Fragments from the writings of Max Ritter von Weyrother, Austrian Imperial and Royal Oberbereiter: With a foreword by Andreas Hausberger, Chief Rider, Spanish Riding School of Vienna and an introduction by Daniel Pevsner FBHS

By Ritter von Weyrother Max

When Weyrother was posted to Vienna the SRS was the only school left that concerned itself with the methodical practice of the art of high-school and, with the cultivation and the preservation of the purity of equine locomotion. There were quite a few very good cavalry schools throughout Europe but all had to fulfil a practical brief which deman

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xenophon Press LLC
• Release date: May 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781948717021

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BRUCHSTÜCKE

AUS DEN

HINTERLASSENEN SCHRIFTEN

DES K. K. ÖSTERR. OBERBEREITERS

MAX RITTER VON WEYROTHER.

___

GESAMELT

DURCH EINIGE SEINER FREUNDE.

MIT DEM PORTRAIT DES VERFASSERS.

___

WIEN, 1836.

IN COMMISSION BEY J. G. HEUBNER.

FRAGMENTS

FROM THE WRITINGS

OF

MAX RITTER VON WEYROTHER,

AUSTRIAN IMPERIAL AND ROYAL OBERBEREITER

VIENNA, 1836

WITH A PREFACE BY ANDREAS HAUSBERGER, CHIEF RIDER, SPANISH RIDING SCHOOL OF VIENNA

AND AN INTRODUCTORY NOTE BY DANIEL PEVSNER FBHS

TRANSLATED BY H. J. FANE

Copyright ©Xenophon Press 2017

Fragments from the Writings of Max Ritter von Weyrother, Austrian Imperial and Royal Oberbereiter

Translated by H. J. FANE

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or by any information storage or retrieval system except by written permission from the publisher.

Published by Xenophon Press, LLC

www.XenophonPress.com

7518 Bayside Road, Franktown, Virginia 23354-2106, U.S.A.

ISBN-13:978-0-933316-97-3

ISBN-13:978-1-948717-02-1 (e-book)

MAX RITTER VON WEYROTHER

Image: Copyright ©Spanish Riding School of Vienna

INHALTSVERZEICHNIS.

Vorwort

Einleitung

Erklärung

Anwendung der Grundsätze des Gleichgewichts auf den Reiter

Aufsitzen

Von der Stellung und dem Sitze zu Pferde

Stellung der Hand

Anlage der Schenkel

Führung der Hand

Von dem Schritte

Von dem Trab

Der Travers

Der Galopp

Vom Wechseln im Galopp

Von der Carrière

Dressur des Rohen Unbearbeiteten Pferdes

Erste Bearbeitung des Pferdes auf der Reitbahn

Anhang

Von der Bezähmung eines Durch Güte Nicht zu Corrigirenden Pferdes

Xenophon Press Library

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Preface

Introductory Note

Translator’s Note

Translator’s Reference Sources

Foreword

Introduction

Clarification

Application of the Basic Principles of Equilibrium to the Rider

Mounting

The Position and Seat When Mounted

Position of the Hand

Position of the Legs

Using the Hand

The Walk

The Trot

Travers

The Canter

Canter Changes

The Gallop

Training the Green Untrained Horse

First Working of the Horse in the Manège

Appendix

Taming a Horse That Can No Longer be Corrected by Kindness

Xenophon Press Library

PREFACE.

by Andreas Hausberger, Chief Rider, Spanish Riding School of Vienna

____________

I was delighted to learn that the writings of Max von Weyrother had been translated into English. This is a seminal work for us at the Spanish Riding School and one of the cornerstones of our theory and practice. As you will read in the introduction, Weyrother made a major contribution to classical horsemanship and the foundation of modern dressage. Now this work is available to a much wider audience as well as to the pupils at the Spanish Riding School.

Although many of the exercises are described as ridden with the reins in one hand, the basic building blocks are the same for all riders and the aids for each movement have not changed. It is these fundamental elements that Weyrother explains so well. Without them we cannot achieve the art of good riding and so I heartily recommend this text to all aspiring equestrians.

INTRODUCTORY NOTE.

by Daniel Pevsner FBHS

- pupil, Spanish Riding School of Vienna

____________

Max Ritter von Weyrother was the last and most illustrious representative of an equestrian dynasty whose members served the Spanish Riding School (SRS), as Chief Riders, for almost 100 years. He was the School’s Director and Chief Rider in the years 1819-33, and his contribution to what today is described as classical horsemanship is inestimable; not only has he left his mark in Austria, he also greatly influenced German riding through his German pupils, Seidler and Seeger. The latter was of course the teacher of Steinbrecht, father of modern German equitation.

