Hi and welcome to my Website! For those who already know me this site is all about Classical Dressage, and for those who don't - let me explain my involvement.

Quite simply, I've been riding and practising the art of Classical Dressage for some 30 years. In addition, I'm a trainer, teacher, writer, video producer, lecturer, and the Founder of the Lusitano Breed Society of Great Britain and the Classical Riding Club.

My late husband and I were the first to establish a large Classical Dressage academy of Lusitano and Spanish horses in the UK back in l979.

Long before Classical Dressage became fashionable and acceptable again, I was teaching and promoting the subject throughout the world including South and North America, South Africa and Australasia. According to my publishers, I'm the most prolific and widely read English speaking author on the subject still alive today. I hope to continue!

The Sylvia Loch Classical Dressage System - Why It Doesn't Exist?

The answer to this question is as simple as the answer to the next. Like the wheel, Classical Dressage cannot be reinvented - it is as old as the hills! How therefore could I ever make such a claim? Seriously, there is no new system. Those people who trade on their own names to promote something, which was discovered, practised and written about hundreds of years before the birth of Christ can best be described as good salesmen and women. Podhajsky didn't teach the Podhajsky Method, Oliveira didn't teach the Oliveira Technique....although attitudes and interpretations may change, all bowed to the wisdom of the past!

Photo by Menut: Coutesy of Joao Oliveira

Classical Dressage - What's In It For Me?

Correct or not - does it really matter? some people ask. And who is going to judge the difference? There are many reasons why it matters to do things correctly, but the truth is an incorrect way of riding will impair the horse's movement and athletic ability and can do much damage both physically and mentally. Practised over a period of time, it generally leads to unsoundness in the horse and back pain for both horse and rider. But let's not be negative about this. The positive side is so compelling, it would be madness to reject it. We will go deeper into the psychological benefits later, but from a purely practical point of view -

Classical dressage is safer
Classical dressage is logical
Classical dressage tones and builds your horse's body (naturally)
Classical dressage makes horses more beautiful
Classical dressage makes horses happier
Classical dressage allows horses to live to a much greater age - e.g. the horses of the Spanish Riding School of Vienna
Classical dressage reduces stress both in human and horse
Classical dressage tones and balances the rider's body
Classical dressage challenges the rider's mind

Classical riding is about acquiring the knowledge to tune into the horse so that his natural grandeur and abilities are freed up and maximised (photo by Bob Langrish from The Classical Rider)

The Inevitable Questions