, the
Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian ArtThe Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art is an institution in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, devoted to conserving the ancestral abilities of the Andalusian horse, maintaining the classical traditions of Spanish baroque horsemanship, preparing horses and riders for international dressage...
in
Jerez de la FronteraJerez de la Frontera is a municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southwestern Spain, situated midway between the sea and the mountains. As of 2008, the city, the largest city in the province, had 205,364 inhabitants; it is the fifth largest in Andalusia...
and the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art in
LisbonLisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal. It is also the seat of the district of Lisbon and the main city of the Lisbon region...
. There are a small number of independent classical dressage trainers who also endeavor to keep this branch of the art alive, including the
PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
riding master
Nuno OliveiraNuno Oliveira is widely acknowledged as a master of the art of dressage.Nuno was born in Lisbon on June 23, 1925. He studied riding under Joaquim Goncalves de Miranda, in the style of the riding academy of Versailles. A great teacher, he possessed a near-encyclopedic knowledge of equestrian theory...
and his students, including the American clinicians, Paul Belasik and
Dr. Thomas Ritter.
External links