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List of writers on horsemanship
Encyclopedia
This is a list of writers on horsemanship and equitation and their principal published works; some minor works may have been omitted. Usually only the first edition of each work is shown; subsequent editions are shown only if the title was changed. Titles of some works may be abbreviated. Full bibliographical details are not given. Authors are listed by default in order of the date of the first published work; works for each author are listed in order of date of the first known edition.
Before 1700
Author | |Principal works | Original language | |Notes |
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Kikkuli Kikkuli Kikkuli, "master horse trainer of the land Mitanni" was the author of a chariot horse training text written in the Hittite language, dating to the Hittite New Kingdom... |
(unnamed text), c. 1360 BC | Hittite Hittite language Hittite is the extinct language once spoken by the Hittites, a people who created an empire centred on Hattusa in north-central Anatolia... |
Earliest known treatise on horsemanship, detailed the training and conditioning of chariot horses |
Simon of Athens | De re equestris (fragments) | Ancient greek | cited by Xenophon |
Xenophon Xenophon Xenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens, was a Greek historian, soldier, mercenary, philosopher and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates... (427–355 BC) |
On Horsemanship Hipparchicus Hipparchicus Hipparchicus is the name usually given to , hipparchikòs, one of the two treatises on horsemanship by the Athenian historian and soldier Xenophon . Other common titles for this work include The cavalry commander and The cavalry general... |
Ancient greek | |
Federico Grisone Federico Grisone Federico Grisone was a Neapolitan nobleman and one of the first masters of dressage and courtly riding. Referred to in his time as the "father of the art of equitation", he wrote the first book on this subject to be published in early modern Europe.... |
Gli ordini di cavalcare, "The rules of riding", 1550 Full text of 1551 edition L'ecuirie du S. Federic Grison gentilhomme napolitain, translation by François de Lorraine, duc de Guise, 1559 A newe booke, containing the arte of ryding, and breakinge greate Horses, translation by Thomas Blundeville, [1560?] Künstlicher Bericht und allerzierlichste Beschreybung des edeln, uhesten, unnd hochberümbten Ehrn Friderici Grisonis neapolitanischen hochlöblichen Adels, translation by Johann Fayser den Jüngern von Arnstain, 1570 |
Italian | |
Pasqual Caracciolo | La gloria del cavallo, "The Glory of the Horse", 1566 Full text: 1566 edition; 1567 edition; 1608 edition | Italian | |
Claudio Corte | Il cavallerizzo di Messer Claudio Corte di Pavia : nel quale si tratta della natura de' cavalli del modo di domargli, et frenargli, e di tutto quello, che à cavalli, et à buon cavalerizzo s'appartiene 1573 Full text of Venice 1573 edition; another copy; Lyon 1573 edition | Italian | |
John Astley John Astley (courtier) John Astley was an English courtier, Marian exile, and Master of the Jewel House. He was a Member of Parliament on many occasions.-Life:... ([1507]–1595) |
The Art of Riding, set foorth in a breefe treatise, with a due interpretation of certeine places alledged out of Xenophon, and Gryson ... wherein also the true vse of the hand by the said Grysons rules and precepts is speciallie touched ... Lastlie, is added a short discourse of the chaine or cauezzan, the trench, and the martingale: written by a gentleman of great skill and long experience in the said art | English | Master of Her Majesty's Jewel House |
Salomon de La Broue (1530–1610) | Preceptes Principavx Qve les bons Caualerisses doiuent exactement obseruer en leurs Escole, "Principal precepts that good riders must exactly observe in their schools", [1593] Le cavalerice françois: contenant les preceptes...(revised and expanded edition of the Preceptes ...), 1602 Full text of 1646 edition, vol 1; vol 2; vol 3 |
French | pupil of Giovanni Battista Pignatelli Giovanni Battista Pignatelli Giovanni Battista Pignatelli was an early sixteenth-century Italian riding master who had influence on horse training and dressage during his time. Taught by Federico Grisone in Naples, Pignatelli inherited his mentor's cruel methods... |
