Kip Mistral
Equestrian Culture and Classical Traditions to Inspire the Modern Rider

“A GOOD SEAT: THREE MONTHS AT THE RIDING INSTITUTE VON NEINDORFF” BY LYNNE SPRINSKY ECHOLS, PART II IN THE SERIES

“A GOOD SEAT: THREE MONTHS AT THE RIDING INSTITUTE VON NEINDORFF” BY LYNNE SPRINSKY ECHOLS, PART II IN THE SERIES

(@ 2003-2018 Lynne Sprinsky Echols. This excerpt from Chapter One is used with the author’s permission and and the entirety will be posted in a series. The author describes in fascinating detail the three months that, along with her friend Meredith, she spent in intensive training with Herr Egon von Neindorff at his world-renowned riding school in Karlsruhe, Germany…in search of “a good seat”. Feature image presumed by Johann Elias Ridinger.) Please see Part I here: https://www.kipmistral.com/a-good-seat-three-months-at-the-riding-institute-von-neindorff-by-lynne-sprinsky-echols-part-i-in-the-series/ and Part III here: https://www.kipmistral.com/a-good-seat-three-months-at-the-riding-institute-von-neindorff-by-lynne-sprinsky-echols-part-iii-in-the-series/. View Post

“A Good Seat: Three Months at The Riding Institute von Neindorff” by Lynne Sprinsky Echols, Part I in the Series

“A Good Seat: Three Months at The Riding Institute von Neindorff” by Lynne Sprinsky Echols, Part I in the Series

(@ 2003-2018 Lynne Sprinsky Echols. This excerpt from Chapter One is used with the author’s permission and and the entirety will be posted in a series. The author describes in fascinating detail the three months that, along with her friend Meredith, she spent in intensive training with Herr Egon von Neindorff at his world-renowned riding school in Karlsruhe, Germany…in search of “a good seat”. Feature image “The Imperial Riding School” (1702) by Johann Georg Hamilton.) See Part II here: https://www.kipmistral.com/a-good-seat-three-months-at-the-riding-institute-von-neindorff-by-lynne-sprinsky-echols-part-ii-in-the-series/  and see Part III here: https://www.kipmistral.com/a-good-seat-three-months-at-the-riding-institute-von-neindorff-by-lynne-sprinsky-echols-part-iii-in-the-series/.

Saturday, February 1, 2003

We arrived in Karlsruhe at almost midnight yesterday. We’d been up for 48 hours straight and were cold, tired and hungry by the time we finally got to bed. The trip did not go smoothly – and that’s an understatement!

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Jim Reilly on “The Elements of Synergistic Riding” (Mechanics of Lightness)

Jim Reilly on “The Elements of Synergistic Riding” (Mechanics of Lightness)

(© Jim Reilly 2007. Reprinted with the permission of the author. Artist Carle Vernet, 19th century lithograph by G. Engelmann, 18 Rue Cassette in Paris)

Our horses will do everything for us when we show them through the correct aids, given at the right moment. The best aids will not be successful if they are not given at the right moment. ~ Walter Zettl

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Manolo Mendez on “The Importance of Riding the Whole Horse: Supple and Tension Free”

Manolo Mendez on “The Importance of Riding the Whole Horse: Supple and Tension Free”

(© 2011 Manolo Mendez Dressage. “The Importance of Riding the Whole Horse: Supple and Tension Free” by Manolo Mendez with Caroline Larrouilh. First published in The Baroque Horse. All photos by Kate Barber, artistic rendering of feature photo by Danielle Skerman).

“Bring the back up, bring the back up!!!”“Drive the hind leg under, more, more, MORE!” and “Make him more round, rounder” appears to be considered by a lot of riders to be the three keys to dressage. To achieve these goals they are taught to put the horse in a frame by pulling on the outside rein while kicking with the inside leg, often while keeping the horse in endless shoulder fore or shoulder-in. Instead of a flexible, supple and tension free horse, this approach creates stiff and crooked horses, with little enjoyment for their work, and eventually leads to soundness issues.

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Paul Belasik: Why are Fundamental Problems Persisting in Modern Dressage? (Part II of II)

Paul Belasik: Why are Fundamental Problems Persisting in Modern Dressage? (Part II of II)

(© Paul Belasik 2017. First published in www.horsemagazine.com. Reprinted with the permission of the author. Photographs courtesy of Paul Belasik.)

In an effort to understand and explain the persistence of certain fundamental problems in elite dressage, I have written a short series of articles. In the first article, I discussed the consistent misunderstanding of bend and its seismic effect on performances. In this article, I want to address hollowness in the horse’s back, which is increasingly seen, and worse, is becoming acceptable in modern dressage particularly as it relates to collection.

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