Achenbach driving system

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Achenbach cross leash
One-handed leading of the lines to Achenbach:
six-in-hand salutes ;
Parrying an eight-in-hand

The Achenbach driving system is a driving instruction in equestrian sport developed by Benno von Achenbach . The Achenbach driving course has become part of the tournament regulations in Germany and has been adopted by many countries. Today it has become the most widely learned and practiced method of carriage driving and driving in Europe in terms of equipment, teaching and competitions to a quasi-standard.

history

Benno von Achenbach was the head of the Imperial Fahrstall until it was dissolved by the events of the First World War . In Berlin in 1918 he wrote the driving regulations for the Prussian Army . In the 20s he became a teacher at the cavalry school of the Reichswehr in Hanover.

Back then, driving styles were strongly regional. In the army , however, a uniform driving style was desired so that all horses and drivers were trained equally and every driver could in principle steer any team. Achenbach recognized that the different driving and tensioning styles each brought some advantages, but also disadvantages. On his travels through Europe he gained a broad knowledge of the different driving styles. He made several trips to Paris to Edwin Howlett , a master of the English technique of line guidance , as well as to England and the USA to study the various driving styles.

In 1922 he wrote his main work, Tensioning and Driving. Working with the double longe as well as guidelines for harnesses and covering for driving price applications . Building on Howlett's driving style, it was his goal to drive as horse-friendly, functional and safe as possible and he introduced a generally applicable driving system with partially standardized equipment (Achenbach leash). The horses should also be able to use their strength optimally. Achenbach himself kept his apprenticeship fairly general, but some of his learner drivers gave the system more details.

The Achenbach system is still considered to be a universally applicable assessment standard in international driving.

Principles of the Achenbach system

  1. To correct driving include: The Achenbach leash , the whip and a fixed pad , so no game balance .
  2. Driving with four and more horses is based on correct driving in one and two horses.
  3. The driver must be able to free his right hand in every situation, e.g. B. for braking, use of the whip aid, hand signals or greetings.
  4. All turns (turns) are only initiated by giving in the outer line. The turns are preceded by a shortening of the tempo.
  5. The vertical position of both fists enables turns by simply turning the wrists.
  6. Right and left turns are fundamentally different from one another and are driven differently because the driver is sitting on the box on the right.
  7. Letting one or more lines slide makes correct driving impossible, is dangerous in traffic and is therefore prohibited.

Correct driving includes blinkers , without which no differentiated whip aids can be given in the case of multiple horses, since not only the horse in question reacts, but all horses that can see the whip movement .

Leash hold

Basic attitude
Posture of use
Dressage or work posture

There are three ways to hold the lines.

Basic attitude

In the basic posture, both lines are in the left hand, the flesh sides of the lines point upwards. The left leash lies over the index finger, the right leash lies between the index finger or middle finger and ring finger. The ends of the line hang outwards over the left thigh and are tightly enclosed by the three lower fingers. The thumb and index finger are slightly open. The left fist stands vertically about a hand's breadth in front of the middle of the body. The whip is in the right hand and points left, forward, upward at about eleven o'clock. The other postures are built on the basic posture; it is never given up, except when the lines are shortened by a larger amount.

Posture of use

The usage posture is used to relieve the left hand, to shorten and lengthen and to turn. The right hand goes on the right line and grasps the right line with the lower three fingers. The thumb and forefinger go over the left leash. The right hand now slides back on the lines until it is directly in front of the left hand.

Work or dressage posture

For the work or dressage posture, the right hand pulls about a hand's breadth of the right leash out of the left hand. Both fists are now about a hand's breadth apart to the right and left of the middle of the body.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Andreas Furger: Carriages of Europe of the 19th and 20th centuries. Equipage manual . Olms, Hombrechtikon 2003, ISBN 978-3-4870-8446-6 , p. 96
  2. ↑ Tensing and driving. Working with the double longevity as well as guidelines for harnessing and covering for driving price applications , Benno von Achenbach, 1922, reprint of the edition from 1925, Fn-Verlag, 1999, ISBN 3-8724-8042-1 .
  3. ↑ Die Fahrlehre, Christian Lamparter, Aachen, 7th edition, 1991, page 7 ff