Ecole de Cavalerie by Francois Robichon de la Gueriniere, one of the bibles of classical dressage, most famous for its introduction of the shoulder-in. According to Col. Alois Podhajsky, this is "the most revolutionary book on riding of all times. Its principles are still applied unaltered at the Spanish Court Riding School and may be seen there in daily use." by Francois Robichon de la Gueriniere William Steinkraus 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."

Ecole de Cavalerie (School of Horsemanship, Part 2)

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

De La Guérinière, François Robichon

Pets & Animal Care

Xenophon Press LLC

Excellent introduction to the philosophy, method, and procedures of Baucherism, or the French tradition of "riding in lightness" that Baucher developed in the 19th century. Includes a translation of Baucher's "second manner." Jean-Claude Racinet wrote a few articles in the magazine Dressage and CT in 1992-3 on Baucher and his equitation. This series, with some necessary editing for cohesion, has been brought together to create this book. Two appendices were added; the first one deals with the validity of Baucherism, in light of the last discoveries of "equine osteopathy," as exposed by Dr. Dominique Giniaux of France; the second is a translation of the very last part of the 12th edition of Baucher's Methode d'Equitation, dealing with his second "manner." This text has probably never been translated into English, and is of utmost importance. The riders who will endeavor to apply by the letter the progression described by Baucher in this text will, to their surprise, probably accede to a new and higher level of equestrian knowledge. Born in Paris in 1929, Jean-Claude Racinet is a graduate of St. Cyr, the French West Point, Class of 1950. He was a member of the French contingent in Korea (1950-53), where he was wounded twice. As an officer of the French army, he spent seven years in Tunisia and Algeria (1954-61) and four more years in Europe. While he spent most of his army career during the time when the military was getting rid of their horses, he managed, between and during his sojourns overseas, to successfully attend the Superior Equitation Course in the Cavalry School of Saumur (1953-54), winning the title of Champion of Tunisia in open jumping (1956), and to become a member of the Jumping Team of the Military School in Paris (1953). Riding teacher and trainer as a civilian after 1965, he was more particularly known by his retraining of difficult horses and later as an equestrian journalist by his always witty and sometimes scathing articles in the French equestrian monthly L'Information Hippique. In the United States since 1983, Jean-Claude Racinet became a successful teacher, trainer, lecturer, clinician, and author. Xenophon Press published in 1994 his highly popular book Another Horsemanship, now in its second printing. Jean-Claude Racinet has devoted his life to the vindication of "L¡¯equitation de Legerete" (riding in lightness), which fosters balance by relaxing the horse - more so his mouth - excluding force in the wielding of the aids. In fact, the very essence of riding in the French Classical tradition. softcover, 207 pages, illustrated. Excerpt from the book: So, who was Francois Baucher? Francois Baucher was born in Versailles near Paris on June 16, 1796. Twenty-nine-year-old General Napoleon Bonaparte's "Coup d'Etat" was to take place on December 2, 1798, so the childhood and youth of Baucher was to unfold during the Napoleonic era, which the French call the "First Empire." At age 14, Francois Baucher was brought to Italy by an uncle who was managing in Milan the stable of Camille Borghese, Prince of Sulmone, and husband of Pauline Bonaparte, a sister of Napoleon. Four years later, at the fall of Napoleon, Baucher came back to France. He worked for a short time in the stables of the Duke of Berry in Versailles, then decided to work for himself and by 1820 settled in Normandy where he managed first one, then two riding establishments, in Le Havre and Rouen. Baucher evinced outstanding qualities as a rider, trainer, and riding teacher. Yet he deplored that the way horsemanship was taught at the time was unclear, vague, and futile, and he set out to create his own system which, he hoped, would be based on rationality and "scientific" observations.

Racinet Explains Baucher

RACINET, JEAN-CLAUDE

he Handbook of Jumping Essentials by Francois Lemaire de Ruffieu: A step by step illustrated guide explaining how to train a horse to find the proper take-off spot. Lemaire de Ruffieu was first trained and graduated from the Cadre Noir, one of the oldest and most prestigious riding academies in Europe. During his 6 years in the cavalry at Saumur and Fontainbleau, he studied and showed extensively in dressage, stadium jumping, three day eventing and steeplechase. He taught riding in France and throughout the United States and was awarded the title of Master Instructor of the American Riding Instructor Certification program in 1996.

The Handbook of JUMPING ESSENTIALS: A step-by-step guide explaining how to train a horse to find the proper take-off spot

Lemaire De Ruffieu, Francois

Children's Books

New Children's paperback, featuring poetry related to horses.

