Xenophon Press

Academic Art of Riding: A Riding Method for the Ambitious Leisure Rider by Bent Branderup

$65.00

Now in print.

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Explore the knowledge and teachings of the old masters in this well-illustrated and easy-to-understand riding book

Based on the knowledge of the old riding masters, such as Xenophon, Pluvinel, and Steinbrecht, the Academic Art of Riding is rooted in the belief that one must train one’s horse not only physically, but also mentally, according to the motto: “Two spirits who want to do what two bodies can.” Fine communication with the horse as a partner is not only the way to accomplish this, but also the result. The described gymnastic exercises are made to build up the horse and keep it healthy. Starting with the horse’s basic training and work in hand, the reader also gets insight into lateral movements, piaffe, and airs above the ground. Furthermore, methods for training and physiotherapy for horses in need of correction, as well the correct seat of the rider, are described. Also included is a checklist which allows the rider to assess their horse.

Bent Branderup is the author of many books and instructional films about equestrianism. He is dedicated to reviving academic equestrianism. Early in his career, he visited and studied the masters who were keeping academic equestrianism alive. These included Don Javier, instructor at Escuela Andaluza del Arte Ecuestre (Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art) in Spain, Nuno Oliveira in Portugal and Egon von Neindorff in Karlsruhe, Germany. Furthermore, he studies the writings of the old masters and participates in international study projects, particularly concerning equine biomechanics. Bent Branderup and his licensed trainers/mentees train ambitious leisure riders in academic equestrianism worldwide.

Excerpt:

"Collection is the ability to bring weight to the hind legs by bending of the haunches. The horse is collected when he brings his hind leg forward under the point of weight, shortening up the thrust. The opposite movement of shortening away the forward step, would make the horse be slow, but not collected. A short, compressed neck does not contribute to collection. Actually, it prevents collection since it compresses the spine and this ruins the schwung and prevents the hind legs from swinging in under the point of weight, or at least makes that movement more difficult. This is how you can tell a bad rider from a good one: the good rider can ride his horse with a long neck and much bending in the haunches. The bad rider does not cause his horse to bend in the haunches, and only creates a short neck.

"The piaffe itself should not be the goal of collection, but rather the power and skills that the horse will develop from it, as well as the better understanding of refined aids and the possibility of activating the carrying capacity of the hindquarter in any phase of the training." Copyright 2024 Xenophon Press

"There are eleven varieties of piaffe: the right-bent piaffe; versal, traversal, renversal, in pirouette, and bent straight, and the left-bent; versal, traversal, renversal, in pirouette, and bent straight. The eleventh variety is the straight-straight piaffe. You should first practice the first ten varieties, and the eleventh will be the end product of your training. There are trainers who first train the piaffe fully to one side, before training it on the other hand. I do not recommend this approach since you cannot know how long it will take you to develop the piaffe to this side, and while training it you will train your horse to become asymmetrical. That is why I can only recommend you to train the piaffe to both sides in all variations right from the beginning, and to emphasize the bad side a bit more than the good side, since it is not the piaffe, but the proper training of your horse that is the goal."