Discover Classical Riding with Inside the Manège, and dive into insights from classical riders, training concepts, and equestrian culture rooted in the art of dressage and classical riding. My name is Maria Cooke and I'm a Zurich‑based, Canadian classical dressage rider and equestrian writer, who began as a hunter/jumper and moved to Europe to learn and practice my passion, classical dressage.
Join me as we explore:
The details of classical dressage, from biomechanics to self-carriage and balance
Baroque influences such as from the Portuguese and French classical equitation traditions
Training philosophies from classical masters (like Nuno Oliveira, François Baucher, and Gustav Steinbrecht)
Interviews and training principles that explain classical riding for riding today
The Unseen Influence of Your Internal State on Riding & Evolution of FEI Dressage | Dominique Barbier
What if your thoughts and emotions were riding aids as well? Dominique Barbier explores how a rider’s internal state affects the horse, and reflects on how the FEI dressage rules have changed over time. Dominique Barbier is a classical trainer focused on deepening the communication between horse and rider, using subtle, as well as internal aids to develop lightness in dressage. With his unique approach, Dominique has taught riders in search of lightness all over the world for 50 years, and ha...
29 Aug 2026
The Forgotten Exercises Of Classical Dressage & the Academic Art of Riding | Bent Branderup
Bent Branderup has spent years looking into the historical roots of classical riding and adapting its traditions for training today, in what’s known as the Academic Art of Riding. From rediscovering the school halt, to riding on the square used by La Guérinière, Bent shares his experience and historical findings to help more riders achieve riding as an art. Bent Branderup is a Danish classical rider and the founder of the Academic Art of Riding, which now has students and trainers around the ...
21 Jul 2026
Marius Schneider: Why Groundwork & Adjusting the Horse’s Frame is Key, & Riding Beyond Piaffe/Passage
Master Trainer of the Academic Art of Riding Marius Schneider shares why he chose Academic Riding, why he finds groundwork and changing the horse’s frame so crucial in the horse’s training, and how he uses the airs above the ground to benefit the horse. Marius Schneider teaches the Academic Art of Riding extensively, sharing his passion both at his own stable Gestüt Moorhof in Germany, as well as internationally and online. His focus is on encouraging his students to foster a better relations...
30 May 2026
Hélène Arianoff: The Classical Riding Aids, Nuno Oliveira, & Modern Dressage Competition | Ep. 6
Hélène Arianoff, a Belgian classical rider with over 60 years experience and longtime student of Nuno Oliveira, shares how to use the classical riding aids, and how she thinks modern dressage could return to classical riding principles. Having taught all over the world, Hélène Arianoff is dedicated to passing on the principles she learned with Nuno Oliveira, and helping riders achieve the same moments of unity with the horse that she experienced through his training. Having learned with Nuno ...
5 Apr 2026
Classical Dressage for the Horse’s Long-Term Health: Sonja Weber on Optimising Posture | Ep. 5
Sonja Weber, a classical rider and trainer with over 25 years of experience, shares how to keep the horse healthy long-term with classical dressage, through developing its carrying capacity. Passionate about sharing how training can be used to develop the horse’s body to support its health, she has written two books, and produced several films on how to use collection to build the horse’s thoracic sling muscles, and establish a healthy posture. Based in Germany, and originally from Aust...
17 Feb 2026
Nuno Oliveira’s Art of Riding & Life: Pureza Oliveira on Her Father, His Books, and Her Story
Pureza Oliveira, daughter of the now legendary classical rider Nuno Oliveira, shares stories of her father as a rider, an artist, and how her own story and artistic journey developed, told through her experiences with her father. Having translated both the collected early and later writings of Nuno Oliveira for the first time into English, she continues to be an important representative of her father’s life and work, and can uniquely share what it was really like to grow up with him, and obse...
13 Dec 2025
Anja Beran: The Crisis of Modern Riding & Using Dressage as Physiotherapy
Anja Beran, a highly respected classical rider and trainer based in the south of Germany, shares where modern riding has lost its way – and why we should return to training dressage based on classical principles. With over 30 years of experience, Anja Beran has taught internationally and written several books on classical training. From Iberian horses to Akhal-Tekes and warmbloods, she applies classical principles to bring out the best in horses of all breeds, conformations, and backgro...
24 Oct 2025
Philippe Karl on the Problems of Modern Dressage and the Essence of French Classical Riding
Philippe Karl, renowned rider and teacher of French classical riding, shares his passionate critiques of modern dressage riding, and discusses how we can train according to the nature of the horse, and what differentiates the French classical tradition. Philippe Karl has been riding and teaching for over 50 years, and was a rider of the famous Cadre Noir in Saumur, France for 13 years. Having started his own school called the School of Lightness, or l’École de Légèreté, he has taught students...
6 Aug 2025
Luís Valença on Equestrian Art, Nuno Oliveira, and What Makes a Classical Rider.
Classical dressage master Luís Valença shares about equestrian art, stories of his work with horses and Nuno Oliveira, and what makes a classical rider. Luís Valença is a renowned Portuguese classical master with over 60 years of experience. He studied directly with masters such as Nuno Oliveira, worked with the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art, and has been driving spectacular equestrian shows like Apassionata and Cavalluna with his family. For over 40 years, he has taught and train...
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5.0 / 5
10 ratings
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