Antoine de Pluvinel Antoine de Pluvinel Antoine de Pluvinel was the first of the French riding masters, and has had great influence on modern dressage. He wrote L’Instruction du Roy en l’exercice de monter à cheval , was tutor to King Louis XIII, and is credited with the invention of using two pillars, as well as using shoulder-in to... (1552–1620) |
Le maneige royal, "The royal manège", 1623 L’Instruction du Roy en l’Exercise de Monter a Cheval (new edition of the Maneige ...), 1625 Full text of Amsterdam 1666 edition |
French | pupil of Giovanni Battista Pignatelli Giovanni Battista Pignatelli Giovanni Battista Pignatelli was an early sixteenth-century Italian riding master who had influence on horse training and dressage during his time. Taught by Federico Grisone in Naples, Pignatelli inherited his mentor's cruel methods... , tutor to King Louis XIII |
William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne KG KB PC was an English polymath and aristocrat, having been a poet, equestrian, playwright, swordsman, politician, architect, diplomat and soldier... (1592–1676) |
La methode nouvelle et invention extraordinaire de dresser les chevaux, 1658 A New Method and Extraordinary Invention to Dress Horses and Work them according to Nature..., 1667 |
French | Master of Horse to Charles II of England Charles II of England Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War... |
1700 to 1799
Author | |Principal works | Original language | |Notes |
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François Robichon de La Guérinière Francois Robichon de la Gueriniere François Robichon de La Guérinière was a French riding master who had a profound effect on accepted method for correct training of the horse, and is one of the most influential riders on the art of dressage.-History:... (1688–1751) |
Ecole de Cavallerie: contenant un Recueil ou abregé Methodique des Principes qui regardent la connoissance des Chevaux... [S.l] Mernier 1730 Ecole de cavalerie contenant l'ostéologie etc. Sieur de La Guérinière, 4e leçon, Paris 1731 École de cavalerie, contenant la connoissance, l'instruction et la conservation du cheval, avec figures en taille douce, par M. de La Guérinière... Paris: impr. de J. Collombat 1733 Volume 2 (only) of the 1736 printing Elémens de cavalerie: Contenant la connoissance du cheval, l'embouchure, la ferrure, la selle, &c. avec un traité du haras, Paris: chez les frères Guerin, 1741 Manuel de Cavalerie: ou l'on enseigne... la connoissance du Cheval l'embouchure... l'osteologie du cheval, ses maladies, & leurs remedes... La Haye: Chez Jean Van Duren 1742 (same as the above, according to Brunet) Full text |
French | |
1800 to 1899
Author | |Principal works | Original language | |Notes |
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Maximilian Weyrother Maximilian Weyrother Max Ritter von Weyrother was Chief Rider of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna from 1813, and Director from 1814 to 1833.His grandfather, Adam Weyrother, a previous Chief Rider at the school, may have known de la Guérinière in Paris. Adam Weyrother traveled to Paris frequently... |
Anleitung wie man nach bestimmten Verhältnissen die passendste Stangen-Zäumung finden Kann: nebst einer einfachen Ansicht der Grundsätze der Zäumung Wien: Auf Kosten des Verfassers in Commission bei Schaumburg 1814; revised 2nd edition 1826 "Instructions on how to find the most appropriate bit for given conditions..." De l'embouchure du cheval, ou, Méthode por trouver la meilleure forme de mors, d'aprés les proportions et les principes les plus simples de l'embouchure du cheval: suivie de la description d'une bride qui empêche le cheval de se cabrer A Paris: Chez Anselin, successeur de Magimel, librarie pour l'art militaire 1828 (translation of the above) Bruchstücke aus den hinterlassenen Schriften des k. k. österr. Oberbereiters Max Ritter von Weyrother 1836 |
German | director of the Spanish Riding School Spanish Riding School The Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Austria, is a traditional riding school for Lipizzan horses, which perform in the Winter Riding School in the Hofburg... |
