The Academic art of riding is based on the knowledge of the grandmasters in the classical dressage, for example: Pluvinel, La Guérinière and Steinbrecht. In their time horses were trained with another purpose. Usually they prepared the horses for war, whereby obedience and maneuverability was a matter of life or death. However the horses were also appreciated for their elegance, that ofcourse automatically descended on the rider. The Academic art of riding aims to help the horse stay healthy and develop strenght and flexibility with gymnastic exercises, whereby the natural movements of the horse are refined into an elegant, but functional way of moving.
The education starts with the working from the ground, handwork and longeing. All done with the use of a cavesson. This way the horse learns to find balance on his own legs without a rider. Later on these exercises will be taught while riding, developing into the side movements, pirouettes, flying changes and piaffe. The ultimate goal is learning the horse the Haute Ecole exercises, as you for example see in the Spanish riding school. Most trainers will not achieve this goal, which doesn’t matter. Having fun and enjoying the moment is the most important.
Grandmaster in the Academic art of riding is Bent Branderup, for more info click the link below:
Http://www.bentbranderuptrainer.com/
Http://www.knighthoodoftheacademicartofriding.eu/
