Published Articles
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Dressage Today
How I became a trainer in France by Pierre Cousyn 
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Dressage Today
Explaining the French Terms "Descent de Mains et Descente de Jambes" by Pierre Cousyn  |
Dressage Today
The French Method for Teaching the Horse to Be On the Bit by Pierre Cousyn  |
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Dressage Today
Separating Hand and Leg Aids-- An Effective Balancing Tool by Pierre Cousyn  |
Dressage Today
Correct Dressage Whip Use by Pierre Cousyn  |
Other Articles
Cadre Noir, French Treasure of Horsemanship
article by Silke Rottermann - Eurodressage.com
A walk on the premises usually begins with an appointment - an email or a telephone call to ask if a Eurodressage reporter is welcome to have a stroll on the property. As Silke Rottermann recently did an in-depth article on Colonel Christian Carde in Saumur, it seemed obvious to kill two birds with one stone and show the readers the work and facilities of the Cadre Noir. The Cadre Noir is one of few remaining academic dressage schools in Europe, but unlike the Spanish Riding School (SRS) it has a military background. Here is Silke's report of her walk on the premises of the Cadre Noir.
I asked my dear Swiss friend Joy, who I was going to visit in Paris and who speaks French fluently unlike me, to call the institution to ask for an appointment. The following two days Joy did her best to make one and finally spoke to the ecuyer en chef, Colonel Jean-Michel Faure, who told her the Cadre Noir would have a final rehearsal on Thursday 4 November 2010, which would give us an excellent opportunity to gain insight in its work. The very same day Joy made an appointment with Colonel Carde for me and when she mentioned we would like to visit his former riding group as well he promised to arrange it for us and was true to his word. So we headed off to Saumur with two appointments in our pockets.
read the complete article at www.eurodressage.com
A walk on the premises usually begins with an appointment - an email or a telephone call to ask if a Eurodressage reporter is welcome to have a stroll on the property. As Silke Rottermann recently did an in-depth article on Colonel Christian Carde in Saumur, it seemed obvious to kill two birds with one stone and show the readers the work and facilities of the Cadre Noir. The Cadre Noir is one of few remaining academic dressage schools in Europe, but unlike the Spanish Riding School (SRS) it has a military background. Here is Silke's report of her walk on the premises of the Cadre Noir.
I asked my dear Swiss friend Joy, who I was going to visit in Paris and who speaks French fluently unlike me, to call the institution to ask for an appointment. The following two days Joy did her best to make one and finally spoke to the ecuyer en chef, Colonel Jean-Michel Faure, who told her the Cadre Noir would have a final rehearsal on Thursday 4 November 2010, which would give us an excellent opportunity to gain insight in its work. The very same day Joy made an appointment with Colonel Carde for me and when she mentioned we would like to visit his former riding group as well he promised to arrange it for us and was true to his word. So we headed off to Saumur with two appointments in our pockets.
read the complete article at www.eurodressage.com
How to become a Trainer in France
by Holly Hanchey and Pierre Cousyn
To the French, the art of riding is an essential part of life. French children enter into pony clubs the same way kids in the United States join soccer or baseball teams. It is integral to the French culture, and the keepers of that culture are trained at the Ecole Nationale d’Equitation in Saumur, France. While better known for the Cadre Noir performance team, the school is first and foremost a place of teaching and education. In fact in France, one cannot be hired as a trainer or instructor without having graduated from the school. This prestigious school can have more than one hundred applicants for fewer than 15 spots.
“The school teaches the Classical French technique,” said Pierre Cousyn a graduate of the school, with two degrees in instruction and training. Teaching the horse as well as the rider, he said, is the most important lesson the students learn. “Fifty percent of the score of the final exam came from the teaching exam. During the final exam we had of course to give a lesson from a topic I we got 1/2 hour before. We had to perform the dressage
test, the jumping test, the cross country test,” he said.
“But after every riding test, we had to answer questions, like ‘If you had a client with this kind of problem what would you do?’ They were asking us to be able to explain what we did from the trainer point of view. It was really to check our skills as a trainer not just to perform. You can do a beautiful dressage test, but not be able to explain it or teach it.”
When Cousyn was attending the Ecole Nationale in the late 1980s, the school days included classes in training & riding in four disciplines: dressage, show jumping, eventing and young horses. Formal classes began early in the morning, around 8am, and include a “young horse” class, but the day began as early as 7am with grooming and care of the horses.
Students are given a five year old at the beginning of the school year, and are expected to show the young horse in a three day event by the end of the year.
Afternoons are usually filled with theory classes in each discipline as well as the teaching classes, where students are taught how to teach the theory and lessons. Each day they took up to five different lessons with five different instructors all expert in their own field. The school year lasts from September through August.
The philosophy of the French method is, according to Cousyn, based on a series of steps, a sort of building block foundation for the horse and the rider.
