Classical Dressage

Alexis-Francis L'Hotte (Général)

"Calme, en avant, droit et léger"

Over the years Saumur has been graced with many exceptional horsemen. General L'Hotte, head of the Cadre Noir from 1864-1870, had the fortunate experience of training with and combining the philosophies of two great ecuyers of his time, Mr. Baucher (1796-1873), and the Comte d'Aure (1799-1863). As Commandant of the French Cavalry School he had to follow the teachings of Comte D'Aure, but applied the teaching of Baucher to his own horses. He is still criticized for not supporting more openly the teachings of Baucher when he was ecuyer en chef and commandant at Saumur.

Alexis-Francis L'Hotte was born in 1864, at Luneville. From the age of 15, he spent more time with the commandant Dupuis, ecuyer of the school at Versailles, than with his teachers, although this did not in the slightest hinder his entrance to the académie at St-Cyr at the age of 17. Two years later, he joined the Ecole de Cavalerie de Saumur, then under the commandment of Delherm de Novital, where he studied with commandant Rousselet.

It was around this period that he became the pupil of both Francois Baucher (whom he met by accident while on maneuvers in Lyon – they became life-long friends) and comte d'Aure. He returned to Saint-Cyr as commandant of the reopened cavalry section. In 1864, he became ecuyer en chef of the Ecole de Cavalerie. He rode 12 horses per day and spent 13-14 in the saddle every day. Napoleon III noticed L'Hotte's talent. In 1875, he returned to Saumur as commandant of the Ecole de Cavalerie. He was considered by all to be the most outstanding ecuyer of the period. He retired in 1880, but continued to ride his three horses every morning until the age of 77.

Two Books

His two works "Un Officer de cavalerie - Souvenirs" (1905) and "Questions equestres" (1906) appeared posthumously. He died in 1904, at Luneville. In his will, he instructed that his three horses should be destroyed: « Je veux épargner la déchéance à mes trois chevaux, Glorieux, Domfront et Insensé. Qu'ils soient immédiatement abattus d'une balle de revolver. »

Both "Un Officer de Cavalerie - Souvenirs" and "Questions equestres" are available from this website in the original French. The original books now sell for hundreds of euros in printed form. You can buy your own copy in handy e-book form and start ready minutes after on your own computer.

"When schooling a horse, one must be content with a small amount of progress every day, and demand that much, and no more. The rider/trainer should remind himself with each lesson what the horse had achieved the day before, even if the performance was not perfect. Progress must be gradual, because gradual progress is the high road to success. If on a given day, an unexpected improvement has been achieved, it should not be taken for granted that the horse has mastered this step and should definitely not be taken as a foundation for the lesson of the next day. If one made this assumption, one would surely be disappointed.

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