François Baucher Francois Baucher A "baucher" is also a type of bit, named after the man.François Baucher was a French riding master whose methods are still hotly debated by dressage enthusiasts today. His methods diverge from those of many earlier masters, but he still has a strong following of riders and trainers today... (1796–1873) |
Dictionnaire raisonné d'équitation, "Reasoned dictionary of equitation" 1833 Full text Dialogues sur l'équitation: premier dialogue entre le grand Hippo-théo, dieu des quadrupèdes, un cavalier et un cheval (with Louis Charles Pellier), "Dialogues on equitation: a first dialogue between the great 'Hippo-théo', god of quadrupeds, a rider and a horse" 1835 31pp. Full text Passe-temps équestres: suivis de notes explicatives, "Equestrian pastimes: followed by explanatory notes" 1840 Méthode d'équitation basée sur de nouveaux principes, "Method of riding based on new principles" 1842 Full text Methode der Reitkunst nach neuen Grundsätzen (translation by von Willisen of the Méthode d'équitation) 1843 Erläuterndes Wörterbuch der Reitkunst (translation by H. Ritgen of the Dictionnaire raisonné) 1844 |
French | |
Count Antoine Cartier D'Aure Count Antoine Cartier D'Aure Count Antoine Cartier d'Aure was a riding master in France.Antoine Henri Philippe Léon Cartier d'Aure was born in Toulouse, southwest France. He graduated from the Military Academy, St Cyr. In 1817, he joined the "Grand Stable" of the Palace of Versailles, which was under the direction of... (1799–1863) |
Traité d'équitation, par M. le Vte d'Aure..., "Treatise of equitation" 1834 Observations sur la nouvelle méthode d'équitation, par M. le Vte d'Aure, "Observations on the new method of riding" 1842 Cours d'équitation, "Course of equitation" 1853 |
French | |
Gustav Steinbrecht Gustav Steinbrecht Gustav Steinbrecht is considered one of the masters of dressage. His advice to ride the horse "forward and straight" is one of the foundation principles of German dressage training.- Biography :... (1808–1885) |
Das Gymnasium des Pferdes, "The Gymnasium of the Horse" 1886 | German | |
James Fillis James Fillis James Fillis was a well-known English-born French riding master. He attended the school of Francois Baucher in France, and introduced his methods to his home country. He taught for 12 years as Ecuyer en chef of the St. Petersburg Cavalry Riding School... |
Principes de dressage et d'équitation, "Principles of dressage and of riding" 1890 Full text of 2nd edition, 1891 Breaking and Riding 1890 (English translation of the Principes) Grundsätze der Dressur und Reitkunst. Ins Deutsch uebertragen von M. von Zansen gen. van der Osten,... 2te Auflage... von Gustav Goebel... 1896 (German translation of the Principes) Journal de dressage, "Journal of dressage" 1903 |
French | |
1900 to 1999
Author | |Principal works | Original language | |Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Wilhelm Müseler Wilhelm Müseler Wilhelm Müseler was a well-known rider and author. He wrote an important treatise on riding, Reitlehre , and many works on the history of art.- Riding :* Reitlehre Berlin: Parey 1933... 1887–1952 |
Reitlehre 1933 (2nd edition) Riding Logic 1937 |
German | |
Henry Wynmalen | Equitation ... Illustrated from photographs 1938 Horse Breeding & Stud Management 1950 Dressage: A study of the finer points of riding 1953 The Horse in Action 1954 Horse breeding and stud management 1971 |
English | Aficionado of the "French school" of dressage |
Alois Podhajsky Alois Podhajsky Colonel Alois Podhajsky was the director of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Austria as well as an Olympic medal-winner in dressage, riding instructor, and writer.-Career:... (1898–1973) |
Spanische Hofreitschule Wien, "The Spanish Riding School of Vienna" [1941] The Spanish Riding Academy, Vienna, Austria 1947 Die spanische Hofreitschule; The Spanish Riding school; L' Ecole d'équitation espagnole, 1948 The Complete Training of Horse and Rider 1965 My Dancing White Horses 1966 My Horses My Teachers 1967 The Riding Teacher 1973 The Art of Dressage: Basic Principles of Riding and Judging 1976 |
German | director of the Spanish Riding School from 1939 |