“At school we really focused on the basics, to have a structure. You know you do step one, step two, and you don’t go to step two unless you have step one,” he says. “It was very very articulate, it is easy for the horse to do. We have a map already.” This map is essential to teaching, he says, and the lack of a basic foundation can lead to more problems at the higher levels of dressage and eventing.
The instructors of the Ecole Nationale are taught to look for the root of all problems when training a horse & rider, not just the surface issues. Cousyn says everything can be brought back to the basics of foundation. “When you have a problem you focus on the cause, not the consequence.” For example, “A bad flying change is a consequence. The cause is a horse on the forehand, or he’s not engaged in the hind end, or he’s too young. He’s not through, the horse is tense and scared,” he says. “That’s the difference between tricks and training. When you train a horse you focus on basics, and to make simple things as good as possible. Doing tricks is to teach a movement without the intention of the quality of the training.”
This formal education system and the lack of emphasis on showing and performance are key differences between the French methods of training and those in the United States. In the U.S., Cousyn says he sees a larger emphasis on show results, which puts pressure on trainers to perform instead of giving them time to teach and train .
“In France, we don’t need to compete to be a well known trainer. The credibility of the trainer comes from his diploma, where he learns how to do it, and how to teach it.” In spite of the presence of many quality education programs in the U.S., such as the USDF Instructor Certification program, Cousyn feels that the lack of mandatory education in horse training can put some students at a disadvantage. “In America there isn’t a guarantee of teaching or training, because anyone can do it. In France, if you have no diploma, you cannot teach. No one would hire you without the diploma.”
To the French, the art of riding is an essential part of life. French children enter into pony clubs the same way kids in the United States join soccer or baseball teams. It is integral to the French culture, and the keepers of that culture are trained at the Ecole Nationale d’Equitation in Saumur, France. While better known for the Cadre Noir performance team, the school is first and foremost a place of teaching and education. In fact in France, one cannot be hired as a trainer or instructor without having graduated from the school. This prestigious school can have more than one hundred applicants for fewer than 15 spots.
“The school teaches the Classical French technique,” said Pierre Cousyn a graduate of the school, with two degrees in instruction and training. Teaching the horse as well as the rider, he said, is the most important lesson the students learn. “Fifty percent of the score of the final exam came from the teaching exam. During the final exam we had of course to give a lesson from a topic I we got 1/2 hour before. We had to perform the dressage
test, the jumping test, the cross country test,” he said.
“But after every riding test, we had to answer questions, like ‘If you had a client with this kind of problem what would you do?’ They were asking us to be able to explain what we did from the trainer point of view. It was really to check our skills as a trainer not just to perform. You can do a beautiful dressage test, but not be able to explain it or teach it.”
When Cousyn was attending the Ecole Nationale in the late 1980s, the school days included classes in training & riding in four disciplines: dressage, show jumping, eventing and young horses. Formal classes began early in the morning, around 8am, and include a “young horse” class, but the day began as early as 7am with grooming and care of the horses.
Students are given a five year old at the beginning of the school year, and are expected to show the young horse in a three day event by the end of the year.
Afternoons are usually filled with theory classes in each discipline as well as the teaching classes, where students are taught how to teach the theory and lessons. Each day they took up to five different lessons with five different instructors all expert in their own field. The school year lasts from September through August.
The philosophy of the French method is, according to Cousyn, based on a series of steps, a sort of building block foundation for the horse and the rider.
“At school we really focused on the basics, to have a structure. You know you do step one, step two, and you don’t go to step two unless you have step one,” he says. “It was very very articulate, it is easy for the horse to do. We have a map already.” This map is essential to teaching, he says, and the lack of a basic foundation can lead to more problems at the higher levels of dressage and eventing.
The instructors of the Ecole Nationale are taught to look for the root of all problems when training a horse & rider, not just the surface issues. Cousyn says everything can be brought back to the basics of foundation. “When you have a problem you focus on the cause, not the consequence.” For example, “A bad flying change is a consequence. The cause is a horse on the forehand, or he’s not engaged in the hind end, or he’s too young. He’s not through, the horse is tense and scared,” he says. “That’s the difference between tricks and training. When you train a horse you focus on basics, and to make simple things as good as possible. Doing tricks is to teach a movement without the intention of the quality of the training.”
This formal education system and the lack of emphasis on showing and performance are key differences between the French methods of training and those in the United States. In the U.S., Cousyn says he sees a larger emphasis on show results, which puts pressure on trainers to perform instead of giving them time to teach and train .
“In France, we don’t need to compete to be a well known trainer. The credibility of the trainer comes from his diploma, where he learns how to do it, and how to teach it.” In spite of the presence of many quality education programs in the U.S., such as the USDF Instructor Certification program, Cousyn feels that the lack of mandatory education in horse training can put some students at a disadvantage. “In America there isn’t a guarantee of teaching or training, because anyone can do it. In France, if you have no diploma, you cannot teach. No one would hire you without the diploma.”
