Dressage for No Country: Finding Meaning, Magic and Mastery in the Second Half of Life

by Paul Belasik

Overview

Armed with the knowledge and experience he accrued over time, Belasik debates whether classical dressage and competition dressage are at all compatible.

In the 1970s, the sport of dressage was still in its infancy in the United States. Unlike the countries of Europe, there was neither an established tradition nor a written history to educate and inspire. A rider intent on learning the discipline had to be prepared to travel, to immerse himself in other cultures, and to care only for what those who had already mastered the art might teach him. Paul Belasik was this rider, intent on learning all he could about dressage methodology, and willing and able to compare and contrast the various means for achieving related goals:

• Beautiful movement.


• “Lightness.”


• Connection between two beings.

In these pages Belasik shares a lifetime of searching and studying, both through stories of his own adventures and thoughtful essays on the subjects he has pondered during the years he has trained and ridden horses. Beginning in northern New York, and traveling to Portugal, and later, Vienna, Belasik serves as a tour guide of the various dressage “paths” he had the chance to explore, including:

• The German system.


• The Portuguese art of equitation.


• And the revered institutions of the Spanish Riding School.

He considers the role of mindfulness, how to become a good teacher, and how to be a good student in today's horse world, providing the guideposts needed to take dressage–and riding, in general–the next step forward. Includes historical photographs from the author’s travels.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781570769146
Publisher:	Trafalgar Square
Publication date:	04/16/2019
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	1,009,857
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Paul Belasik is a highly respected international rider, trainer, writer, and teacher, and an avowed proponent of classical equestrian ideals. Belasik has ridden and trained at every level in dressage, from young horses to Grand Prix and beyond. He also has had extensive experience in eventing, which encompassed the early part of his career, before turning solely to his first and true love: classical dressage and the art of riding. Belasik has sought wisdom from great riding masters such as Dr. HLM van Schaik and Nuno Oliveira, and his wide-ranging studies include the concepts of Zen Buddhism and martial arts. Belasik has authored eight books, and he gives clinics, lectures, and demonstrations internationally while training a wide cross-section of clients at his Pennsylvania Riding Academy at Lost Hollow Farm in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

1 The 1970s: The Planes Come West German Horses and the German System 7

2 The 1980s: The Plane Heads East The Most Seductive System of Them All: Lightness 27

3 The 1990s: The Plane Heads East Again The Spanish Riding School 49

4 Today and Tomorrow Are Competitive Dressage and Classical Dressage Compatible? 63

5 A New School of Mindfulness Mastering Not Medaling 75

6 The Road to Mastery The Modern Study of Expertise 87

Epilogue: The Destination The Path Is Not an Itinerary 113

Recommended Reading 119

References 121

Index 122

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Bringing Together part history lesson, part biography, a dash of hope, and a pinch of unvarnished truths, Paul Belasik knits together a professor’s tale of dressage theory, taking us on a journey through his travels around the world both by air and by studied text, narrating his experiences along the way. Visiting Germany, Portugal, France, Spain, and Austria either by foot or by research, he weaves us through the varying faces of classical dressage and how it intertwines between cultures and schools of thought on a search for where collection truly resides. Once again Mr. Belasik proves the journey itself is far more important than the actual destination.” —Jeremy Steinberg, USEF High Performance Rider, Former USEF Dressage Youth Coach

Editorial Reviews

"Belasik challenges riders to forget the allure of prizes and remember that the true reward of riding is finding harmony with horses." —UnTacked

“Dressage for No Country in short, is a rare, topic-transcending book. It’s about dressage, but it covers teaching styles, history, it touches on breeding and conformation and examines training systems and objectivity in judging, to the point that the autobiographical aspect seems almost an afterthought. I’d consider it almost as much a guide to life as a book about dressage." —Horse Nation

"I could go on and on reveling in the quotes from this important book, but I hope I have written enough that you will be determined to go out and get your own copy. The great thing about a book like this is that while you may not agree with every word, it makes you think. Think. Think about that." —The Horse

"[Belasik is] an enjoyable and entertaining writer. He has an ample intellectual view of the world that layers his work, plus an unabashed love of the natural world, combined with a scientific rigor regarding the role of equine biomechanics. It is rare stuff, indeed." —Dressage Today

"Belasik has a unique writing style that enraptured me and transformed his book from a training manual into a peek inside his personal diary." —Practical Horseman

From the Publisher