The Art of Riding: Classical Dressage up to High School, Odin at Saumur by Philippe Karl

French riding master Philippe Karl writes about training horses from a very personal perspective, documenting the training and development of the Lusitano stallion, Odin, according to traditional French classical principles, from young horse all the way up to high school. Through this case study, he teaches readers the requirements of balance, including collection and conformation; the philosophy of Academic Equitation.

The book covers:

• Description of horses' inborn natural crookedness, exercises for how to correct it, and the implications for the training of the horse.
• The requirements of balance: collection and conformation
• The philosophy of Academic Equitation: the language of the aids—seat, hands, legs
• Exercises for lateral flexibility: work on single and two tracks
• Work at the canter: counter-canter, flying lead changes, tempi-changes
• Canter pirouettes: preparation and development
• Collection: piaffe, passage, pesade

Philippe Karl, born in 1947, was for 13 years a member of the Cadre Noir, the elite instructor corps of the prestigious French classical riding school at Saumur.

He has devoted himself to teaching students from around the world in courses and clinics in France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and the USA. He settled in France in 2001, and in 2004 he founded “The School of Légèreté” to train riding teachers according to his philosophy.

Philippe Karl has a refreshing way of summarizing horsemanship. Here is an example quote:

"Regarding the ‘well trained horse,’ if one wanted to summarize the goal as well as the means in a short formula, one could say: 

The rider must have:

• Butter in his gloves

• Fire in his boots

• Balancing scales in his seat

• And a metronome in his head"