This work presents the heritage of classical theories of riding in a modern, highly readable format. Jean Froissard takes the reader through the development of a dressage horse; dressage in its truest sense, the training of a riding horse. He begins with the criteria for selecting a mount, then describes the progress of early training which is basic for any horse, whatever its destination. Building systematically upon what has been learned, with constant emphasis on rewards, for even the slightest improvement, over punishment, he then takes the reader through the training progression up to the highest levels of dressage. Numerous exercises are included and Froissard clearly and lucidly explains how and why a movement should be performed and improved. The emphasis is always on the practical rather than the heavily theoretical, a blessing to those riders who have frequently found themselves "lost" when trying to apply what they have read to their day-to-day riding.