When Weyrother was posted to Vienna the SRS was the only school left that concerned itself with the methodical practice of the art of high-school and, with the cultivation and the preservation of the purity of equine locomotion. There were quite a few very good cavalry schools throughout Europe, but all had to fulfil a practical brief which demanded immediate results. The only other school devoted to the art of pure riding was the School of Versailles in France. This was closed after the French revolution and thus the SRS remained the sole guardian of the art. Ironically though, French ideas and practices that were lost to France, never to be fully recovered, found a new home in the School of Vienna.

It was perhaps Weyrother’s greatest gift to Austrian horsemanship, and therefore to that of the world, that he introduced the school to the writings of the great French Ecuyer, de la Guérinière, the founder of modern dressage. The twenty years or so that Weyrother served the Vienna school were dedicated to the installing, practising and promoting of de la Guérinière’s principles and equestrian legacy as described in his book, École de Cavalerie.

In Fragments, Weyrother faithfully follows de la Guérinière’s precepts and expands on them in various ways. Aside from technique and science, Weyrother also offers a moral and philosophical view of horse training. Schooling methods are variable and numerous but they only work for the one he describes as a reflective rider, one who works humanely and respects the horse’s physiological and psychological needs. This is a message that is as fresh and relevant today as it was in the early nineteenth century.

TRANSLATOR’S NOTE.

________________

I am indebted to the late Daniel Pevsner for introducing me to Fragments from the Writings of Max Ritter von Weyrother and writing the introductory note. The initial reason to translate this work, at Danny’s instigation in 2001, was to access the teachings of this classical riding master, long considered a fundamental text for pupils at the Spanish Riding School of Vienna. Danny was instrumental in helping me gain a deeper understanding of the text and in editing the translation, working on it with me intermittently over several years until just before he died in 2014. I am immensely grateful to him.

The source text we used is the edition published by Olms Presse 1977, which has given its approval to produce this bilingual version. That publication in turn is a reprint based on the copy held at the Austrian National Library in Vienna, now available in digital format thanks to Google at: http://search.obvsg.at/primo_library/libweb/action/display.do?tabs=detailsTab&ct=display&fn=search&doc=TN_ABO_%2b-Z167095105&indx=1&recIds=TN_ABO_%2bZ167095105&re-cIdxs=0&elementId=0&renderMode=poppedOut&displayMode=-full&frbrVersion=&dscnt=0&tab=onb_fulltext&dst-mp=1399493892991&vl%28freeText0%29=max%20ritter%20von%20weyrother&vid=ONB&mode=Basic&gathStatIcon=true

Both the Austrian National Library and Google have given their permission to publish the original text. I am also grateful to the Spanish Riding School of Vienna for granting permission to use the image of Max von Weyrother astride a horse.

The original of the German is in the gothic script that was widely in use until the 1940s and this has been converted into modern German script. However, the original spelling used by the author has been retained.

We have tried throughout to reach a compromise between adhering to the original 19th century German and making the text accessible to the modern reader, inserting Translator’s Notes (TNs) where we felt an explanation was required. I am indebted to Jo Jarrett and Robert Pring, who have proofread the English and made helpful suggestions so that the final version makes sense to a modern classical rider. Further thanks are due to Andreas Hausberger for providing the preface.

I hope the reader will bear with any errors I may have made. A note of some of the reference sources is included below.

As a rider, I find myself returning to this book every so often, rediscovering the relevance of von Weyrother’s words and discovering new insights as my riding develops. I hope other readers enjoy it as much as I do.

H. J. Fane

All rights to the translation are reserved.

© H.J. Fane 2016

TRANSLATOR’S REFERENCE SOURCES FOR VON WEYROTHER’S FRAGMENTS

1. Schuh = approximately a foot

http://www.kartenmeister.com/preview/html/measurements__coinage.html

According to this site, a Schuh would be between 28.8 and 31.3 centimetres. A Schuh (or shoe) later became a Fuss (or foot).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_obsolete_units_of_measurement#Fu.C3.9F_.28foot.29

According to this site, in Vienna a foot was 31.6 centimetres.

2. Spanne = span

http://www.gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/units/length.htm

One span = 22.86 cm.

3. Laden = toothless part of the horse’s mouth, i.e. bars

Breu, Karl (ed.), 1933; A German and English Dictionary, Cassell and Company, Ltd, London, Toronto, Melbourne and Sydney

4. O’Beirne-Ranelagh, Elizabeth (ed.), 1996; The International Horseman’s Dictionary, J.A. Allen, London

5. Kleine Tour = small circle or volte

http://www.pferdewissen.ch/bahnfiguren.php

Maximilian Ritter von Weyrother (1783-1833)

lithograph, 1836

BRUCHSTÜCKE

AUS DEN

HINTERLASSENEN SCHRIFTEN

DES K. K. ÖSTERR. OBERBEREITERS

MAX RITTER VON WEYROTHER.

