Vladimir Littauer

Captain Vladimir Stanislavovitch Littauer (January 10, 1892 – August 31, 1989) was an influential horseback riding master and the author of books and films on educated riding and the training of horses. Littauer's riding instruction was in great demand during his lifetime by both riding instructors and amateurs and he was an early, important and controversial advocate of the forward seat riding system. He wrote more than a dozen books between 1930 and 1973 which sparked vivid debates among experienced riders of various backgrounds. He also wrote many articles on forward riding (currently referred to as "hunt seat") for notable equestrian magazines of his day. His methods continue to be taught at Sweet Briar College and other prominent riding programs.

Littauer was born in the Ural Mountains of Russia but grew up in St. Petersburg. In the fall of 1911, at age 19, he entered the two year officer training program at the Nicholas Cavalry School in St. Petersburg. During his time in the school, Littauer's equestrian training was based on French dressage as taught by James Fillis.

During the Summer Olympics of 1912, Russian cavalry officers who had spent time in Pinerolo, Italy learning methods pioneered by Captain Federico Caprilli distinguished themselves and excited much interest in Caprilli's new system of "forward riding;" a system which represented a repudiation of traditional manège-style dressage techniques. Littauer took notice. Around 1913 senior coronet Vladimir Sokolov introduced Littauer to Caprilli's revolutionary method of riding.

Son of a St. Petersburgh industrialist, Vladimir Littauer attended the Nicholas Cavalry School as a younker (officer cadet) for two years, starting in 1911. On graduation he was commissioned, on August 6, 1913, as a cornet (second lieutenant) in the 1st Sumsky Hussars. This was the senior line regiment of the Russian Imperial Cavalry, dating from 1651, and in his autobiography "Russian Hussar" Littauer describes in detail a lifestyle that was about to end. After a year of peacetime garrison duties in Moscow, Littauer and his regiment were mobilized for active service against Germany with the outbreak of World War I. He continued to serve as a mounted cavalryman on the Eastern Front until the October Revolution of 1917, reaching the rank of Captain. After leaving his disintegrating regiment Littauer joined the anti-Bolshevik White Army. During the Russian Civil War he fought in the Ukraine and Siberia, finally escaping to Canada with his family in the early spring of 1920. Captain Littauer's war-time experiences demonstrated to him the impracticality and limitations of dressage for field riding and combat. He was later inspired to write, "The method of riding in the Russian cavalry was of the manège type, which today is usually called Dressage . . . This artificial system worked well on the parade ground, but not across country, and the experiences of war disappointed even its most ardent supporters."

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