Training Strategies for Dressage Riders

Charles de Kunffy

Description

Training Strategies for Dressage Riders is a unique guide to the art and technique of dressage, written by one of the most renowned equestrian trainers in the world today. It offers a complete training system for both horse and rider, paying special attention to how a rider s actions can influence a mount. The book provides practical, in-the-saddle advice on a wide range of dressage topics, including:
* The art of classical equitation
* The development of the rider s seat and aids
* Developing the basic gaits
* Gymnastic improvement
* Horse insubordination
* Clinics and competitions judging
Whether you want to prepare for dressage competition or simply improve your riding skills, this is a matchless guide.

Sujets

• Animal Sports
• Sports
• Equestrian
• Recreation
• Sport équestre
• Sports équestres
• Sports équestres
• Sports équestres

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 27 août 2007
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780470256657
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 5 Mo

Extrait

TRAINING STRATEGIES for DRESSAGE RIDERS
2nd Edition
C HARLES DE K UNFFY
Copyright 1984, 1994, 2003 by Charles de Kunffy. All rights reserved.
Howell Book House
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., New York, NY
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone]. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, [phone], fax [phone], E-Mail: [e-mail].
Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, and Howell Book House are trademarks or registered trademarks of Wiley Publishing, Inc., in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993 or fax [phone].
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
De Kunffy, Charles
Training strategies for dressage riders / Charles de Kunffy.
p. cm.
Rev. ed. of: Dressage questions answered 1984.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-7645-2637-5
1. Dressage. I. De Kunffy, Charles. Dressage questions answered.
II. Title.
SF309.5.D443 1994
94-1935
798.2 3-dc20
CIP
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
2nd Edition
Diagrams by Barbara Leistico
Book design by Laura Hammond Hough
Cover design by Wendy Mount
Contents
Acknowledgments
Foreword to the 2nd Edition
Foreword to the 1st Edition
One The Art of Classical Equitation
Two The Development of the Rider s Seat and Aids
Three The Athletic Horse
Four Longitudinal Flexion
Five Lateral Bending
Six The Development of Basic Gaits
Seven Schooling for Gymnastic Improvement
Eight Insubordination of Horses to Riders
Nine Clinics, Competitions, and Judging
Ten Equipment for Dressage
Epilogue
Index
ALSO BY CHARLES DE KUNFFY
Dressage Questions Answered
Creative Horsemanship
The Athletic Development of the Dressage Horse
The Ethics and Passions of Dressage
Acknowledgments
This volume represents my most comprehensive writing on horsemanship. It was written over a long period of time. Some parts of it are highly theoretical and even abstract, while others are detailed and highly specific. As always, I can thank my students, who inspired me to write it.
My gratitude to those who contributed photographs is enormous. Few readers may know how difficult it is to receive for publication good photographs, taken expertly by the finest photographers. Riders are also modest about displaying in a publication even their excellent, praiseworthy work. Aware of this, I am greatly indebted to all the riders and their photographers.
I am especially thankful to Herr Arthur Kottas-Heldenberg, Chief Rider of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, for again making available to me his outstanding pictures. He is one of the finest riders in the world and certainly one of the few truly elegant ones. He is very famous, unbelievably hard working, much sought after and greatly admired, which is why having his pictures in this book is an exceptional privilege. My appreciation to him, for having spent his time and energy to produce so many pictures, is great. These pictures, therefore, show that Herr Kottas-Heldenberg is not only an outstanding rider but also an unusually generous friend.
My greatest appreciation goes to two friends who selflessly have given much more of their time, energies and indispensable editorial insights than would be required.
Mrs. Madelyn Larsen, Senior Editor, made this volume possible by encouraging its publication, devotedly and knowledgeably editing its contents and giving it its final form. Her expert work was constantly amended by her sustained willingness to accommodate all my many wishes and to tolerate my frequent calling for advice. I remain in awe of her cheerfulness and caring.
Richard Williams contributed photographs he took and also expert editing. I find writing easy but regard editing as excruciating work. For one must, in editing, reread one s own words and respond to them critically. Because my mind created what is in the book, I cannot find fault with it and detect shortcomings. So when I edit, my eyes read, my mind blindly approves and nothing suffers from correction. Until Richard reads the text. His understanding of my ideas about riding is impeccable. He has studied horsemanship with me most extensively and most consistently among all my students. He can quote me verbatim. He knows what I mean to say even if it is poorly stated. His critical faculties and incisive understanding of riding theory made this book a finer one than it could ever have been without his diligence.
Both Mrs. Larsen and Mr. Williams helped to make this book worthy of attention. I am very thankful to them both. Their devotion to horsemanship and their friendship to this author made their important contributions special and very precious to me.
Foreword to the 2nd Edition
As time passes, the riding and training principles I was taught have not changed, and my teaching, training and judging experiences reinforce the thought that they never will. Animated by the desire to pass on to contemporaries and future generations the vast tradition of classical riding and schooling of horses in a succinct and understandable manner, I wrote this book.
This volume was meant to be read as a companion to one of my other books, The Athletic Development of the Dressage Horse. In many ways their contents are inseparable. I had not intended them to be volumes one and two of the same work; their contents are widely different. However, they make one another whole.
I have devoted much of my life to assisting riders to improve their equitational skills and to design strategies for training horses. My often-videotaped lessons have recorded that for decades these training and schooling principles have worked for riders and horses, even within the confines of thirty-or forty-five minute lessons.
I am relentless in the hope that I can inspire in my readers the right spirit toward horses and riding; that I can also add to their scholarship and foster their right-mindedness toward the art of riding and toward their beloved horses.
Horsemanship is a complex science and, when done well, a great art. As a science, it is a matter for the intellect, acquired by scholarship. When practiced on the level of art, it ennobles the spirit and elevates the character.
By writing succinctly, I hope to make the classical principles of riding and horse training eloquent. Without reading and conversing about a great science, we cannot maintain its purity, nor can we hope to display it on an artistically exquisite level.
And, as with all great art, good riding is based on perfecting the necessary skills for the performance of artistic excellence. The contents must determine the form of art. Perfection of skills is the vehicle for artistic display.
When pursued correctly, horsemanship is a great sport that athletically improves both the human and the equine body. Riding correctly enables two vastly different creatures of nature to blend into one, melding their minds, focusing their efforts and, by dissolving into unity, bring into existence a third entity. This entity thrives by the physical powers of the horse and the insights of his rider. Power guided by wisdom, speed tempered by efficiency-thus the great image of the mythological Pegasus is born.
I certainly hope my readers find inspiration and information, guiding them to great riding. But most of all, I want to contribute with these writings to the well-being of all beloved horses.
Charles de Kunffy 2003
Foreword to the 1st Edition
Training Strategies for Dressage Riders is a transmutation of Dressage Questions Answered , which I wrote many years ago. Most of its thoughts were written already in the early seventies. In my teachings and lectures these principles appeared even earlier. It took a long time for the contents of it to germinate and grow into book form. In that book, I responded to questions posed to me by my students. Many of these questions were highly specific. By answering them and then sharing these answers with a large number of readers, the original book was born.
With the passage of time, I realized that a more generalized and less specific approach would benefit the general public in understanding classical equitation. Animated by the desire to put something useful before my readers, I decide