Big names to teach at classical riding anniversary event

The Classical Riding Club is celebrating its 21st anniversary with a demonstration by international trainers.

There are five trainers giving lecture demonstrations, at Keysoe Equestrian Centre, Bedfordshire, on 30 July, including Colonel Christian Carde, who will be doing his first demo in the UK.

The former chief instructor of Cade Noir in Saumur, France, Colonel Carde was a member of the French national dressage team before turning to coaching.

Also making his first appearance in the UK is Uwe Spenlen, a former FEI dressage judge, who lives in Germany.

Others giving demonstrations are Nuno Cavaco, Patrick Print OBE and Lady Sylvia Loch, who is organising the event and founded the club.

The club was started to raise awareness of the ethos of the classical schools of riding which has always concentrated on teaching the rider as much as training the horse. It now has 1,000 members.

“The whole idea of classical riding is now spreading. People are fed up of being told to push and pull their horse to get an outline,” said Lady Loch (pictured).

Mr Cavaco has ridden with the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art for 25 years.

Based in Portugal, he runs residential clinics at Quinta do Rol where students can ride trained Lusitano schoolmasters.

Mr Print, a director of HorseScotland, was also chairman of the BHS from 2004 to 2010, and is the author of the BHS Complete Manual of Equitation.

Related articles:

• Meet our latest blogger: dressage rider Steve Wallace
• David Pincus: classical training vs. modern breeding in dressage *H&H VIP*
• 15 funky riding boots to satisfy your inner dressage diva

The instructors have been bought together by Lady Loch, who founded the Classical Riding Club in 1995 and with her late husband Lord Loch imported the first Lusitano horses into the UK.

Lady Loch, the only British person accredited as an honorary instructor by the Portugese School of Equestrian Art, said the anniversary event is “the culmination of my life’s work”.

During the day a dozen different horses and their riders will receive training from the instructors.

Tickets are available on the door for £55 to £75 or visit the website to book.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now