Waldemar Seunig | Von der Koppel bis zur Kapriole, die Ausbildung des Reitpferdes 1949 Horsemanship: a complete book on training the horse and its rider 1956 (translation of the above) |
German | |
Nuno Oliveira Nuno Oliveira Nuno Oliveira is widely acknowledged as a master of the art of dressage.Nuno was born in Lisbon on June 23, 1925. He studied riding under Joaquim Goncalves de Miranda, in the style of the riding academy of Versailles. A great teacher, he possessed a near-encyclopedic knowledge of equestrian theory... (1925–1989) |
Haute ećole: forty-three photographs of horses taught and mounted by Nuno Oliviera London: J.A. Allen 1965 Réflexions sur l'art équestre. Traduit du portugais par René Bacharach [1965] Reflections on equestrian art (translated [from the French] by Phyllis Field) 1976 Classical principles of the art of training horses (illustrated by Fernando Abreu) 1983 Classical principles of the art of training horses, volume 2: From an old master trainer to young trainers 1986 Les Chevaux et leurs cavaliers 1987 Horses and their riders (with Joy Howley) 1988 L'art équestre 1991 |
Portuguese, French | |
Reiner Klimke Reiner Klimke Dr Reiner Klimke was a German equestrian, who won six gold and two bronze medals in dressage at the Summer Olympics — a record for equestrian events... (1936–1999) |
Cavaletti. Ausbildung von Reiter und Pferd über Bodenricks 1966 Military: Geschichte, Training, Wettkampf 1967, "Eventing" Cavalletti: Schooling of Horse and Rider over Ground Rails (translation of Cavaletti by Daphne Machin Goodall) 1969 Le Concours complet: histoire, entraînement, compétition (translation of Military by Pierre André) 1977 Grundausbildung des jungen Reitpferdes: von der Fohlenerziehung bis zum ersten Turnierstart 1980 Horse trials (translation of Military by Daphne Machin Goodall) 1984 Ahlerich von der Remonte zum Dressur-Weltmeister ; ein exemplarischer Ausbildungsweg 1984 Basic Training of the Young Horse: From the Education of the Young Foal to the First Competition (translation of Grundausbildung by Sigrid Young) 1985 Ahlerich: The Making of a Dressage World Champion (translation of Ahlerich by Courtney Searls-Ridge) 1986 Von der Schönheit der Dressur vom jungen Pferd bis zum Grand Prix 1991 Klimke on Dressage: From the Young Horse Through Grand Prix (translation of the above by Courtney Searls-Ridge and Jan Spauschus Johnson) 1992 |
German | Olympic medalist who went on to teach and write extensively with co-author Ingrid Klimke |
Egon von Neindorff Egon von Neindorff (dressage) Egon von Neindorff had a Riding Institution at Karlsruhe, Germany, where he trained horses and taught dressage. He was a world famous teacher and his methods are the standard for the German School. One of his famous students is Erik Herbermann, author of the Dressage Formula... (1923–2004) |
Kleine Reit- und Fahrlehre 1975 Dressage Formula 1980 Die reine Lehre der klassischen Reitkunst 2005 The Art of Classical Horsemanship 2009 |
German | |
Paul Belasik Paul Belasik Paul Belasik is a horse trainer and clinician in the classical dressage tradition. A student of Nuno Oliveira and H.L.M van Schaik, he is also a graduate of Cornell University and has competed in dressage at the international level. He has written several books on dressage, and his work is... |
Riding towards the light: an apprenticeship in the art of dressage riding 1990 Exploring dressage technique: journeys into the art of classical riding 1994 The essential Paul Belasik 2001 Dressage for the 21st century 2002 A search for collection: science and art in riding 2009 |
English | American protege of Nuno Oliveira |
Walter Zettl Walter Zettl Walter A. Zettl is a German dressage rider and Olympic-level dressage horse trainer. He was born in 1929 in Alt-Rohlau, Bohemia, which is now Stará Role in the Karlovy Vary region of the Czech Republic.... |
Dressage in harmony: from basic to Grand Prix 1998 Dressur in Harmonie: von der Basis bis zum Grand Prix (translation of the above by Simone Engels) 2003 The Circle of Trust (with Paul Schopf and Jane Seigler) 2008 |
English | |
2000 to the present
Author | |Principal works | Original language | |Notes |
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