Reflections on Riding and Jumping: Winning Techniques for Serious Riders (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: Grand Prix, Grands Prix, Time Allowed (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A classic work on horses and horsemanship by one of the most acclaimed riders in show jumping history.

About the Author

William Steinkraus, a member of the U.S. Equestrian Team for every years, has ridden in five Olympics, winning four medals--including the first individual equestrian gold medal ever won by an American. He has won over 100 international competitions, including many of the world's most coveted trophies. He lives in Noroton, Connecticut.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Trafalgar Square Books; Rev Sub edition (December 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570760438
• ISBN-13: 978-1570760433
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #472,721 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN INTUITIVE RIDER WHO THINKS, June 21, 2003

By A Customer

Mr. Steinkraus is an extraordinary person. An Olympic athlete. A winning hunter-jumper rider. A horse trainer (do we actually train horses, or do we just learn to get along with them?). A wonderfully gifted, natural writer. A great spokesperson for equestrianism. A gentleman scholar. If you like to ride -- for pleasure, or competition, or to learn about yourself -- this is an extraordinarily useful book. It is not about riding instruction; yet I think you will learn extraordinary things. It is not about hunter-jumper equitation, yet few people (Mr. Morris included) have looked better, or more natural, over oxers and obstacles of all kinds. It is not about horsemanship, yet Mr. Steinkraus knows horses, and feels horses, and has the ability to share this wonderful feeling-in-the-fingertips for the horse in every chapter of his book. You should not read this book to "learn", or "absorb", or "improve your skills". You should read this book for what it offers: the chance to sit with a sensitive, feeling, thoughtful, and intuitive person who is fascinated by the relationship between a rider and a horse; and who can share his thoughts and ideas in a simple, entertaining, and engaging way. As an author, Mr. Steinkraus is enormously candid and self-effacing. Few riders today can ever hope to achieve what he did, at the top of his form, in the 1950s and 60s. But those achievements really don't matter to us, in the context of his book. What matters to us are his ideas, his insights, and the ways he expresses them for those of us in search of better understanding, better connection, and a greater communion with this amazing animal, the horse, that absorbs so much of our time and attention. If you read this book as I did, I promise you will never obsess about your riding style, or set objectives in a compulsive and manipulative way. You will, however, approach your horse, and your session, and the task at hand, or the day in the field, in a fresh, clear frame of mind that lets you relax, think through the work you have planned, and go about it in a thoughtful, contemplative, and enjoyable way. If you can find the zone that Mr. Steinkraus found, you will be relaxed, in tune with your horse, and enormously receptive to the magic that comes your way. In my riding career, I played polo and rode to hounds. I was never a competitive equestrian. But thinking about myself, and my horse, and what I was there to do, in an intuitive way, thanks to Mr. Steinkraus, made me feel better, enjoy it more, and actually, be a little better at it. It certainly allowed me to have a lot more fun, which is why I highly recommend this book to you. If you read it, I know you will enjoy it, and I know you will tell your riding friends about it. (By the way, if you would like to see Mr. Steinkraus as a groom, believe it or not, look for an excellent book about horsemanship, written with great clarity, by his sister, M.A. Stoneridge. If I am not mistaken, Mr. Steinkraus posed for the pictures in her book.) In every way, Reflections on Riding and Jumping by William Steinkraus is a library must. I am excited that it is still in print.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very useful learning "tool", December 29, 1999

By	"gui-gui" (Buenos Aires, Argentina) - See all my reviews

I found this book both interesting and enriching. Its clear and concise and easy to apply in practice. Also it is evident that it was written by an experienced and talented rider as is William Steinkrauss. I have read this book about a year ago and find some things I've read have stayed with me ever since. It is a book to learn a lot about serious, proven techniques and conciously know which areas of your riding need improvement. It also has very helpful images to understand the text. I recommend it to show jumpers especially. Take the time to think about this reading and put it in practice, its worthwhile.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent overview for the jumping equestrian, July 22, 2006

By	CEK "Equestrienne" (Ames, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews

Steinkraus has produced an excellent and entertaining book focused on jumpers, which can also be applied to hunting and cross country to some degree. The experienced horeperson will find this book very useful; it blends riding "philosophy" with instruction and is extremely practical, as the author understands that not every horse is a push-button horse, and that love and kisses won't make a difficult or untalented mount (or rider!) better (unfortunately, many people-- and authors-- seem to hold the opinion that if you just love your horse enough all your problems will disapear). However, the novice horseperson, someone uninterested in jumping or someone who is just beginning to jump should probably look for eslewhere for written instruction, as Steinkraus' book is aimed at those with significant over-fences experience, and basics are generally not covered (although there is a section on introducing horses to jumping), and it is assumed that the reader has a significant base of experience (he calls 4'6" a "small" easy jump, to give you an idea) with horses and jumping. But for someone already familiar with jumping, this book is indespensible! Unlike many horse books, this book was a fun, quick read with plenty of dry humor, and not a boring treatise or sappy bleeding-heart pseudo-novel.