haute école

horsemanship

Also known as: high school

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June 29, 2026

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Haute école is a highly stylized form of classical riding, also known as advanced dressage. It represents the most elaborate and specialized form of dressage training, where a horse's natural movements are developed to their utmost perfection. This discipline aims for a horse to move with exceptional balance and precision, responding to subtle cues from the rider.123

Dressage, in general, involves the systematic training of horses to perform a wide range of maneuvers, enhancing their performance and obedience. While elementary training focuses on basic movements, haute école pushes these capabilities to an advanced level. Famous examples of haute école movements include the pirouette, piaffe, passage, levade, courvette, and capriole. The ultimate goal is a harmonious partnership between horse and rider, where the horse appears to perform willingly and with confidence.23

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horsemanship
Dressage
Haute école is the most elaborate and specialized form of dressage, reaching its ultimate development at the Vienna school in its traditional white Lippizaner horses. Some characteristic haute école airs, or movements, are the pirouettes, which are turns on the haunches at the walk and…
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Haute école is the most elaborate and specialized form of dressage, reaching its ultimate development at the Vienna school in its traditional white Lippizaner horses. Some characteristic haute école airs, or movements, are the pirouettes, which are turns on the haunches at the walk and…
Read More

circus
Equestrian acts
…one or more horses; and high school, a spectacular form of dressage in which a horse executes complex maneuvers in response to imperceptible commands communicated through slight shiftings in the rider’s weight, pressure exerted by the knees and legs, or the handling of the reins. The Danish Schumann family, for…
Read More
…one or more horses; and high school, a spectacular form of dressage in which a horse executes complex maneuvers in response to imperceptible commands communicated through slight shiftings in the rider’s weight, pressure exerted by the knees and legs, or the handling of the reins. The Danish Schumann family, for…
Read More

dressage
…difficult airs and figures of haute école (“high school”). Dressage achieves balance, suppleness, and obedience with the purpose of improving and facilitating the horse’s performance of normal tasks. If the advanced training stage is reached, dressage may become an objective in itself. Competitions in dressage are regularly included in the…
Read More
…difficult airs and figures of haute école (“high school”). Dressage achieves balance, suppleness, and obedience with the purpose of improving and facilitating the horse’s performance of normal tasks. If the advanced training stage is reached, dressage may become an objective in itself. Competitions in dressage are regularly included in the…
Read More