Vladimir Littauer

Early life

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 cornet Vladimir Sokolov introduced Littauer to Caprilli's revolutionary method of riding.

Early career

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 Rotmistr. 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. Rotmistr 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."

After coming to the United States in 1921, Littauer took factory and sales jobs in New York City to help him learn to speak English. In 1927 he happened to meet two fellow former Russian cavalry officers in New York: Sergei N. Kournakoff (more commonly spelled Sergey Nikolaevich Kurnakov ) and Kadir A. Guirey. Together the three founded the Boots and Saddles Riding School. Littauer, Kournakoff and Guirey started the school teaching principles of dressage they had learned in cavalry school, but soon they began experimenting with the radical and progressive Caprilli methods. The forward riding precepts of Caprilli proved more practical and accessible than traditional manège-influenced dressage for their civilian riding students who had limited time for riding and varying levels of fitness. Despite the Great Depression, the Boots and Saddles School thrived, adding a new ring and stables in New York City.

Writing career

Littauer began writing, publishing Jumping the Horse in 1931 and The Defense of the Forward Seat with his co-founder, Kournakoff, in 1934. In 1937 Littauer left Boots and Saddles to begin working with students on their own horses and to offer riding clinics at schools, colleges and hunt clubs. By this time he was recognized "as one of the most influential teachers, lecturers and equestrian authors in the country."

Littauer continued to teach and write for the next thirty years. He was a frequent guest lecturer at Sweet Briar College in Virginia where one of his students, Harriet Rogers, founded a riding program for the college. Over the years Captain V. S. Littauer conducted original research which, through his writing, resulted in major contributions to the sport of riding. In a 1972 speech, Rogers referred to Littauer as "the outstanding proponent of Forward Riding in this country." Former Director of the Sweet Briar College Riding Program and author Paul Cronin called Littauer "the most influential author and instructor in America in this century." Long-time Chronicle of the Horse contributor George Morris cites Littauer in his list of "the greatest American authors" on riding.

Legacy

A few of Littauer's significant contributions to modern riding include his accurate analysis of the gaits and mechanics of the jump; his recognition and advocacy of controls as a component of a forward seat riding system; his development of three levels of control for teaching riders and for schooling horses; his advocacy of the voice as an aid in schooling and in riding; his definition of the concept of stabilization; and his philosophy that encourages riders to feel empathy for their horses. His teachings continue to be advocated and supported by the American National Riding Commission and taught by schools affiliated with the ANRC.

Although Littauer retired from teaching in the late 1970s, he continued to write until the early 1980s. He died at his home on Long Island on August 31, 1989 at the age of 97. His personal library, including his instructional film and manuscript collection, resides at the National Sporting Library in Middleburg, Virginia.

Vladimir Littauer was married to Mary Aiken Graver Littauer in 1935 in New York City. They had one son, Andrew A. Littauer of Princeton, New Jersey.