Riding in Rhyme: A Humorous Poetic Guide to the Equestrian Arts

Davies, John Anthony

Literature & Fiction

This book is about equine acupressure: the art of alleviating your horse's physical, and even mental problems by applying a pressure with your thumb or index finger on specific points of acupuncture. Without interfering with your veterinarian, whose intervention remains necessary in most cases, you will in this way be able to check the course of a colic, help your mare in foaling, help your horse overcome heat stroke, a crisis of emphysema, a hemorrhage, a bout of "tying up," and more. Just as human first aid does not compete with, but rather complements medical care by saving precious time before the intervention of the physician, equine acupressure first aid can spare your horse the worst as the veterinarian is en route to your barn. Read the indications given by Dr. Ginaux carefully, apply them tactfully, and you will be astounded by the results! Enthusiastic, curious, and brilliant, Dr. Giniaux is a researcher who passionately tries to understand, not only with his brain but also with his heart and senses, the exhilarating phenomenon called "life." Domique Giniaux D.V.M. is also the author of Equine Osteopathy: What the Horses Have Told Me, [Xenophon Press 2014] a natural complement to this book.

Healing Hands: A Treatise on First-Aid Equine Acupressure

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Giniaux, D.V.M. Dominique

Alternative Medicine

Racinet provides a recipe for absolute balance, whereby all else succeeds. He searches for answers to riding problems from the inside and provides a thorough understanding of the cause. This is enjoyable reading, whereby you can gain relaxation in your horse. This book outlines and explains the concept of "riding in lightness" as understood by Jean-Claude Racinet who has spent his life riding and teaching the French School of horsemanship. Born in Paris in 1929, Jean-Claude Racinet is a graduate of St. Cyr, the French West Point, Class of 1950. He was a member of the French contingent in Korea (1950-53), where he was wounded twice. As an officer of the French army, he spent seven years in Tunisia and Algeria (1954-61) and four more years in Europe. While he spent most of his army career during the time when the military was getting rid of their horses, he managed, between and during his sojourns overseas, to successfully attend the Superior Equitation Course in the Cavalry School of Saumur (1953-54), winning the title of Champion of Tunisia in open jumping (1956), and to become a member of the Jumping Team of the Military School in Paris (1953). Riding teacher and trainer as a civilian after 9165, he was more particularly known by his retraining of difficult horses and later as an equestrian journalist by his always witty and sometimes scathing articles in the French equestrian monthly L'Information Hippique. In the United States since 1983, Jean-Claude Racinet became a successful teacher, trainer, lecturer, clinician, and author. Xenophon Press published in 1994 his highly popular book Another Horsemanship, now in its second printing. Jean-Claude Racinet has devoted his life to the vindication of "L'equitation de Legerete" (riding in lightness), which fosters balance by relaxing the horse - more so his mouth - excluding force in the wielding of the aids. In fact, the very essence of riding in the French Classical tradition. (softcover, photos, 135 pgs.) Excerpt from the book: From a rider's point of view, two distinct muscular functions preside over the equestrian performance. The first function assures locomotion. It Is acted out through an alternation of extensions and contractions. The second function must establish favorable articular angles and provide a fulcrum to the action of the muscles in charge of the first function. It upholds the structure. In one word, it assures the "posture." This second function works through a steady muscular tension. It is obvious that the muscles affected by the first function, which requires an intermittent tension, cannot in the meantime fulfill the second function, which requires a steady tension. Therefore the two muscle sets affected by either function are, at any given time, totally distinct. Their definition is, however, blurred, since in plain, day-to-day riding, at a walk or at a gallop or over the jumps, the posture constantly changes. At a trot, however, the posture is steady; the head position as well as the angle of the pelvis is pretty constant. At a trot, even at a racing trot, the horse's body is, so to say, "gelled"; its form does not change.

Total Horsemanship: A recipe for riding in absolute balance

Unquestionably one of the most important books ever written about the art of horsemanship, de Pluvinel's treatise is complete with the celebrated illustrations by Crispin de Pas. Translated from the 1926 edition, this is the foundation stone of any collection of equestrian literature. Pluvinel's "Le Maneige Royal" was published posthumously in 1625 in its complete form with beautiful engravings by the Flemish engraver Crispijn van de Passe II, edited by Pluvinel's friend Menou de Charnizay, under its definitive name "L'Instruction du Roy en l'exercice de monter a cheval" ("Teaching the King how to ride a horse"). Pluvinel is perhaps most well-known for his kind, humane training methods. Pluvinel used praise, careful use of aids, and softer bits (simple curb bits) to get the horse to work with him. He is also known for his extensive use of the pillars in his training of collection and levade. Additionally, he employed the two-track movements, such as shoulder-in, and voltes to supple the horse. His theories include that the horse must take pleasure in work, due to gentle, understanding riding, and that such a horse will move much more gracefully if he enjoys being ridden. 8.5"high x 11" wide Hardback, with adhered cover. Translated by Hilda Nelson.

