Trafalgar Square Books

"My approach in teaching and training, as well as in this book, is that of complete sympathy for the horse and devotion to its happiness and well-being....I attempt to educate riders to make their horses happy, confident, and proud to work for them.”—Walter Zettl

While teaching lessons and clinics across North America in the late 1990s, Walter Zettl was struck by the hunger for knowledge of classical training principles, which was challenged by both the vastness of the geographic range and the lack of any organized system for delivering correct information. This book was written to meet what he identified then as a need: to serve as both a complete treatise and handy reference. Clear and easy-to-understand chapters take you through each training stage, discuss problems that commonly occur, and provide competent, sensible corrections with the good of the horse in mind.

Walter Zettl's first book, Dressage in Harmony, was dedicated to the riding and training of horses and received wide acclaim. In this beautiful new book, Herr Zettl discusses those who have a critical influence on the welfare of horses and the future of the sport of dressage. That group includes the breeder, without whom we would not have horses; the owner and sponsor, who finance and sustain the horse; the rider, who signals to the horse through proper aids; the trainer and/or instructor, who guide the horse and rider into harmonic partnership; the stable manager and groom, who keep the horse happy, safe and secure; the show committee, which regulates the competitive side of the sport; and the judge, who must recognize and reward correct training.