Books by Francois Robichon De La Gueriniere

The author Francois Robichon de la Gueriniere was born in France in about 1688 and died in 1751. Little is known of him until 1715, when having been granted the title of Ecuyer he opened a riding academy in Paris opposite the Palais du Luxembourg. Here he taught both equitation and everything else relating to horses. By 1730 his reputation was such that the Master of the Horse entrusted him with the Academie des Tuileries, where he remained as director until his death. It was during this period that he achieved international renown, helped by the publication of his book. A student of Antoine de Vendeuil, and with a brother who also ran a riding academy, at Caen in Northwest France, La Gueriniere was held in high esteem by his colleagues and by the Court. However, he was not a good businessman; his academy cost him more than it brought in, and in spite of the support of his brother and the beneficence of the Court, he struggled constantly with money. Apparently the publication of his book in almost every European country did not come in time to help him in this respect. The translator Tracy Boucher has long had a long-standing involvement with the study of eighteenth-century French culture through formal research into the history of literature and musical performance practice. The insight gained in that work, combined with a keen interest in horsemanship, enable him to approach the translation of this classical work with an eye to its importance both in historical and cultural terms and as a key work in the equestrian arts. The result is a translation which is easy to read and yet which retains the flavour of the age in which it was written. The language is formal and attractive, and while it avoids the modern idiom it in no way obscures the author's meaning. Unlike many translations, the rhythm and the character of the original is very much in evidence. Tracy Boucher is a managing librarian on the faculty of Pacific University, Oregon, USA, and continues research into the literature and music of eighteenth-century France.