THE MANEIGE ROYAL or L'Instruction du Roy: Wherein can be seen the Manner in which one Schools Docile Horses and everything that is required and ... many excellent Figures realistically execut

Arts & Photography

de Pluvinel, Antoine

History & Criticism

Faverot de Kerbrech's 'Methodical Dressage of the Riding Horse' is considered the 'Bible of Baucherism'. Together with it, in 'Dressage of the Outdoor Horse' General de Lagarenne gives us the teaching of Faverot de Kerbrech. Both books, included in this one volume, are excellently translated by Michael L. M. Fletcher. François Faverot de Kerbrech's (1837 – 1905) first riding master was his father, General Baron Faverot, student of Chevalier D’Abzac. At Saint Cyr, his teachers were students of the Count d’Aure. Faverot completed his studies by following François Baucher. Faverot became one of Baucher’s favorite students. A horseman of great repute, he remained the loyal successor to the work of François Baucher. The Master François Baucher brought numerous modifications to his first method of dressage. His best student, Faverot de Kerbrech gives us the definitive description and explanation of Baucher’s second manner in his work: Methodical Dressage of the Saddle Horse from the Last Teaching of Baucher, recalled by one of his students (1891). Published twenty years after the death of Baucher, this work is the result of a quest to bring French equitation out of its academic approach; enriched by the experience of Baucher’s most illustrious student. It is widely considered the best representation of Baucher's second method. In Dressage of the Outdoor Horse, General de Lagarenne gives us the last teaching of Faverot de Kerbrech. This work consists of a simplified progression of the second manner of Baucher with regard to the preparation of a horse for outdoor riding.

'Methodical Dressage of the Saddle Horse-Dressage of the Outdoor Horse'

Kerbrech, Faverot De

Lagarenne, General De

Baucher and his School (originally published in 1948) is an original biography of the "greatest écuyer of all time," François Baucher (1796-1873). Albert Decarpentry comments on the discoveries of one of the most prolific innovators in Equestrian Art. This book comprises the equestrian biography of François Baucher, an analytical examination of his method, and its lasting effect on French equitation. Decarpentry’s treatise is essential for understanding the importance of Baucher, a phenomenal figure in the history of equitation.Appendix I contains excerpts from the memoir of Louis Rul, clarified and completed by his friend Eugene Caron. Their personal accounts provide valuable firsthand anecdotes of the life and times of Baucher.Appendix II consists of excerpts from “Monsieur Baucher and his Art: Serious Warning to the Riders of Germany” by Louis Seeger, Baucher's German rival. Seeger (also the teacher of Gustav Steinbrecht, Gymnasium of the Horse) studied Baucher's method with malevolent blindness, but also with indisputable competence. With rigorous examination, Seeger compares and contrasts his own method to Baucher's “nouvelle methode.” His counter-argument sheds light on the 'German' versus 'French' dressage method that has endured even today.François Baucher's lasting influence on equitation is the evolution of his ideas to the concept of “riding in lightness.” Baucher constantly questioned his own and the established methods, experimented and innovated through lifelong trial and error in search of the truth.Commander of the Cavalry School at St. Cyr, Ecuyer and second in command of the Cadre Noir in Saumur, Albert Decarpentry, grandson of Eugene Caron and a student of Baucher, was considered the most knowledgeable écuyer of his generation. He contributed actively to the influence of French equitation in his many books and by writing the rules and definitions of the F.E.I. that are still used today. His account of Baucher’s life is both informed and impartial.

Baucher and His School

Biographies & Memoirs

Decarpentry, Albert

Arts & Literature

Nuno Oliveira said of the author: " I have the honor to declare that Dom Diogo de Bragança has been one of my best students and that I consider him as one of the rare riders I know who is capable of taking on the greatest difficulties of Equestrian Art with the greatest finesse." Dom Diogo de Bragança, an eclectic mind who studied languages, music composition and law, is one of the great equestrian figures of our time. His technique was built on a long apprenticeship with Master Nuno Oliveira (of whom he was one of the first students), which resulted in a natural horsemanship, full of tact and sensitivity. He acquired an amazing equestrian culture through the many books he studied in French and Portuguese and kept applying the theories he researched on the numerous horses he successfully trained. His vast experience and spirit of observation allowed him to present in this seminal book a complete analysis of the goals and methods of French dressage. It resulted in a unique synthesis that is destined to remain an authoritative text on this fascinating subject. Beyond revising the original 1976 text, Dom Diogo has added to this edition, a chapter on the specialized dressage for bullfighting, a form of horsemanship in which the horse, while flirting with the gravest danger, "offers us a breathtaking spectacle of beauty, precision, and brilliance." Dressage in the French Tradition is a reference for the understanding of classical dressage in which the horse, ridden with the greatest impulsion and lightness, displays his maximum activity in response to the minimum effort of the rider. English translation by Michael L. M. Fletcher of L'Équitation de Tradition Française, 2nd edition, Belin, Paris, 2005, a re-edited, corrected and augmented version of the book that was first published inFrance in 1976 by Odège. It has had numerous editions inPortugal, the homeland of the author.

Dressage in the French Tradition

Dom Diogo de Bragança

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