From: jd@rust.zso.dec.com (John D'Addamio)
Newsgroups: rec.equestrian
Subject: Airs Above The Ground (was Re: Andalusian + Arab <> Lipizzan)
Summary: Descriptions and references for more reading
Date: 7 Jan 93 18:52:22 GMT
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation - DECwest Engineering

In article <1993Jan6.230929.4228@organpipe.uug.arizona.edu> tracy@scoraz.resp-sci.arizona.edu (Tracy Scheinkman) writes:
...[bunches of stuff deleted]...
>
>	VERY FASCINATING!  
>	Cachet has definitely done the pesade, not a rear.  She never 
>goes higher than 45 degrees (never feels out of control either) and she 
>flexes her hind legs and rounds her back under me, I can feel the rounding 
>and the tremendous strength she has through the saddle, and her legs are 
>neatly tucked like when she is jumping, no flailing around at all.  Also she 
>did it very slowly, almost in slow-motion, and deliberate.  That's why it 
>wasn't scary, very surprising the first time she did that, but not scary.  
>She seemed most frustrated that her physical demonstration did not have the 
>desired affect, I just waited till she came down and asked her to move
>forward again.  One time when she was particularly irritated she did the 
>pesade at least 5 or 6 times in a row.  
>	Now how to get her to do it when I ask her ... :-) 
>	(Since she is still a Training level horse, I think I'll wait until 
>we have more experience to try.  I wonder what she could do with a better
>trained rider?)
>
This is a VERY talented mare. My advice would be for YOU to get the best
training you can as a rider and continue working her yourself. I would
NOT even consider turning her over to another rider. You may never have
another horse as good in the rest of your life! Why let somebody else
have the fun of working her?

>	John, Thank you very much for all that great information.  I have an
>idea, why don't you post descriptions of the classical airs for those of
>us who maybe have heard the terms like capriole and courbette, etc., but
>don't know the differences???  
>	I think people would love to learn how to do the airs above the 
>ground again like they used to teach, think how beautiful it would look to 
>include such movements in a musical freestyle!
>

You're welcome. I've been studying dressage for more years than I'd care
to admit(I'm getting touchy about my age!) and am always glad to share 
any info I've picked up along the way. About the airs above the ground, 
I have  entered descriptions of them in following paragraphs. I am not 
at all sure that airs would be welcomed in a musical freestyle(Kur). 
And there is that pesky rule about elimination if all 4 feet leave the 
arena! ;-) I can just imagine some judge eliminating you for doing 
capriole because all 4 feet left the arena! ;-) 

Anyway, here are the descriptions...just remember, you asked for it! ;-) 
There are very few descriptions of the airs in dressage literature
because the only time most of us will even SEE them is in a Lippizaner 
performance whether it be the Spanish Riding School(SRS) or the Tempel 
Lippizaner show. (Although my wife reminds me that I did once 
unintentionally produced a resistance that was quite like a capriole! I
was riding a young mare that she had been training. Basically, I forgot
that she was green so I was riding her in a more advanced stage of 
collection. She asked to stretch her neck down and I said no. She got
annoyed and did a crude capriole!)

These descriptions are taken from Col. Alois Podhajsky's "The Complete
Training of Horse and Rider" and Col. Hans Handler's "The Spanish Riding
School." Podhajsky's book is still in print and is widely available as
well as affordable.  Handler's book is out-of-print but is often 
available through used book dealers. Unfortunately, Handler's book is
quite pricey because it's out-of-print. Podhajsky's book is DEFINITELY
recommended reading for anyone with a serious interest in dressage.

Podhajsky's descriptions are the clearest and shortest so I've based my
comments on his descriptions and added other comments from his successor 
as Director of the SRS, Hans Handler. Actually, there are airs other
than those performed by the SRS. They use many of them in training so 
I'll describe them too and begin with familiar ground(pesade and
levade) because they are the first airs taught.

There are two closely related "airs above the ground" called the pesade 
and the levade. Both require the horse to lift his forehand off the 
ground with his forelegs folded under his chest while sitting in place 
on well bent hind legs. Both are developed from the piaffe(trot in place). 
In "The Complete Training of Horse and Rider," Col. Alois Podhajsky says 
that the pesade requires a the horse to raise its body to an angle of 
45 degrees with the ground. In the levade, the horse only raises its 
body to 30 degrees. He says that the levade was introduced at the 
beginning of the 20th century. 

In "The Spanish Riding School," Podhajsky's successor Col. Hans Handler 
says that the levade is more difficult to execute as it requires more 
strength of the hindquarters and an even greater flexion in the joints 
of the hindlegs.

On the difference between the rear and the classical movements of
pesade/levade, Podhajsky says "If the horse lifts himself higher from 
the ground at an angle more than 45 degrees and does not bend his hind 
legs, he does not perform any classical movement but simply rears up." 
I would add that in most rears, the horse actually extends the joints 
of the hindlegs and hyper-extends the spine(i.e. hollows its back).  
In a levade or pesade, the horse must not only flex his hindlegs but 
his spine(i.e. "round his/her back"). The rearing horse may also flail 
its forelegs as a stallion might in a fight. The horse doing a levade 
or pesade tucks them up like a careful showjumper.

Podhajsky says that the courbette is "a series of jumps without the forelegs 
touching the ground. There are three phases[in training the courbette]: the 
piaffe, the levade developed from the piaffe and the jump landing on hindlegs 
in the position of the levade. According to the ability of the stallion, 
these jumps may be repeated from 2 to 5 times until the forelegs again touch 
the ground." In other words, the horse is expected to jump 3 to 6 times before 
his forelegs come down! That certainly requires strength as well as control!

The word "capriole" is derived from the Italian word "capra" or goat in 
English. This jump is supposed to be "goat-like." The horse is expected to
jump into the air and strike out with its hindlegs when its body is horizontal 
to the ground. According to Podhajsky, the capriole is the most difficult of 
all the jumps and cannot be taught until all the related jumps have been 
mastered.

He says that the first jump taught when training for the capriole is the 
croupade. The horse jumps into the air in a position similar to the pesade 
with his hindlegs tucked underneath his body. The horse's position is not 
horizontal to the ground abd there is no stroke of the hindlegs. In fact, 
I saw a horse produce this jump in a Spanish Riding School performance 
when he was asked for the capriole.

The next jump taught is the ballotade. Here, the horse jumps more horizontally 
and does not tuck his hindlegs under as far. In the ballotade, his shoes 
should be visible from behind but the should not be visible in the croupade.
When this jump is mastered, they go on to the capriole.

Hope that helps your understanding of the airs above the ground and aids 
your enjoyment of your next viewing(live or film!) of these movements.

John