Can Competitive Dressage Be Classical? an ESSAY by a FORMER DIRECTOR of the FRENCH NATIONAL RIDING SCHOOL at SAUMUR

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CLINIC Can Competitive Dressage Be Classical? AN ESSAY BY A FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE FRENCH NATIONAL RIDING SCHOOL AT SAUMUR

BY COLONEL CHRISTIAN CARDE INTRODUCTION BY GERHARD POLITZ

As a fellow member of the Inter- national Dressage Trainers Club, I have had the privilege of knowing Colonel Christian Ca tele, who spent more than 20 years at the famed Cadre Hair at the French National Riding School at Sawmill He was the school's director and ecuyer-en•che (chief trainer) from 1991 to 1999. He has enjoyed a comprehensive equestrian education, having been a jumper rider for fifteen years before specializ- ing in dressage, a field in sshicim he has competed, trained, judged. and coached at the FD levels. He has been a French national Grand Prix dressage champion and has served as the French dressage-team trainer. He is an ED -1" dressage judge. Last June, I invited Col, Carde to give a clinic at the Hintridge Riding Club near Pasadena, CA, where !teach and train. One evening, he gave a talk on the relationship—and sometime con- P.A.trentWert High-wheal collection as practiced at Samar flicts—between classical riding and com- Faithful to the principles of the clas- Following is an abridged version of petitive dressage. I would like to share 601 French school, which as head of the text of Col. Carde's lecture at Flint' his thoughts with the growing dressage Saumur it was his job to uphold, Cal. ridge Thanks to Bruce Fowler fur trans- CODDMMity in this country. Cattle is gently aggressive when it comes lating the text from the original French. to coaching and competing_ After all, — GERHARD POEM he has been an international-level com- petitor himself and understands that, Introduction: Classical Riding in the shove ring, results are what count. and Competitive Dressage However, he is gravely concerned about If there were a topic tube avoided the direction that competitive dressage due to controversy, it would be this one. may be taking—one that, he believes, is Indeed, ever since the spread of eques- moving away front many crucial prin- trian art during the Renaissance—first ciples of classical training that must in Europe and then through other con- Cal. Christian Cardu never be abandoned. tinents—the grand masters did not al-

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definition of classical have occurred in classical riding be- training in terms of a ovens the fifteenth and molly-first cen- whole range of con- turies. Different breeds were created to cepts on which most boner accommodate the use of horses people currently agree. by the cavalry, by hunters. by farmers, Yet, in nuny cases, the by circus riders, and so on. riders who are cont. The aim of the "old school" was to peeing, as well as the maxintim the horse's balance to such officials who are sup. an extent that such "airs" as the pe- posed to be enforcing sade, the nwtaie the courbette, and the these guidelines and croupade were made powible. After the rules, do not seem to horse had been taught the basics, the be very familiar with mumbler (high-school collection) was it. Those who are fa- developed through thc use of one pil- miliar with it tend to lar and then with two pillars. This interpret it in a rather process involved suppling his neck and subjective way, along hindquarters and teaching him cadence the hoes of their indi- between thc pillars. eventually obtain- • - twe,t• ‘,/and iris Jresrenruir.orpin.rs Sok* and Cot, vidual sensitivities, ing the plaffe. Only later on in the Chnwan Csole their equestrian expe- process did the trainer deal with rais- rience, and according ing and lightening the horses forehand. ways rah, clearly about classical train- to what's currently fashionable. The picot re" of rassembler was a ing. When the famed eighteenth-century For dressage does tend to follow horse with lowered, active hindquarters French expert de b Guerini.ere wrote his fashion, just as do other sports and who was light in the shoulders, with a masterpiece, Ecok- de Catulerie, he ad- arts—notably, painting and music. For finely honed obedience to the rider's mitted that only two authors had in- example. the game of tennis in the hand and leg aids—a horse that was spired hint the sixteenth-century French 1930s was slower and more elegant as "full of power from the hindquarters, mastet Monsieur de la Bonin, and the compared tO the faster and more phys- with a gentle mouth." If the means of

