Reflections on Riding and Jumping: Winning Techniques for Serious Riders

by William Steinkraus

Book Overview

A revised and updated edition of a classic work on horses and horsemanship by one of the most acclaimed riders in show jumping history.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1570760438
• ISBN13: 9781570760433
• Release Date: December 1997
• Publisher: Trafalgar Square Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 1.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Classic

This book is a classic. Everyone who is serious about their riding and/or has aspirations should own it.

Excellent book for any rider

After nearly 20 years off from riding, I am back into it with a challenging horse. I have perused many books - from Dummy and KISS guides to dressage handbooks and nearly everything by Cherry Hill. This book by Steinkraus has, by far, influenced and helped my riding the most. The finer points of riding are discussed and explained; you do not need to be a grand prix cometitor, or even a jumper, to get value from this book. An example: I used to ride Western, and my horse's trot is too large for me to sit. I had to switch to English and learn to post, and did not get a handle on it until I read this book and understood the dynamics and what I was doing wrong. He explains why the nuances of where each section of your body and aids change the way you ride, and photos accompany explanations. I also appreciate his attitude toward the horse. He covers what a ride should consist of, in terms of how much to expect from yourself and your horse, and how to praise, etc. I am not currently jumping, unless we have an obstacle on trails. My focus is endurance, and I can say this book is at the top of my list for the heart of basic riding technique.

AN INTUITIVE RIDER WHO THINKS

Mr. Steinkraus is an extraordinary person. An Olympic athlete. A winning hunter-jumper rider. A horse trainer (do we actually train horses, or do we just learn to get along with them?). A wonderfully gifted, natural writer. A great spokesperson for equestrianism. A gentleman scholar. If you like to ride -- for pleasure, or competition, or to learn about yourself -- this is an extraordinarily useful book. It is not about riding instruction; yet I think you will learn extraordinary things. It is not about hunter-jumper equitation, yet few people (Mr. Morris included) have looked better, or more natural, over oxers and obstacles of all kinds. It is not about horsemanship, yet Mr. Steinkraus knows horses, and feels horses, and has the ability to share this wonderful feeling-in-the-fingertips for the horse in every chapter of his book. You should not read this book to "learn", or "absorb", or "improve your skills". You should read this book for what it offers: the chance to sit with a sensitive, feeling, thoughtful, and intuitive person who is fascinated by the relationship between a rider and a horse; and who can share his thoughts and ideas in a simple, entertaining, and engaging way. As an author, Mr. Steinkraus is enormously candid and self-effacing. Few riders today can ever hope to achieve what he did, at the top of his form, in the 1950s and 60s. But those achievements really don't matter to us, in the context of his book. What matters to us are his ideas, his insights, and the ways he expresses them for those of us in search of better understanding, better connection, and a greater communion with this amazing animal, the horse, that absorbs so much of our time and attention. If you read this book as I did, I promise you will never obsess about your riding style, or set objectives in a compulsive and manipulative way. You will, however, approach your horse, and your session, and the task at hand, or the day in the field, in a fresh, clear frame of mind that lets you relax, think through the work you have planned, and go about it in a thoughtful, contemplative, and enjoyable way. If you can find the zone that Mr. Steinkraus found, you will be relaxed, in tune with your horse, and enormously receptive to the magic that comes your way. In my riding career, I played polo and rode to hounds. I was never a competitive equestrian. But thinking about myself, and my horse, and what I was there to do, in an intuitive way, thanks to Mr. Steinkraus, made me feel better, enjoy it more, and actually, be a little better at it. It certainly allowed me to have a lot more fun, which is why I highly recommend this book to you. If you read it, I know you will enjoy it, and I know you will tell your riding friends about it. (By the way, if you would like to see Mr. Steinkraus as a groom, believe it or not, look for an excellent book about horsemanship, written with great clarity, by his sister, M.A. Stoneridge. If I am not mistaken, Mr. Steinkraus posed for the pic

Very useful learning "tool"

I found this book both interesting and enriching. Its clear and concise and easy to apply in practice. Also it is evident that it was written by an experienced and talented rider as is William Steinkrauss. I have read this book about a year ago and find some things I've read have stayed with me ever since. It is a book to learn a lot about serious, proven techniques and conciously know which areas of your riding need improvement. It also has very helpful images to understand the text. I recommend it to show jumpers especially. Take the time to think about this reading and put it in practice, its worthwhile.