Excerpt Article in HORSES FOR LIFE MAGAZINE

Decarpentry's Baucher and His School Article appears in Horse for Life Magazine.

Get a sneak peak at this not to be missed book from the insightful article from Nadja King at Horses for Life.

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Excerpt Article in HORSES FOR LIFE MAGAZINE

Read the excerpt from Dom Diogo de Braganca's DRESSAGE IN THE FRENCH TRADITION in
Horses for Life Magazine here

A rare glimpse into this special book, long awaited English translation from the original Portuguese.
A long time student of Nuno Oliveira, and scholar, Dom Diogo's sweeping narrative brings French Dressage with its origins through to Oliveira into clear focus.
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Excerpt Article in HORSES FOR LIFE MAGAZINE

Horses for Life magazine has just published an excerpt article from
30 Years with Master Nuno Oliveira by Michel Henriquet

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30 YEARS WITH MASTER NUNO OLIVEIRA

Our Copies will arrive in time for New Years. We will be shipping in the week between Christmas and New Years Day. Order your advance reservation copy of the first printing.

This classical text, which knowledgeable horsemen have been anxiously awaiting for years, is finally available in English. Henriquet's personal record of correspondence provides a unique window into the private problem-solving dialogue between master and student. Now a master écuyer in his own right, Henriquet embellishes this new edition with 50 photographs from his personal collection. This first and only English edition includes many more photographs of Nuno Oliveira and his teacher than earlier editions. It has also been embellished with a glossary and a descriptive table of contents for the 71 chapters.
Michel Henriquet was born in 1924, and holds a degree in Law and Letters. In search of elusive traditional classic French equitation, he believed might be lost, Michel Henriquet first studied with the Baucherist, Rene Bacharach, a student of Captain Beudant. Henriquet was among the first admirers of Master Nuno Oliveira, becoming a friend and disciple over thirty years, until the latter's death.

“I inserted between the letters, most of the notes I've ever taken over the years. They are, sometimes the ‘screenplay’ of what I just saw in the ring. In some cases I have carefully noted the tips and reflections that reveal valuable concepts. Finally, I note the criticisms and comments that the Master sent me regarding a working session. This body of didactic elements reminds all those who have had the opportunity to work with him most of his philosophy, in its most direct form. And for those who alas, have not experienced this instruction first hand, fortunately, it will add to the discovery that they can do by reading about his great work.” -Michel Henriquet.

http://shop.xenophonpress.com/30-YEARS-WITH-MASTER-NUNO-OLIVEIRA-by-Michel-Henriquet-6118.htm

'Gymnasium of the Horse' by Gustav Steinbrecht now on Kindle and other e-Readers

By popular request we have made this classic available on Amazon's Kindle . If not immediately, the book will be available on iPad, Nook and most of the other e-readers very soon. Prices varry but are reasonable and the book is portable! you can take it with you to work, on a train, on a plain, to Europe, to bed. Enjoy! And let us know how you like it. Don't worry, for those of you who like the old fashioned paper books, we are re-editioning this classic soon with a brand new cover to match. Look for more new titles this fall 2011.

DRESSAGE IN THE FRENCH TRADITION by Dom Diogo de Bragança

Nuno Oliveira said of the author: “ I have the honor to declare that Dom Diogo de Bragança has been one of my best students and that I consider him as one of the rare riders I know who is capable of taking on the greatest difficulties of Equestrian Art with the greatest finesse.”

Dom Diogo de Bragança, an eclectic mind who studied languages, music composition and law, is one of the great equestrian figures of our time. His technique was built on a long apprenticeship with Master Nuno Oliveira (of whom he was one of the first students), which resulted in a natural horsemanship, full of tact and sensitivity. He acquired an amazing equestrian culture through the many books he studied in French and Portuguese and kept applying the theories he researched on the numerous horses he successfully trained. His vast experience and spirit of observation allowed him to present in this seminal book a complete analysis of the goals and methods of French dressage. It resulted in a unique synthesis that is destined to remain an authoritative text on this fascinating subject. Beyond revising the original 1976 text, Dom Diogo has added to this edition, a chapter on the specialized dressage for bullfighting, a form of horsemanship in which the horse, while flirting with the gravest danger, “offers us a breathtaking spectacle of beauty, precision, and brilliance.”

Dressage in the French Tradition is a reference for the understanding of classical dressage in which the horse, ridden with the greatest impulsion and lightness, displays his maximum activity in response to the minimum effort of the rider.

English translation by Michael L. M. Fletcher of L’Équitation de Tradition Française, 2nd edition, Belin, Paris, 2005, a re-edited, corrected and augmented version of the book that was first published inFrance in 1976 by Odège. It has had numerous editions inPortugal, the homeland of the author.

NOW AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE SHIPPING FROM XENOPHON PRESS

Baucher and His School NOW IN ENGLISH

Albert Decarpentry, grandson of Eugène Caron, a direct student of François Baucher is considered the most knowledgeable écuyer of his generation. He contributed actively to the influence of French equitation in his many books and by chairing the F. E. I. dressage jury.

This is the first ever translation of the master work of Decarpentry, now available in September of 2011 from www.XenophonPress.com

Baucher and his School (1948) is an original biography of the “greatest écuyer of all time,” François Baucher. Decarpentry comments on the discoveries of one of the most prolific innovators in Equestrian Art. This book comprises the equestrian biography of Baucher, an analytical examination of his method, and its lasting effect on French equitation. Decarpentry’s treatise is essential for understanding the importance of Baucher, a phenomenal figure in the history of equitation.

Appendix I includes excerpts from the memoir of Louis Rul, clarified and completed by his friend Eugène Caron. Their accounts provide valuable first hand anecdotes of the life and times of Baucher.

Appendix II consists of excerpts from ‘Baucher and his Art: Serious Warning to the Riders of Germany’ by Louis Seeger, Baucher’s German rival. Seeger studied Baucher’s method with malevolent blindness, but also with indisputable competence. With rigorous examination, Seeger compares and contrasts his own method to Baucher’s ‘nouvelle méthode.’ This counter-argument sheds light on the ‘German’ versus ‘French’ method that has endured even today.

One of Baucher’s lasting effects on equitation is the ideas of ‘riding in lightness’. Baucher constantly questioned his and the established methods, experimented and innovated through lifelong trial and error in search of truth.

“The appearance of Baucherism started a new era in dressage.”

NOW IN STOCK AND AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE SHIPPING This historic work has finally been translated into English by Micheal L. M. Fletcher.