I don’t blog much about the work I’m doing on book two (The Age of the Horse), but here’s a sneak peak of something I’ll be writing about. In November I was lucky enough to have three days at the Equestrian Academy at Versailles, where they were rehearsing for this performance in the old riding …
Continue reading “Mozart, Uccello, Caravaggio and a Riding School Carved from Rock”
Scraps of incomplete research I’m doing to trace the history of cream-coloured horses at Versailles and earlier French royal stables. I knew the Hanoverian monarchs of England had cream-coloured carriage horses (the “Hanoverian creams” mentioned in W J Gordon’s Horse World of London in 1893), and that cream horses are mentioned by François Robichon de …
Hello folks, I haven’t been such a great blogger lately because I’ve been working on The Next Big Thing – actually the Two Next Big Things. They’re books two and three, the first of which will be underway this spring, and the second needs whipping into shape so that it can be rolled out sometime …
Continue reading “Riding Philosophically, Riding Culturally”
I’m interrupting polo week to bring you the maestro, Nuno Oliveira. I wrote a little background on him here to accompany some sketchy YouTube footage, but HHO just directed me to these two short films on Daily Motion. Bliss to watch happy, relaxed horses working hard and moving so beautifully. (for some reason WordPress won’t …
When I got back from my sidesaddle lesson I was rather overexcited about the fact that I had ridden a PUREBRED! CLASSICALLY TRAINED! LUSITANO! and couldn’t wait to show people the photos that my mum took of the lovely Xis. Some people were a little disappointed, and said, “But he just looks like a pony,” …
My Christmas present this year was an hour’s sidesaddle lesson at the Pine Lodge School of Classical Education in Norfolk, with top teacher and judge Sarah Walker. Aside from actually buying me a pony, this was probably The Best Gift Ever. Not only did I get to try a style of riding I’ve been curious …
Continue reading “First Sidesaddle Lesson: Not Quite “Posed Audaciously Like a Wing””
7/8/2013: Having learned more about the format of the rejoneador or mounted bullfighter’s craft, I’m updating this piece. There’s also a detailed account in The Age of the Horse: An Equine Journey Through Human History. Well, you call it a bullfight and you put the horse in the ring. What do you expect? This bullfighter, …