5eventeenth-century British gentlemar ical game of today. One only has to getring these results sometimes required the Duke r.1 Newcastle. Only these owl look at dressage photos from the 1920s a great deal of the rider's energy and in- anthors, he thought, explained classical and '30s to see profound differences in deed the so-called "domination" of the pfinciples in a dear and useful way. the ways horses were expected to look horse, then one had to be very careful We live our equestrian art accord- as compared to the may they look now. not to ruM the home's spirit. De Flannel ing to our cult ural background, our Back then, horses' frames were lens con. (1555-1620) wants us not "to suffocate physical and mental makeup, and our strained and more harmonious, with willimmess bxmke in the horse that char- personal taws. and to the type of horse their necks having more self-carriage, acter is like the dower of a fruit." The that we are dealing with. Complicating their heads in front of the vertical. and rider has to be vigilant in maintaining the true is the fact that the Federation a softer submission evident. a good position, for, to freely quote the Equestre Internationale (FEI) wants to Let us nOW consider what classical words of the Duke of Newcastle (1592- be the conservatory of equestrian art, as horsemanship looked like prior to the 16761, "lithe rider doesn't hmk good, is clearly indicated in Article 419 of the birth of international dressage compe- it won't be good." In the days of In International Dressage Regulations. tition in 1929. Lees take a look at how Gueriniere 11688-17511, a rider's ap- There, rho FEI talks about preserving its principal concepts evolved, and how prenticeship lasted a long time: six equestrian an from the winds of change, to best marry classical riding with dres- months spent working on position at maintaining its pure principles, and sage competition. the mot without stirrups. for example. transmitting that art, intact, to future La Gueriniere brought classical rid. generations of dressage competitors. Classical Riding ing into the modern era, and his teach- The FFI's international-dressage The vanous ways that people have used ings profoundly affected the various guidelines do a good job in their dear horses have dictated the changes that Latin 311a German schools. Not willing

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brought about by engagement of the hindquarters. The "old school- days ended in France at the time of the eighteenth- century revolution. In that country, horse breeders were introducing more Thoroughbred types. The results were horses that oveG lighter, smaller-framed, and faster; but less adept at the airs above the ground. In roost other coun- tries, however, riders remained faithful to the "old school.- In Germany, the tradition of the classical masters was a continuous line from Wallhausen 116001 t and Huenersdorf 117911 to Seeger, Stembreeht,Pliromer, MOO), and Unice r 19301. That at any rate is what Willi Schultheis said to one of rny compatri- ots when he was Germany's national dressage trainer in the rnid-I970s. (Meanwhile, back in France, Francois Rancher (1793-1873) instmed a .new horsemanship' based on new to rely on practice alone, he underlined rection—and indeed for the ability to principles. That form of training and the importance of theory, which leap through the air—the riders of the riding is not pertinent to this discus- -teaches us to work based on good prin. old school got thcir results through a sion, and I'll leave that complicated— ciples." Alsmys seeking to supple /he high degree of collection, whose pic- albeit fascinating—story for another horses shoulders and hindquarters. he ture was One of lightness in hand. time. Sof lice it to say that Boucher invented the shoulder-in movement, which became his favorite exercise— one which, he believed, -is the first as well as the last lesson to teach the horse.- He believed that the svell.trained horse is truly obedient to the leg and. with a very light mouth. carries himself in the desired frame through the mere weight of our reins. it is worth noting that la Guerinieres 8cok de Cavalerie occupies a favored spot in the director's office at the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, and that riders there still recommend its teachings to this very day. But tins is perhaps quire natural, for their Lipirrans so closely resemble the conformation of the Iberian horses that were common in the -old school." In seeking for their horses the max- imum amount of mobility in any di.

