Page:Notes on equitation and horse training.djvu/16

 of his position. His instruction in equitation was reasonable and natural; he greatly simplified methods of training, and the system that he published may still be consulted with advantage.

Following the riding masters of the eighteenth century, we advance step by step. The Versailles school became celebrated the world over. It was a real academy, which, after laying down the principles of French equitation, sought to maintain these principles and prove their superiority.

Among the numerous riding masters of the eighteenth century should be mentioned, who published The School of Cavalry and the Elements of Cavalry (he died in 1751); ; ; , who trained his horses by riding them eighteen months at a walk; , who, in his Treatise on Equitation, gives some useful information on work with the longe; ; , founder of veterinary schools; , who published numerous works and was a writer rather than a riding master; , head riding master at the military school in Paris; Mottin De La Balme, pupil of d'Auvergne, who wrote Essays on Equitation; , who published a Critical Review of the French Army (he thought that equitation should proscribe all artificial gaits); , a pupil of d'Auvergne, who wrote Principles of Equitation and of Cavalry; , and.

Military schools.— It is important to note that progress in equitation was due not solely to instruction received at the Versailles school, but also to the reforms in cavalry tactics introduced by Frederick the Great. The necessity of having squadrons able to maneuver proved to the King of Prussia that equitation should be the basis of the instruction of the trooper. He built riding halls in all cavalry garrisons and caused the principles of the equestrian art to be taught.