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Painting of Maestoso II Catrina ridden by Shana Ritter. Painting by Janey Belozer.




Piaffe in the Pillars. Painting by Ludwig Koch.




Tapestry depicts horse and rider in the Capriole.




Pirouette by George Hamilton c. 1700.







Mary Stuart in the Piaffe, Sidesaddle.




Capriole in the Pillars, 1890.




William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle




Equestrian Portrait of Henry IV (1555-1610). King of France before the Walls of Paris, 1594.













Queen Isabel of France by Velasquez

The Root Principle. Photo by Shana Ritter; 2009.

The Dressage Blog
May 25, 2009

English | Deutsch







The Root Principle

©Thomas Ritter 2009

"A perfect rider must know how to handle a horse correctly and recognize where the mistake and its cause originate, when it does something disobedient and bad. And all of this originates either in the horse’s strength or weakness, and one should take this into consideration, either reprimanding or caressing the horse, so that it recognizes why it was punished or caressed.“

Johann Battista Galiberti (1660).

When problems surface in a movement, one must not be tempted to fiddle around with surface level symptoms, but one has to trace the visible symptoms to their – often much less obvious - roots. The rider has to think: Which prerequisites have to be met so that the exercise can succeed? Which prerequisite is not sufficiently fulfilled? What is preventing the horse from executing the movement, turn, or transition? After having identified the respective hole in the basic training (e.g. bending, turning, sidestepping, carrying, thrusting, down transitions, etc.), one has to fill this hole through specific corrective exercises. When the rider returns to the original exercise afterwards, there will be a noticeable improvement. In other words, movements do not improve by thoughtless repetitions and drilling, but only through teaching and educating the horse, and through working on its physical and mental development.

Feel free to e-mail me with questions and comments. Read some of the feedback we've received on our Letters and Testimonials page.

Thomas Ritter


The Root Principle. Photo by Shana Ritter; 2009.



Previous Entries

May 25, 2009 Blog Entry May 25, 2009:
The Root Principle



May 20, 2009 Blog Entry May 20, 2009:
The Medicine Principle



May 12, 2009 Blog Entry May 12, 2009:
The Aikido Principle



May 02, 2009 Blog Entry May 02, 2009:
The Pottery Principle



April 27, 2009 Blog Entry April 27, 2009:
The Water Principle



April 24, 2009 Blog Entry April 24, 2009:
Forward-Downward Part Two



April 18, 2009 Blog Entry April 18, 2009:
Forward-Downward Part One



March 25, 2009 Blog Entry March 25, 2009:
The Pingpong Principle



March 20, 2009 Blog Entry March 20, 2009:
Framing the Shoulders



March 17, 2009 Blog Entry March 17, 2009:
On the Bit 12.0



March 15, 2009 Blog Entry March 15, 2009:
On the Bit 11.0



March 14, 2009 Blog Entry March 14, 2009:
On the Bit 10.0



March 10, 2009 Blog Entry March 10, 2009:
On the Bit 9.0



March 9, 2009 Blog Entry March 9, 2009:
On the Bit 8.0



March 6, 2009 Blog Entry March 6, 2009:
On the Bit 7.0



March 3, 2009 Blog Entry March 3, 2009:
On the Bit 6.0



February 24, 2009 Blog Entry February 24, 2009:
On the Bit 5.0



February 23, 2009 Blog Entry February 23, 2009:
On the Bit 4.0



February 21, 2009 Blog Entry February 21, 2009:
On the Bit 3.0



February 19, 2009 Blog Entry February 19, 2009:
On the Bit 2.0



February 16, 2009 Blog Entry February 16, 2009:
On the Bit 1.0



February 11, 2009 Blog Entry February 11, 2009:
Conformation and Posture



February 08, 2009 Blog Entry February 08, 2009:
Westphalen Memorial Competition c. 1912 Follow-up



February 06, 2009 Blog Entry February 06, 2009:
Work Space



February 04, 2009 Blog Entry February 04, 2009:
Narrowest Track Follow-Up



February 02, 2009 Blog Entry February 03, 2009:
The Principle of the Narrowest Possible Track



January 31, 2009 Blog Entry January 31, 2009:
Westphalen Memorial



January 30, 2009 Blog Entry January 30, 2009:
Turn on the Forehand Follow-Up 3



January 29, 2009 Blog Entry January 29, 2009:
Turn on the Forehand Follow-Up 2



January 28, 2009 Blog Entry January 28, 2009:
Turn on the Forehand Follow-Up 1



January 26, 2009 Blog Entry January 26, 2009:
Tao Te Ching (64)



January 24, 2009 Blog Entry January 24, 2009:
Turn on the Forehand in Motion



January 22, 2009 Blog Entry January 22, 2009:
Accepting the Bit



January 20, 2009 Blog Entry January 20, 2009:
Reclaiming Classical Dressage



January 18, 2009 Blog Entry January 18, 2009:
Welcome!






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