The Rider as Artist – Bettina Drummond Profile Born with a love of art and horses. Born in London, Drummond, 45, is a member of the Marshall Field family on her mother’s side and of ancient Scottish royal blood on the side of her father, Bend’or Drummond. She was raised mostly in Europe, particularly in […]
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Reprinted from “Dressage Today”
Baucher… Still Controversial Today This passionate 19th-century riding master’s departure from venerable dressage methods led to praise and criticism that has been debated over the last 200 years. From Xenophon to the present, dressage masters have attempted to explain how to correctly ride and train the horse, creating a strong thread that links one generation […]
Reprinted from “The Horseman’s Yankee Pedlar”
Bettina Drummond — In a Classic Manner Bettina Drummond is a scholar of dressage training. Her trips to the local tack shop rarely entail the purchase of horse supplies, but more likely she buys the latest literature on dressage training techniques. Years of devouring other people’s philosophies and techniques, coupled with her own lifetime of […]
Reprinted from “Dressage and CT”
Was Oliveira a Baucherist? In 1978, or thereabout, Roger Louis Thomas, the then director of the French riding magazine L’information Hippique, asked me to write a bibliographic note on Reflexions sur l’Art Equestre (Reflections on the Equestrian Art), a book by Oliveira (his first book, if memory serves), which was being reprinted. Had it been […]
Reprinted from “Warmbloods Today”
Lusitano Breeding…A quest for the modern dressage horse The growing popularity and respect for Lusitanos in the dressage arena invites breeders, buyers and sellers to acknowledge that some lines or combination of bloodlines are superior in the movement and trainability for dressage. The four main breeding lineages recognized by the Lusitano Stud Book founded in […]
Reprinted from “The Horse of Kings”
In the words of Bettina Drummond: a biographical journey through the world of classical riding… “My first memory on a horse is at one and a half years old. I remember the musty smell of a wet pony, combined with the drip, drip off the Spanish moss and the feel of this enormous western saddle […]
Reprinted from “Andalusian”
The Origins of Equestrian Warfare and of Its Influence on the Development of the Iberian Horse It was during one of the many erudite and delightful exchanges that Dr. Gahwyler and I have shared this year, that the topic of the relevancy of past history cropped up. Does a text written on the proper method […]
On the Passing of Indian Horseman Tootoo Imam
Tootoo Imam The country of India is mourning the loss of one of its most interesting and well-known horsemen. S.A.H.A.A. Imam, better known at Tootoo Imam, passed away on January 5 at the age of 97. He hailed from a well-known, prestigious Indian family that played important roles in the political development of India in […]
From One Artist to Another – Remembering Tom Petty
Bettina and “Mimi” Mourning the loss of Tom Petty — a fellow poet, artist and rebel who was a great inspiration to me in my own craft. His music, particularly in the 1990s, was the inspiration that re-inspired my art after Oliveira passed away. Among his music that most touched me were “I Won’t Back […]
Bettina and “Mimi” Honor the Late Jean-Marie Donard
Jean-Marie Donard, former dressage rider, trainer and head stable manager with France’s Cadre Noir, passed away in August at the age of 69 from a heart attack. Donard was with the Cadre Noir for 25 years. During those many years he held numerous positions including that of being responsible for training many of the Cadre […]