Having a good seat is a way of life at the Spanish Riding School (SRS). But getting a good seat isn't an easy task, nor is it a quick one. For most of us seeking to ride in harmony with the horse, spending a few years riding without stirrups or reins in longe lessons might seem a little unrealistic, but it's just the way things are done in an institution that has preserved the highest standards of classical riding since 1572.
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- A rider receives a longe lesson at the Spanish Riding School.
- All photos by Herbert Graf
At the core of the SRS program is a constant focus on bettering the rider. A perfect position is not enough. A rider must be supple and effective with his aids and demonstrate the independent movement of each body part. Obtaining these goals consumes a young pupil's first few years at the school. And even the most advanced riders at the school return to this education as needed.
According to Andreas Hausberger, a rider at the school, longe-line lessons are the primary tool used to develop a strong, secure and harmonious seat in riders of all levels. Longeing creates an optimal situation for the rider. He only needs to think about his riding while gaining fitness, coordination and body control. As the rider is put through various exercises, he learns to follow the motion of each gait. A good sense of "feel" for the horse is a natural talent that can help riders go on to be exceptional, but riders who lack that innate ability can still be trained to have skilled seats through longe lessons.
Longeing for the New SRS Recruit
Hausberger explains that when a young pupil is accepted at the school as an Eleve, the equivalent of an apprentice, he is immediately put on the longe line as that is the only way to develop his seat as the school sees fit. In fact, a clean slate is preferable to previous riding experience. The school outlines this in its requirements for entry: "Riding is not a prerequisite. It can actually be a hindrance if the applicant can already ride and has acquired a posture which does not suit the Spanish Riding School and can only with difficulty be altered."
Eleves must earn the right to ride on their own off the longe. Their balance and posture must reach a sophisticated state before this is allowed.
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- Longe lessons last 30 minutes a day--the optimal amount of time to make daily progress.
An Eleve spends his first three years getting longe lessons. For the average Eleve, his initial six months is spent exclusively on the longe, and after that time, he receives regular riding lessons in addition to his daily longe work. Some remain riding only on the longe for a longer time, depending on their individual development.
New riders begin with stirrups but no reins until they have mastered the rising trot and developed strength in their legs. Then, after two or three months of this, they spend two years without stirrups or reins. "When the student becomes more experienced and the teacher can see that the student has more independence in the seat, we take away the stirrups, too," says Hausberger.
The basic format of the longe lesson is the same day to day. It begins with a warm-up and loosening period and then leads into exercises to increase rider fitness. It finishes with exercises that test an Eleve's command over his horse and use of his aids.
Longe sessions last 30 minutes a day. Hausberger says that this is the optimal amount of time to make daily progress without fatiguing a rider.
Young Eleves ride the school's older stallions, while mid-level riders are put on young horses. In the final stages of his longe work, though, the Eleve returns to an older, experienced horse to learn advanced movements.
Strength and Fitness Become Suppleness
Hausberger explains that every teacher at the school has his own style for conducting a longe lesson, although they follow a similar basic structure. There is no textbook or method written down for educating a rider's seat, he says. The SRS believes in an oral tradition, so each teacher passes on information to young riders in the way it was handed down to him from his teacher.
A typical session begins with loosening exercises that include making big circles with each arm and leg and the torso, twisting the upper body side to side, rolling the neck and shoulders and reaching the arms overhead.
