Kip Mistral

Cultivating legacy and posterity for classical horsemanship and traditions

Recent Posts

  • Reasons for Riding (On the Freedom, Lightness and Enjoyment of the Horse)

     Reasons for Riding (On the Freedom, Lightness and Enjoyment of the Horse)

  • If He Does Not Have Your Love, He Has to Face the …

     If He Does Not Have Your Love, He Has to Face the World Alone

  • The Great Unities and Why We Must Keep Them Alive

     The Great Unities and Why We Must Keep Them Alive

  • Operation Cowboy: The American Contribution to Austrian Equestrian Culture

     Operation Cowboy: The American Contribution to Austrian Equestrian Culture

  • Back to the Future: Why Classical Training is Still the Gold Standard

     Back to the Future: Why Classical Training is Still the Gold Standard

  • Pierre-Marie Vicomte D’Abzac de SARRAZAC, Ecuyer of Kings

     Pierre-Marie Vicomte D’Abzac de SARRAZAC, Ecuyer of Kings

Pierre-Marie Vicomte D’Abzac de SARRAZAC, Ecuyer of Kings

Pierre-Marie Vicomte D’Abzac de SARRAZAC, Ecuyer of Kings

“You should have seen this noble old man with silver hair wearing his classic manège hat, sixty-five years old! This venerable Count of Abzac gave these lessons with a clearness, a precision, an air of court, which filled the spectators with admiration. Mounted on a horse “Isabelle” [in Europe refers to pale palomino of different shades] with white mane and tail, academically seated, he was the type of the rider-gentleman and recalled the engravings of the old squires at the same time as he was the noblest impression of perfection that can be achieved, even at an advanced age in academic riding!”

Comte de Noë, d’Abzac’s former pupil under the Restoration. View Post

School of Versailles: The “Continuum”

School of Versailles: The “Continuum”

[“The Stables Viewed from the Forecourt of the Château de Versailles,” by Jean Baptiste Martin 1688, Grande Ecurie on the left of the two stables]

‘One must agree that if the true principles of the art had not been maintained, with a certain austerity in the royal riding school in Versailles, if they had not been constantly practiced, someday one might be hard pressed to find a way to renew the principles.’ ~ Charles Prosper Claude Chevalier le Vaillant de Saint Denis (1753-1790) Ecuyer du Roi

Wandering through this lovely, pale gold city, up the broad tree-lined Avenue de Paris toward the Château de Versailles, would seduce all but the most hardened traveler to dream of times long past. As the Château’s magnificent edifice comes into view and its buildings seem to go on and on, one can’t help but remember that, designed and created as it was by the finest thinkers and artists of their time to perpetuate knowledge and beauty, the highest cultural values embodied in European civilization at the time were showcased at the Château de Versailles.

In the same way the Manège du Grande Ecurie du Château de Versailles (the Riding School of the Great Stable) came to influence the fine equitation of its age. The stately Grande Ecurie, built with soaring, harmonious proportion and exquisite ornamentation, was constructed in 1683 by Louis XIV to celebrate his passion for elaborate equestrian performances, and to stable the most superb horses in the world.

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“Caballos Con Arte”: Pure Blood Reflections with Peter Müller Peter

“Caballos Con Arte”: Pure Blood Reflections with Peter Müller Peter

[© by Kip Mistral 2012. First published in The PRE Horse magazine, Issue III 2012. Feature image by Peter Müller Peter. Painting by PETER PAUl. RUBENS / * The Triumph of the Church (1628)* / Flemish School / © Prado Museum, Madrid.]

It seems that Peter Müller Peter does nothing in a small way. Even his award-winning, oversize, magnificent book “Caballos Con Arte” (Horses with Art) is the coffee-table book to end all coffee-table books.

An internationally acclaimed advertising photographer, Peter has executed major campaigns for a wide-ranging list of clients including Coca-Cola, De Beers, Smirnoff, Credit Suisse, Rolex, Spain’s National Tourist Board, Iberia Airlines and more. His photographs have been featured in magazines from Vogue to Playboy. Though honored with numerous awards in his career, Peter admits that his biggest passion is horses. Peter describes the inspiration for his book and artistic masterpiece Caballos Con Arte (Horses with Art) which won Spain’s esteemed Gold Lux Award. The stunning photographic series now forms a touring exhibition entitled Pureblood Reflections which has already traveled Spain to Istanbul, Qatar and recently, Switzerland.

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Book Review: “30 Years With Master Nuno Oliveira: Correspondence, Photographs, and Notes” Chronicled by Michel Henriquet

Book Review: “30 Years With Master Nuno Oliveira: Correspondence, Photographs, and Notes” Chronicled by Michel Henriquet

[“30 Years With Master Nuno Oliveira: Correspondence, Photographs, and Notes” Chronicled by Michel Henriquet. Translated by Hilda Nelson. Published by Xenophon Press LLC 2011]

This remarkable book will be of great interest to anyone following the work of Master Nuno Oliveira, its author French écuyer Michel Henriquet, and the subjects of classical training of the highest level and equitation history in general.

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Book Review: “Dressage: The Art of Classical Riding” by Sylvia Loch

Book Review: “Dressage: The Art of Classical Riding” by Sylvia Loch

[First published in the U.S.A. in 1990 by Trafalgar Square Publishing, North Pomfret, Vermont, Printed in Great Britain, reissued 2001. © Sylvia Loch 1990. Out of print. 11″ x 8 7/8″ x 1″, 229 high quality glossy pages.]

I am a classicist; I have a deep reverence for important messages that the past has left us. And why do I review out-of-print resources? They can be hard to find, sometimes almost impossible. But I believe they are worth looking for and waiting for (and paying for!) because many 20th books are irreplaceable in the canon of classical equestrian literature…their authors are closer to the “source” than modern ones. What is the “source”? To me, the “source” in classical equitation is represented by a point or place in time where ideals were strong and represented by truly masterful practitioners of the art.

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