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strongly influenced cbssical riding in ergy necessary to do the intended he shows submission in the mssentbley, My country, espNially as Saurnue where movement." especially an the Odle and passage, is became a kind of "Rancher light" 3. Lightness the forehand q.al- which are the 'WOW advanced examples. grafted onto a tradition of classical iry that permits the shoulders to In the third and sixth editions of the horsemanship.) move freely and the hindquarters to FPI dressage regulations 11932 and Sannsur's equestrian tradition was lower as required. This is the direct 19381, the passage is defined as a very established in 1870 after the work of resuk of training's rudimentary con- cadenced and collected trot, character- Generals Ghlotte and, later, Decarpen- “pt; balance. ised by a generous elasticity of move- try. Following she goals of "calm, for- The word "lightness” is mentioned ment. The rules make clear that this ward, and straight." its aim is to twice in the third collective mark of in- passage cannot be accomplished by every combine impulsion with flexibility. It is mrnationa I dressage test., which terms horse—that it depends on the horse% a tradition that highly recommends a curiously missing or avoided in actual conformation, temperament, and en- freely forward-moving riding style, with competition. emy level. The Marie is defined as a pas- impulsion coining front the hindquar- Lightness to the bond was thc es- sage On the spot, in which the legs are ters toward the front; it rejects as much sential quality sought and taught by more elevated than in she passage_ as it can the con“pt of lighting against German and French masters alike. All In the tenth edition 1 i 9581, there is the horse. It promorm lightness and con- agreed that lightness originates in the an important change in the play of the siders lightness to be the hallmark of relaxation of the horse's mouth. Honer, borse's legs, in the plaffe, the legs are high.school work. don wrote: "It not the horse's month now less elevated than in the passage. the starting point for the 'assembler with the point of the raised hind hoof and for all desired fratnesl And isn't it International Dressage coming above the fetlock of the sup. true that We are more ready to prop- Competition porting hind leg. The frame dmcribed erly work our horse until he begins mst- The rules of the game, as set down in for these two movements is full of e'er ing the bit?" Steinbrecht must have been the early 19305, described a type of game: In the passage, the neck is mised, thinking site sante thing when he wrote riding that was both artistic and com- evenly curved, with the head approach- in The Grinktsinnt horse, "Cor- petitive, Some may be surprised to learn ing the vertical (which leads one to sup- rect contact is based on the fact that that the creators of the essential pans pose that, in normal circunotances, the the horse goes onto the hand and lets go of the roles were two generals, the head shooki he in front of the vertical). of the his. This mast always be the pre. Getman von Hol rig and the French condition to the 'assembler." Cimtact is light, permitting the horse Decarpentry. The two won agreed on Twenty.five years ago, I took lessons to perform smooth WarteitiOWS between basic CEMICepTS about the goals of dres- from Willi Schultheis when berets help- postage and Mali, This makes one sage, thc frame, Me desired tray of going the French dressage team. "Light, think precisely of the son of "through. ing, and also on the dual ideas of Major, light" was the essential advice nets' m which Gen. L'Hotte referred: mbnlission and lightness, which have that he gave me. These War& still ring a perfection that permits transitions to he no closely connected. in niy ears, And when I got back on my done "in imperceptible stages, from the Because we refer so often to the con- horse after Schultheis bad worked with Pfaff, to the Passage...without any cept of lightness, we had better explain him for ft few minutes, he was much brusque changes occurring in the nat. exactly what We mean by it. This term lighter than before and was more for- tiral way of going." is toed in three ways, which are similar ward-moving, for true lightness in- In the plane, she horse's head is on as well at complementary, creases impulsion. Calmer and no longer the vertical, his mouth in sob emit= I. Lightness to the hand is the horse's resisting upward, ray horse came cosily on adjusted reins. It happens strictly in obedience to the slightest rein aid. in band. It is this feeling that I try so one place and in perfect balance, made 2. Lightness of the horse is his obedi- rediscover with my own horses and lively by an energetic impulsion, which ence to the slightest of aids. This term With on pupils. the horse shows off as a constant with COIWIlee thc concept of .energy eon. so move forward, as soon as the aids semation." Gen. L'Hotte 1 i 925- Evolution of the PEI cram. We find this linkage between per- [9041 defines this lightness as "the Dressage Rules fect balance and impulsion in she Odle bringing into plot-by the rider, and We'll limit this subject to discussions in all editions of she rules, and so is throw by the horse, of only thorn' of the horse% frame and of the way that should be,

