Principles of Dressage and Equitation – James Fillis

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In fairness to M. H. Hayes, the Duke of Newcastle defined ‘Break’ as follows: “to break a horse in trotting, is to make him light upon the hand by trotting, in order to make him fit for a gallop. To break a horse for hunting, is to supple him, to make him take the habit of running.”

In the original French text, where Fillis used the term dressage to refer to basic training, we have used the term ‘training’ instead of ‘breaking.’ And, where Fillis used the term dressage to refer to haute école, we have used the term ‘dressage’ instead of ‘breaking.’ These re-translations are closer to Fillis’ original meaning.

Our re-titled text with direct translations of the original French content sheds new positive light on Fillis’ historically important magnum opus. Our fully footnoted edition is richly annotated and contains all the additional material from the authoritative J. A. Allen edition by exclusive permission granted to Xenophon Press. We are especially grateful for the proofreading of Brenner Klenzman in this edition.

This exclusive edition of Principles of Dressage and Equitation is the only edition available both in print and as an e-book.

 James Fillis' master work, Breaking and Riding has been a touchstone of commonsense training for over a century. Xenophon Press has returned to the original French language manuscript entitled Principe de dressage et d'equitation and re-translated some of M.H.Hayes' translation of this work's references to 'breaking.'

Fillis' used the term "dressage" two ways: 1. basic training and taming of the horse; 2. sophisticated advanced training. At the turn of the century (19-20th), "dressage" was not in use in the English language. Hence, the term was omitted from M.H.Hayes first English language edition and 'breaking' substituted. Xenophon Press' edition of this classic is fully footnoted and closely follows the original French edition. Complete military commentaries and robust footnotes make this the authoritative edition. We are proud to finally offer this great work in an appropriately accurate and complete edition. James Fillis (1834–1913) was English-born and became a revered French riding master. He was taught by Francois Caron, a direct student of Francois Baucher, and then studied with Victor Franconi, owner and director of the Cirque Olympique de Franconi. Fillis was hired to train horses for the French Army during the Franco-Prussian War, and therefore his name is inscribed at Saumur on the roll of Écuyeres Célebres. While performing with the Ciniselli Circus in St. Petersburg, Russia - he drew the attention of Grand Duke Nicholas, and became Ecuyer en chef at the Russian Cavalry School.