THE FORGOTTEN GAITS

So often recently - even to members of the Cadre - I have tried to explain the forgotten school walks which - as a result of people not being taught them directly - when read and interpreted from books can become confusing.

I was lucky enough have been taught them by Schmit-Jensen - a pupil of DeCarpentry & Beaudant - and having the art "passed from Master to pupil" does change the lens through which we view things.

Going through Einar's archives (Schmit-Jensen) I found this excellent letter about the walks which I'm keen to share to help others understand the nuanced differences between what the Masters wrote about and what they meant. There are many many gems of wisdom in this short piece I hope you enjoy

EINAR SCHMIT-JENSEN -

Pas d’ecole

The Pas d’ecole is described in Fillis book (Breaking & Riding) (page 118/119) under the name School Walk (English version) and which might be defined as follows

Diagonal walk in two time, the horse moving his hindlegs as in the trot

• Trot without the moment of suspension (all four legs off the ground at the same time or)

• Passage at the walk, there actually being a gradual transition from the Pas d’ecole to the doux passage (more cadenced but without the large moment of suspension and further on to the Passage “proper” with pronounced cadence and moment of suspension. Every horse has his own individual form of Passage.

The Pas D’ecole formed the basis of all Fillis Haute Ecole work although he does not underline this sufficiently in his book and only spent have a page out of 359 pages to mention it. As a boy I saw Fillis in the circus in Berlin together with my riding teacher, and since then have schooled and taught the Pas d'ecole exactly as Fillis rode it.

Pas de Manège

The walk of the Ecuyer in Chief of the Cadre Noir, the only member of the Cadre performing it, is termed Pas de Manège a walk in four time with distinct cadence, the forelegs being raised with a bent knee which is then stretched before the foot is put to the ground, rather like a guardsman marching, or if you like a diminution of Spanish Walk. During a visit to Saumur in 1923 I learned the pas de manège from the Ecuyer in Chef Colonel Wattel (General Wattel)

Spanish Walk, Pas de Manege, Pas d'ecole

For a number of years I was a member of the FEI Dressage Committee and once suggested that in the Grand Prix de Dressage the collected walk which is neither here nor there is an in most cases makes the horse adopt the amble should be replaced by the Pas de Managé which only a thoroughly and correctly schooled horse would be able to perform, but it was turned down as this movement was considered too difficult.

Pas Espagnol Finally the Pas espagnol or Spanish walk which Fills describes in his book, it is also a walk in four time, but with the forelegs raised to near horizontal position and consequently very useful to develop the shoulder action of the horse. These movements are not included in the classical French Haute Ecole (de la Guèriniére, SRS) but belong to the more modern French Haute Ecole (Baucher and Fillis).