| |
Making Dressage History:
La Guerinière's book Ecole de Cavalerie
On the subject of Dressage History, William Steinkraus, an NSL director, writes: "The first of the great 18th-century masterpieces, Francois Robichon de la Gueriniere's Ecole de Cavalerie, boasts not only a marvelous and ground-breaking text---a cornerstone of modern dressage---but also superb engraved plates by Charles Parrocel. La Gueriniere's work is still considered the equestrian 'Bible' of the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, and though it has only recently been translated word for word into English, it stands as an enduring landmark of equestrian literature." The order of the chapters, the definitions, the development of the doctrine and its application charm the reader by their clarity and poetic turn of phrase.
Francois Rubichon de la Guenière: his life and books
The aim of this noble and useful art is solely to make horses supple, relaxed, compliant, and obedient and to lower the quarters, without all of which a horse- whether he be meant for military service, hunting or dressage-will be neither comfortable in his movements nor pleasurable to ride. -Francois Robichon de la Guérinière According to this great eighteenth-century French master, The knowledge of the nature of a horse is one of the first foundations of the art of riding it, and every horseman must make it his principal study. Although one cannot learn to ride by reading a book alone, one can learn a great deal about classical riding and about training techniques from the great masters past and present. One of the most rewarding aspects of reading books by the masters is coming across brilliant quotations like the one above.
Ecole de Cavalerie
The original French Masterpiece is available on this page in e-book form
The book has indeed been translated into English, but has lost a lot of it's beauty and poetry in translation. I have therefore decided to make it available to you in the original, exquisitely beautiful French, each word carefully weighed and chosen to fulfill its exact purpose. My apologies to readers who do not have French, as soon as I find an aptly translated version I will let you know via the Exquisite Equestrian Quote Newsletter.As an appetizer, here is the summery in French: Le sommaire de École de cavalerie : • Pourquoi il y a si peu d'Hommes de Cheval et des qualités pour le devenir. • Des différentes natures de Chevaux ; de la cause de leur indocilité, et vices qui en résultent. • Des Instruments dont on se sert pour dresser les Chevaux. • Des termes de l'Art. • Des différents mouvements des jambes des Chevaux selon la différence de leurs allures. o Des Allures naturelle: Le pas, Le trop, Le galop. o Des Allures défectueuses: L'amble, L'Entre-pas ou Traquenard, L'Aubin. o Airs bas ou près de terre: Passage, Piaffer, Galopade, Changement de main, Volte, Passade, Pirouette, Terre-à-terre. o Airs relevés: Pesade, Mézair, Courbette, Croupade, Balotade, Cabriole, Le pas et le saut. • De la belle posture de l'Homme de Cheval et de ce qu'il faut observer avant de monter. • De la main de la bride, et de ses effets. • Des aides et des châtiments nécessaires pour dresser les Chevaux.
• De la nécessité du Trot pour assouplir les jeunes Chevaux, et de l'utilité du Pas. • De l'Arrêt, du demi-Arrêt, et du Reculer. • De l'Epaule en dedans. • De la Croupe au mur. • De l'utilité des Piliers. • Du Passage. • Des changements de main, et de la manière de doubler. • Du Galop. • Des Voltes, des demi-Voltes, des Passades, des Pirouettes, et du Terre-à-terre. • Des Airs relevés: Des Pesades, Du Mézair, Des Courbettes, De la Croupade et de la Balotade, Des Cabrioles, Le Pas et Saut, et le Galop-gaillard.
Order your own personal copy to treasure and savour in handy pdf form, available for immediate download.
From Dressage History to Homepage
|