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The fourteenth edition (1975) be- a horse that fiw this description is rarely and isn't it perfectly natural for other gins to take on the appearance of a seen these days. competitors to want to mutate the best horsemanship treatise, describing the in their sport, and that this picture then movements and the aids to be used to Difficulty and Ambiguity in becomes dominant in the judges' minds? accomplish sonic of them. There is a Competitive Dressage But there are two sides to every long ankle aboan the rassembler, with The premise that dressage competition medal. This combining of lots of im- its goak and the aids to use for it. One might be able to preserve the equestrian pulsion with a strong hold becomes learns hcrc that this 'assembler is the 'tots questionable. Thane notables who even stronger to maintain control, but result of an increased engagement of gathered at Saumur in March 1998 to it ends up producing a horse that is not the horse's hindquarters, which is discs. "Present-Day Horsemanship: Sport completely balanced. To make matters brought a bout by the action of the and Art" agreed on the difficulty of pi- worse, this increased holding pressure ritkr's seat and legs pushing the horse geonholing anistic presentation because, becomes uncionfortable and even forward up to a more or leS5 fixed or above all, an is free and doesn't fit well painful for the horse, at which point holding hand. In other words, we are into rules or regulations. Art is also orig- the noseband is tightened further so still far from “flaucherism-1 inal and creative: The artist looks to ga that he can no longer open his mouth, In 1987. the seventeenth edition spec- beyond himself, not beyond others. and so the rider can pull even harder! ifies that .quick, irregular. jerky stamp- Dressage shows are competitions. From this we get horses that are heavy ing of the feet, or steps without and competitions mean battles for vic- in the hand and dead to the leg, two at- suspension have no place in the true tory. This fact rang true in a 2000 clink tributes that feed off each other. The hailer." In this pialle, "the constant by one of the top dressage champions, common trap here—and many per wish to move for:anise is replaced by who, in answer to a quthtion, was heard caught—is the temptation constantly .the fervent ability to move forward.' to have said, am not a classical rider; to escalate the 21110IIIII of aids being The current dressage regulations, in I arn a sports rider: If this reported ex- used, and "too much aid kills the aid." Anicie 401, explain quite precisely how change is accurate, it shows that the in the April 2000 issue of the mag- a properly trained dressage horse should idea of handing down a classical her. azine VrEperotir the setbacks of a 2). look: nage in dressage is not a big concern year-old future dressage champion are • Submission without tension and with- for today's champions. described. The venue was the European out any resistance whatsoever—that In another vein, dressage competi- Championship at Mondorf, where she is to say, completely relaxed tion implies that one must be "on good was riding a horse that was "tearing • In all wok even at the halt, the horse terms with one's horse, and also on her arms out." I knew this horse very must boon the bit. A horse is said to good terms w ith I he judges- ID, well, as herons for sole whik I was na- be on the bit when his neck is more which often leads to trouble- tional trainer of the French dressage or less maintained at an ekgant level SOW comprornism team. After trying the hone, I never re- and is round to a degree that depends Is not the principal challenge of dres- ally understood hose one could ride on the level of rmining and on the sage to combine precision with quality such a difficult test on the Grand Prix CTICOSI011 or collection of the gait be- in riding and training? Dressage tests with an animal that W. so stiff and ing performed. The howe accepts the currently demand enormous precision, unresponsive to the aids. Lightness to bridle with a light and soft contact and arts without question that the pref- the hand has therefore all but disap- and submissiveness throughout. erence today is toward precise execu- peared,ar very tight nosebands prevent • The horre's head must remain steady tion of the movements required. This relaxation of the horse's mouth. As I and in place and, as a general ruler result is also possible but more di Ill.& explained previously, for the =stets, must Inc in front of the vertical. The with a horse that is light in the hand. obtaiMng relaxation of the jaws was poll, suppler must be the highest point Precision combined with lightness is inseparable front achieving r,,mctttltho. of the neck, with the horse offering mrely nor within the grasp of all rid- What develops from this combina- no msistance whatsoever to the riders ers, which rimy explain this shift to the tion of great impulsion and a strong That, at any rater is what we can all side of precision. That strong "in-hand- hold is that some horses become so dream about achieving. edness," resulting from a horse that is compressed between the hand and the The old masters would have agreed pushed hard tip Mtn the hand, has leg that their heads go behind the ver- totally with these directives. However, evolved with the winning competitors, tical, they develop -hanging- trots, and