___

GESAMMELT

DURCH EINIGE SEINER FREUNDE.

MIT DEM PORTRAIT DES VERFASSERS.

___

WIEN, 1836.

IN COMMISSION BEY J. G. HEUBNER.

FRAGMENTS

FROM THE WRITINGS

OF

MAX RITTER VON WEYROTHER

AUSTRIAN IMPERIAL AND ROYAL OBERBEREITER

___

Compiled by some of his friends

With a portrait of the author

___

Vienna, 1836

On consignment with J.G. Heubner

VORWORT.

_______

Welchem von seinen Schülern und Freunden hat Max v. Weyrother nicht ein bleibendes Bild seines thätigen Lebens zurück gelassen?

— Mit welcher lebhaften Theilnahme wurden daher dessen hinterlassene Schriften durchlesen, und wie sehr mußte man bedauern, daß die nur zu früh unterbrochene Laufbahn dieses ausgezeichneten Mannes, ihm nicht gestattete, ein Werk zu vollenden, wovon jetzt leider nur einzelne Bruchstücke mitgetheilt werden können!

—Dennoch wird die Veröffentlichung derselben demjenigen Theile des Publicums willkommen seyn, dessen Liebhaberey für Pferde und Reiterey in diesen abgebrochenen Entwürfen, die einen Rückblick auf das viele Gute gewähren, welches durch Max v. Weyrother in seinem Fache gewirkt wurde, praktischen Rath finden wird.

Max v. Weyrother hatte stets im Auge, nach und nach eine vernünftigere und gebildetere Art der Behandlung dieses uns so nützlichen Thieres zu erzielen. Welcher Vortheil für die österreichische Monarchie hieraus hervorging, werden diejenigen am Besten zu würdigen wissen, welche die Bearbeitung der Remonten vor 20 Jahren gesehen, und dagegen in neuerer Zeit einen so merklichen Unterschied finden. Wie thätig Max v. Weyrother darauf hingewirkt hat, beweisen seine im Anhange aufgenommenen schriftlichen Mittheilungen an die damahligen Herren Dirigenten des k. k. Militär-Equitations-Institutes in Wiener-Neustadt. Hat dieses Institut gleich nicht den gewünschten Fortbestand gehabt, so wurden doch daselbst Schüler gebildet, welche bleibenden Nutzen in der Armee zurück lassen, da nicht nur für eine höhere Stufe der Cultur Erfreuliches hieraus hervor geht, sondern auch die Remontirungskosten durch eine zweckmäßige Behandlung des Pferdes bedeutend vermindert werden.

Daß eine jede Sache mit der Zeit gleichen Schritt halten müsse, um bey

FOREWORD.

__________

Max von Weyrother made a strong impression on all his students and friends during his active life.

For this reason, his legacy of writings has been read enthusiastically, and it is greatly to be regretted that the all too short career of this outstanding individual did not permit him to complete the work, only a few fragments of which remain to be passed on.

Nonetheless, their publication will be very welcome to that portion of the public involved with horses and equitation, who will derive much practical advice from these unfinished notes, providing as they do an overview of the considerable amount of good that Max von Weyrother achieved in his specialist field.

Max von Weyrother constantly aimed to develop a more intelligent and knowledgeable way of treating this most useful of animals. The benefit of this to the Austrian monarchy will best be appreciated by those who saw the working of the remounts 20 years ago and by contrast can now see such a remarkable difference. The extent to which Max von Weyrother had an effect on this is evidenced in the appendix in the written notes addressed to the then Directors of the Imperial and Royal Military Institute of Equitation in Wiener Neustadt (New Vienna). Although this Institute did not last as long as might have been wished, students were nonetheless trained there, who have gone on to provide long-serving assistance to the army, since this has led not only to a positive contribution to a higher level of the art, but also to a substantial reduction in remount costs through appropriate training of the horse.

That everything must keep pace with its time

den Zeitgenossen in nützlichem Werthe zu bleiben, beweiset wohl auch die Reiterey, die nur wegen den veralteten Grundsätzen der sogenannten Schul- reiterey zurück zu gehen anfing. Ihre Schüler fanden nicht mehr Befriedigung im praktischen Leben, und nannten diese Art von Unterricht eine Pedanterie, die außer den vier Wänden einer Reitschule, eine unnütze Sache,