A while ago one of my web sites was hacked, which caused havoc with all of our sites. After a huge effort the sites are fixed and safe. The repair required that I make some changes, one of which was changing the delivery system for the U.S. Horseman News. … Continue Reading
Not long ago I had the worst sort of computer problems. My DVD drive quit and then with no warning at all I totally lost my hard drive. We ended up paying to have as much as possible retrieved but a lot of it could not be opened and I completely lost mail files. This was especially disappointing because I had received a nice email from someone who’d posted interesting articles to the Chronicle of the Horse and also had some great thoughts to add to U.S. Horsemanship. I regret that now I have no way of contacting that person and am sure he thinks I’m most rude and uninterested in his input. Nothing could be farther from reality. If you are the person who contacted me, and you read this post, please try again. I am very interested in what you had to say.
Thank you,
Barbara Fox
A small group of classic works written at the beginning of the 29th century had a huge influence on riding as we see it today. Certainly the Cavalry School’s 3 volume “Horsemanship and Horsemastership”, the works of Harry Chamberlin, and those of Piero Santini belong in this small group. “The Manual of Equitation of the French Army for 1912” should be included in this group. It was published by the U.S War Department for use in the Mounted Service School. This French Cavalry Manual laid the foundation for the system we use today.
Although you’ll not find the forward seat in the Manual of Equitation of the French Army for 1912, neither will you find extreme collection and carriage or the teaching of “high school” riding. Instead you’ll find guidance for instructors, instruction on co-ordination of the aids, gymnastics and position of the rider, and a system for breaking and training horses. … Continue Reading
The dictionary defines horsemanship as the art, ability, or skill of riding horse, but U.S. horsemanship is so much more than that. It’s roots reach back to the 1500s when Spanish conquistadors explored the New World, through the history of California and Texas and the Cowboys in the west , to the horses and horse racing that the British brought to the colonies. The Founding fathers of our country were horseman and horsemanship played a role in all of the wars that formed our Nation. The United States was built with horsemanship.
English riding dominated the east coast while western style riding dominated the West. The South was the home to the plantation horses, another different style of riding. And while the East may have had less work and more sport associated with horsemanship it ran a parallel with the West, each seat and style serving a unique purpose. Racing developed in the east while a form of deadly racing developed in the west through the Pony Express, Cowboys moved herds and worked on ranches in the west while children rode horses to school and Fox Hunting flourished in the east. … Continue Reading
It’s personal. As a kid in the ‘60s I had the chance to see things that were part of our history and now 50 years later some of that history has faded away. And frankly, I don’t want to see it disappear. I want the young U. S. horsemen and women to have the chance to know what came before them, to realize the hard work, pride and tradition that undergirds U.S. horsemanship.
I stood at the rail in Madison Square Garden watching great riders like Bill Steinkraus, Kathy Kusner, Frank Chapot, Hugh Wiley, the d’Inzeo brothers, Tom Gayford, the Argentine team, and the Irish Team etc. I saw amazing horses like Untouchable, Bold Minstrel, Riviera Wonder, Ksar d’Esprit, Nautical, Snowbound, Aberali and Sinjon. I Stood right next to a puissance wall when the height of 7’1″ was achieved. I remember hearing the horse canter up, suddenly a grunt and no more hoof beats, the ears appeared, then knees, then the rest of the horse. Silence was followed by a thud and grunt as the horse cantered off amid audience cheers
Recent Comments