In this major work, Sylvia Loch traces the colorful and superbly elegant tradition of classical riding from its early beginnings in the time of Xenophon, through the Baroque splendor of equitation in seventeenth century Germany and Austro-Hungary, to its later flowering in France, Spain, Portugal and England. In the twentieth century Alois Podhajsky, Nuno Oliveira and other great masters continued to practice and teach at the pinnacle of the art; while in recent years others have carried the classical tradition into modern competition dressage, which now plays an important role in the Olympic Games. Sylvia Loch also discusses the spread of interest in dressage in the USA, Hungary, Denmark, Holland, Belgium and Australia. 

Here then is a magnificent evocation of classical riding over two thousand years which has developed against a tapestry of constant change in the lives of every generation. Sylvia Loch's book is a passionate plea for the classical tradition of the great masters to continue to be the inspiration for modern riders seeking to attain the highest standards in the intense competition of modern dressage. 

Today the author Sylvia Loch is generally considered the leading authority on classical riding in the English-speaking world. She lectures on the history of dressage world-wide and has judged at both national and international championship level for the Spanish and Lusitano societies in the USA and Australia.