Barock riding

I like it watching it, but I don't think I'll ever try it. I prefer staying on the ground ;-) And the horse I have now doesn't have a chance of going up in the air like that.

I don't.... I never really mastered the art... but I love watching it! I love watching those Lippazaner horses, and the friesians "dancing" it is absolutely amazing!

Hi! I've had some basic dressage lessons, primarily with my half-Arabian show horse (who is now deceased). The levade, and other airs-above-ground, are classical dressage movements that required many, many years of training for both the horse and rider. It's not a natural way of movement for a horse and those that can do it have extremely strong leg and haunch muscles. Most airs-above-ground were war techniques so that the horse would protect the rider with its body. You will also notice that these movements are usually down without stirrups by the riders of The Spanish Riding School. Dressage is a relationship between horse and rider where the aids are hardly seen. You can really motivate your horse to move forward just by shifting your weight on your hip bones or lengthening a leg in the stirrup.

Classic dressage is a beautiful thing, always what I have aspired to achieve. Classic dressage with movements like levade, as posted, is a specialty that is not practiced by most riders - you'll find only a handful of people in the world who do that. It's not a part of dressage competitions even on the Olympic level.