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their walks become pace': or more of • In their present form, the interna- around the soon of dressage, one that an amble. What. then, of Article 403-1 tional regulations are not in question comprises a gamut of trainers, owners, in the ELI regulations, which asks for a because they drive home such excel. breeders, pupils, competitors, and all walk "with a clear four-beat rhythm"; lent principhs. Whoever or whichever sorts of other commercial concerns, 403.2, which indicates that "pacing is group could change these regulations These realities are irreversible, and they an irregularity which can evolve even would have to be a powerful force ate here to stay. to the amble, !which is al serious dete- indeed, especially to be able to mod- For those who need to be comforted rioration of the gait"; and 403-3, which ify the famous Article 401, by trying regarding their faith in the fume of warns than "it is at the walk that train- to improve it, or to render it more ac- dressage, would say this: the groat ing imperfections arc best uncovered"? ceptable to what's currently fashion- ousters' teachings from ceramics ago no La Gueriniere long ago similarly able. This article, which puts into longer appear lobe the right recipel, warned that "when the [horse's! back perspective some very essential prin- and ii those teachings have indeed gad, is weak and stiff, the walk tends to- ciples, is the safety net against radical ered dust that wc are unwilling to clean wards the amble, and that is a serious change. In addition, the ephemeral off, then our more recent equestrian shortcoming." I remember worrying nature of fashion flies in thc face of history still has some highlights that some of my Canadian riders recently those prindples. which do not change. can give us hopes when I advised one that he should work • To sulk about the way that dressage There is Nuno Oliviera, known the on the shouldeein at the walk. "But competitions have evolved would be world over, who taught in one of the he'll start to .111,1C: was the response. a big error. Even with its shortcorn. most classical ways. He wanted horses However. in the shoulder-in, that horse ings, international dressage cueopeti. to becalm, cadenced, round, light, and becatne relaxed and lighter in the hand; lion is a remarkably successful way brilliant. The most successful riders and then not only improved his walk, to develop the sport. Such competi- hoped to meet him and wanted to be but also became more regular, tion has been pankulady successful in around him. In keeping with this scenario, what musing major advances in breeding. There is Dr. Reiner Klimke, one of do we make id Article 401, which talks The result is that the horses compel. Olivieres admirers, who welcomed the about total relaxation and about a soh ing today are totally superior to those Cadre Noir from Saumur 10 MiinSte, contact between the horse's mouth and of 20 years ago. This argument can. where he underlined the importance of the rider's hand? In any riding tbars however. go the other way—against classical schools in their fundamental constrained. changes in frame and tran- dressage competitions—which could role of preserving classical principles sitions become difficult, particularly be criticized as being events that extol to ensure the future of riding and train- those between ',Mlle and passage— good horses rather than good riding, ing, I hope that the last riding acade. transitions that one sees performed well • Just after I became &toyer-en-chef at min in she world will not forget this by only a few, rare horses. More ex. amples could easily demonstrate the Sallow, a trainer who had iust immi- essential message. gap that exists between the FEI regu- grated to the U.S. asked me to "god- And here also am I, bringing you this lations and the performances. father" a typed parallel competititm sarne classical message, Mining my voice circuit not he regular HI scenario. I to those trainers and coach., who have The Roles of the Came refused because I was convinced— so often felt in their hearts that there In all sports, there are rho -rules of the and I still arn—that one can still be ate only nvo types of riding, good and game." In dressage these days, those counted among the best in the MI bad. The good version is the one that rules are interpreted so differently by circuit by riding classically and well, happens between a willing, hvely, light, the owners, the players, the trainers, and that an alternate circuit would happy horse and a rider who feels the and the judges that it all becomes a very risk becoming merely the refuge of same way. A ballet•like joust—or, at least, it becomes mediocre horses, trained badly. very ambiguous. Dressage is evolving. thanks to a very Gerhard Polite is au ex amine, in USD). 's That being the case, should we large network of trainers who teach and Itostetoetot Cretifteattort Progetoott and amen, change the rules and literally rule our coach worldwide, preparing clients for Ion of 1.13D15 Test trrattosCortenottree. He os also,: Getman Ittedetteers &out, titos e Society of order the competitions that have, to competition. We cannot forget the im- ant i telettther rtt. the Ituvetattatkat put it rather strongly, perverted the an? portance of the huge eormomk factor— Dees...gel-Hem-Haat lreolnmol.oflcorctoe I don't think so, and here's why. again worldwide—which has grown up Rao, Cloth roar Pamderra. CA.

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