Egon von Neindorff dedicated his life to the knowledge and promotion of the classical art of riding. He never wanted to be a reformist but purely an interpreter. He truly understood the philosophy of classical riding and was therefore able to teach his numerous national and international students to develop their own style. The essence of classical dressage requires a deep affection for the horse as well as understanding, sensitivity, humility, and devotion. In this book, von Neindorff illustrates in more than 30 chapters his profound understanding of the natural training of horses. It encompasses a body of knowledge that was previously only taught at his riding establishment in Karlsruhe. Egon von Neindorff was a competitive dressage rider through the 1950s, after which he taught many international students until his death in 2004. The Art of Classical Horsemanship By Egon von Neindorff, Melissa Simms, Renate Blank Cadmos Publishing Limited Copyright © 2009 Cadmos Books, Great Britain All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-3-86127-919-8 CHAPTER 1 The purpose of education Rider and horse need a common language It takes time to gymnastically prepare and school a horse from the lunge line to the levade, from the young horse's initial stages to the requirements of the high school of classical dressage; the widespread opinion that one can outwit nature with the execution of a few new tricks, and lessen the time needed to educate a horse, is simply misplaced. More important is to realize that the horse's specialized schooling can only begin when its education as an "all around" riding horse has been completed. The passenger journeying by sea knows his destination beforehand, and how much time and money is needed to accomplish the endeavor. Naturally, sailing the vessel is left to the captain, who even in poor weather knows how to navigate a safe passage into port. In my saddle however, I am the captain and must know in which direction the work with the horse is leading, whether the goal can be accomplished and how long it will take. And so, the alert rider will let the horse teach him; but this advice shouldn't come as a surprise that spoils one's disposition or ends in disappointment or resignation. Whoever wishes to accomplish this goal in the saddle must entertain no illusions about his possibilities or those of his horse. As in all other disciplines, champions do not fall from heaven. (Although many a riding master has fallen off his horse, or with his horse, without it being a disgrace.) The decisive point in all schooling under saddle and on the ground is how the horse reacts with the rider to the natural and often unexpected incident. The foundation For centuries, horsemen have pointed out the necessity of a classical seat in order to correctly influence the horse. Felix Burkner (1883–1957) wrote in his book, "A Rider's Life," of "the honest hand," "which must maintain the absolutely finest, continually quiet connection to the horse's mouth; in collaboration with deep knees that lie flat, heels that are lower than the rider's toes, buttocks that always remain in the saddle, a flexible and engaged back, and hips that gently follow the horse's movements with an erect head posture and elastic shoulders, elbows and wrists, now combined to achieve a constant, close and soft connection to the horse's mouth, so that the result is the automatic yielding of its poll and relaxation in its back. When the collected trot and canter and the necessary repetitions in lengthening the stride have been integrated as well, the rider has infallibly learned how to confirm the foundation of the maturing horse." Yes, he spoke about the basics, where today we may admire the higher art, while at other moments complaining about the "specialist," and speaking ignorantly about schooling that has become antiquated. And yet, it is the same basis that prepared the horses in the great long distance rides around the turn of the twentieth century, for example Budapest-Paris, Budapest-Vienna, Berlin-Vienna and others, as well as long military treks in both world wars – 700 kilometers in seven days, while the horses carried a daily work load including weapons, field packs and a rider! It is the same foundation that the highest expression of the classical school of horsemanship must be built on, in order to not overtax the horse and, over a shorter or longer term, distort or eventually destroy it. All of this has its natural reasons: the horse's physiology, which evolved during prehistoric times, has basically remained the same during the millennia of our historiography and cannot be remodeled. It will not change in its fundamental characteristics for the sake of the comparatively short-lived special requests of a few human generations. Therefore, man's only choice is to learn respect for nature's functions; the assignment of organs, skeletal and muscular systems, or risk ruining the horse's physical and mental development as well