The Portuguese School of Equestrian Art – PSEA seen through the eyes of some of its former riders
Dressage Portugal – DP asked some ex-riders of the PSEA to share their memories, as well as their views of the present and future of the School. Luís Valença, the riders Carlos Pinto, Daniel Pinto, Miguel Ralão, Pedro Torres and Jorge Pereira were some that accepted this request.
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All agreed that their passage through PSEA left abiding memories of their careers as riders; especially those that entered the school very young and at the beginning of their career, irrespective of whether their time with the School was short or long.
The technical solid basics learned in Dr. Guilherme Borba’s lessons, were mentioned several times by different riders. Daniel Pinto says “Dr. Guilherme Borba was a person that influenced a lot of my way of riding. He approached riding with me in a more technical form, showing me that this was the way to get results.” This is a view shared by the rider Carlos Pinto; “The School’s Director, Dr. Guilherme Borba, a great rider with a great technical knowledge, taught me the basis of equitation and respect for the horse that should always be present in those who train horses.” Miguel Ralão says “It’s often that I encounter a situation and think what would be the advice from Dr. Guilherme Borba.”
The informality and happy environment, comradeship and helping of one another, are the trademark of the early years of the school. These times are remembered by Luís Valença “The school suffered a lot in its early years, but took great pride in its riders. In the first 7-8 years of the School, it was like holding a premature baby, with lots of difficulties and helping him to be happy in a short moment in time. At that time, everyone worked for free. They were there for the love of the horse and to make something born. In the years we’ve been at the Jockey Club (in Lisbon), each one had his own horse and we only had the indoor school available after 8 pm to midnight. And so, at the end of another exhausting day, João Pedro Rodrigues would come from Cascais and me from Vila Franca; the others lived close by, and at the end of a day’s work we gathered with an extraordinary enthusiasm and passion. It was a group of passionate amateurs.”
“It was an amazing experience, where I learned the basis of equitation, and everything was done with a lot of good will and good disposition,” says Jorge Pereira. Pedro Torres remembers “the first days I very nervous, afraid of not being good enough to belong to the elite of School riders.”
Belonging to the School “gave us a sense of great prestige”, says Daniel Pinto that also highlights the PSEA’s importance as a teaching entity “because it not only maintains the exercises performed in competition but also the airs above the ground that complement the horses training. It is a school that practices a modern equitation and that has riders competing,” as well as “3 former riders with important international and Olympic careers”. In his opinion, the school should highlight this fact more to get more international visibility and importance.
The compatibility between classical equitation and competition was also mentioned by Luís Valença . He voiced a very particular view about this theme; “The school differentiates itself from the rest of the equitation: the school represents the world and art. And art has to be lived. Like Master Nuno Oliveira would say, riding must come from the heart, heart and head, only then there are hands and legs. So the School has to be the creator of riders that live the equestrian art. The school has to be a centre of live art. People have to be passionate not only about riding, but also reading, poetry, music, and that whole set is what makes a rider. Sometimes the Master was riding and crying at the same time. And then when talking he would say “the horse gave me this, with the music and I got emotional…” this is the feeling of true equestrian art.”
The importance of the school in the promotion of Portuguese equitation and the Lusitano horse is equally recognized by all the people interviewed. Both are functions that they wish to see strengthened with the trial and improvement of the Alter Real horses.
All riders hope that the School keeps going, and in the words of Carlos Pinto “that it continues to evolve in terms of technical quality and horses.” For the future, Miguel Ralão would like “the PSEA to take a more serious role in riders formation like a true Academy and in training and testing of the horses, not only for the school, but using the valuable opinion of its riders to promote the Lusitano, in broader terms, and so provide a service in selecting and improving the stock.”
Luís Valença highlights the importance of installing the school facilities in the Belém area as it is being currently planned. “The school has been surviving in borrowed spaces, without any facilities. Now it’s a bit better because it already has stalls and an arena that can drain water, but it has been a very tough path. I believe that the promises will now be delivered and that in 2010 we will be installed in the horse worthy facilities. Because the great stars are the horses and not the riders. The horses give us the beauty of their art. The horses will give us the meaning for the existence of all of this. There will be plenty of riders. Better or worse, they are the second element of the horse-rider partnership. It is the horse that we have to dignify, as soon as we have the facilities and if God is willing, at the Calçada da Ajuda (Lisbon street near Belém). People say it will be inaugurated in 2010, because the Republic will be celebrating 100 years of existence and it will be something with royal roots that will enhance the party. Once again, the horse has that valor, of rising above politics. Look at the importance that the horse has in Man’s existence. I think that when the School has its own facilities, it will be possible to form not only riders, but people with feeling that live that culture.”
DP thanks the riders that accepted to contribute for this article.
