The Development of Modern Riding : The Story of Formal Riding from Renaissance Times to the Present

New York: Howell Book House, 1991. Appears unread. Fine condition in a Near Fine Dust Jacket (price-clipped). Bright, shiny, clean, square and tight. Sharp corners. NO owner's name or bookplate. NO remainder mark. Pages are fresh and crisp. NO underlining. NO highlighting. NO margin notes. First published in 1962 under the title HORSEMAN'S PROGRESS by D. Van Nostrand Co. This 1991 edition adds a new forward by William C. Steinkraus. Bibliographical references. Index. Bound in the original egg-shell color boards, with a dark red cloth spine lettered in shiny gold. From the Dust Jacket: "Vladimir S. Littauer has an international reputation as one of this century's most outstanding horsemen. The system of riding he taught, based on Federico Caprillis 'forward riding,' influenced generations of American riders, among them Bernie Traurig, Kathy Kusner and Joe Fargis, yet his primary concern was for the needs of the average rider and the average horse. THE DEVELOPMENT OF MODEM RIDING, Littauers personal favorite among the eleven books he wrote, is the distillation of a lifetime of study of formal or educated riding. Drawing on the literature of the last four hundred years and illuminating his observations with nearly seventy illustrations, Littauer takes readers from the Renaissance to the present -- 'an equestrian March of Time' in the words of one reviewer. The book is divided into four parts in order to show how the customs and ways of life in different periods affected the horse man's progress. Court, cavalry and sport all have had definite and provable influences. Littauer also discusses modern riding in Italy, France, Germany, England and the United States and each country's contribution to the development of riding. The panorama that unfolds in THE DEVELOPMENT OF MODEM RIDING will fascinate those who ride, teach or compete, especially in dressage and show jumping. But more than that, they will be reading a remarkable, gracefully written work of scholarship that enriches equestrian literature.". Reprint with New Introduction. Hardcover. Fine condition/Near Fine dust jacket. 8vo. xviii, 302pp.