This title features breathtaking photography and fascinating history combined in one book - a must for all equestrian enthusiasts. For the best part of 400 years, four illustrious riding schools have striven for perfection in the equestrian art: the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, the Cadre Noir in Saumur, the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art in Jerez, and the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art in Lisbon. All four are the guardians of traditions - ancient, technical and artistic -, which they have preserved and enriched, each within the culture of their own country. The meticulously researched text reveals the schools' traditions, their functioning, the recruitment and training of the riders, their similarities and their differences, their horses, and finally, what the future holds for these prestigious, yet seemingly anachronistic, establishments.