The classical dream

by Corrine Wilson

Paulo working one of the resident school horses

Learning the art of classical dressage under a great master has always been a dream
of mine. This dream finally came true early in January when I flew to Portugal, to study
and ride the magnificent Lusitano stallions at the Classical School of Alcainca.

Classical dressage evolved in Italy during the Renaissance period and later developed in the French Court, from where it continued to spread across the continent.

The riding master of Alcainca, Georges Malleroni, originally from France, studied under the great Portuguese masters, Nuno Oliveira and José Athayde. Inspired by the great masters of the ’Haute Ecole’ and the Lusitano horses, he took over the technical direction of Escola de Equitaçao de Alcainça, 27 years ago.
Alcainca is located 25 km northwest of Lisbon, 15 km from the Atlantic Coast and 5 km from the famous cloister of Mafra. The school has seventeen horses, mainly Lusitano stallions. I was immediately struck by how gentle and sensitive these beautiful horses seemed.

Learning the ropes

A classical student of Georges Malleroni.

My first lesson began after lunch. My instructor was a very passionate Portuguese man, named Paulo. It didn’t take long before he was telling me: “More inside leg, straighten your horse, outside rein.”
To my dismay, he quickly found my faults: “Stop pulling with your inside rein!”

There was a lot of instruction in quick succession. It’s amazing how you can suddenly forget your left from your right. His focus was straightness. The Lusitanos are very compact and incredibly sensitive horses. We worked primarily on shoulder in, shoulder out, haunches in and out, leg yield, half-pass, traver and renver.
After working on the ’basics‘ he would then allow us the chance to play a little with the piaffe, passage and Spanish walk. This was a true highlight for me.

Stories of a master

When not in the saddle, I was fortunate enough to spend long lazy lunches with Georges and Paulo. I normally spent the entire sitting interrogating Georges. He told us stories of Nuno, who was also his neighbour in Portugal. Nuno apparently rode all day, every day except for maybe a day off every now and again.
The one thing that struck me, was the responsiveness of the horses. I remember feeling quite anxious, over-thinking and overriding everything. As I started to become familiar with the horses and instruction, I started to use quieter aids. Everything became less, yet so much clearer. So many of us dull our horses into complete oblivion with overriding and using too many aids, when it should be simple, light and precise.

Steeped in tradition

One morning in between lessons, we took a trip to the Portuguese School of Art Equestre. The school is found in the palace near Lisbon, steeped in equestrian history, with statues and fountains, trimmed hedges, wrought iron gates and arches. The school has twelve riders, each a well-respected rider in Portugal. The horses are saddled in ornate double bridles and classical saddles.
Every morning they put on their uniforms, red jackets, beige pants and beras, and each works three horses before noon. Many of them then head off to teach outside of the school. It was beautiful watching them all working together in such synchronisation.

Back to size

My understanding of the lessons started to improve over time. I remember having a lesson in the morning and leaving feeling completely ecstatic, and then it all falling apart in the afternoon. One of my highlights came from one of the ‘not so good falling apart lessons’ (as they do ...). Georges gave me an exercise to perform.
I wasn’t too worried about this at first, it seemed manageable enough. I was unfortunately very mistaken. I really battled and after about six attempts, I was stumped! That’s when Georges got on ... I think my jaw literally dropped to the floor. How could he make it look so easy? Riding in absolute lightness, with complete control and finesse?
I consciously memorised the feeling and experience unravelling before my very eyes. A master equestrian, dancing with a grey Lusitano stallion, in an indoor arena filled with an orange light, to the sound of classical music. In that one moment, I felt completely satisfied that I had fulfilled my classical dressage dream. When he had finished, I proceeded to confess that I thought he was awe-inspiring.

His response took me completely by surprise. He looked at me slightly bemused and remarked that he was not that fantastic, he was still learning and one must always remain humble. I couldn’t help but think that this very remark is a part of why he is a master.

Goodbye Portugal

Escola de Equitaçao de Alcainça fulfilled all my expectations and more. After seven days, which flew past far too quickly, I had to say good-bye reluctantly. There were so many highlights that I will cherish forever. Until next time ...

For more information on Escola de Equitaçao de Alcainça, log on to www.callistosaddlery.com.