The idea that we are always evolving from a simpler, coarser state to one that is more complex and refined is commonly held, but is it always true? I have found many cases in my short life which give evidence to the contrary, where well-developed bodies of knowledge were abandoned for new and supposedly better approaches that give the appearance of success, rather than producing genuine success.

Some people content themselves with caricatures, with the appearance and not the fact, but I for whatever reason cannot bring myself to accept a counterfeit in any sphere of my living. I imagine that if you’ve read my blog for any amount of time you likely possess the same concern for substance, for the exactness of an original pattern and not a loosely interpreted approximation.

I came across an excellent quote on this topic the other day while reading through Alois Podhajsky’s inspiring book “My Horses, My Teachers”:

Today, however, few riders know their horses and the causes of their behavior. Everything has become superficial nowadays, except technology. With machines the physical laws may not be disregarded as we often disregard the laws of nature with our animals. The well-founded doctrines of the old riding masters are frequently rejected today with the remark that those methods are old-fashioned and not applicable in our present times, which demand quick success. And what is the result of this training? The standard has declined until the once so beautiful movements have become caricatures of what they once were. And yet a performance of the highest standard must be built step by step and on a well-foudned basis. I have learned by experience that today’s riders may indeed rely upon the teachings of our predecessors, for they are of invaluable help in the reasonable development of this sport. If a rider thinks that he has found a new method he may be sure that if it is any good he has come upon it by instinct or by chance and that it was practiced long ago by the old masters.

Speed at the cost of quality is always wrong, not only in riding When the famous New York City Ballet performed in Vienna I asked the ballet master George Ballanchine whether he would take the so-called modern conception into consideration when training his dancers and shorten the time of their education. Excitedly Ballanchine jumped off his seat and exclaimed: “How could I? The human body is still the same as always. The old schools of ballet demanded a certain amount of time and they were right. Did they not achieve perfection and have they not been our ideals for hundreds of years? Why should we change?” It is exactly the same with equitation if it pretends to be an art.