Nuno Oliveira

Nuno Oliveira (23 June 1925 – 2 February 1989) was a Portuguese equestrian, horse trainer and dressage instructor.[1][2] His teachings have inspired riders and trainers all over the world to adopt the 'baroque' or 'classical' style of working with the horse; an art which goes back hundreds of years and encompasses the fundamentals which most 'modern' disciplines can be traced back to.

Nuno was born in Lisbon on June 23, 1925. He studied riding under Joaquim Goncalves de Miranda, in the style of the riding academy of Versailles. A great teacher, he possessed a near-encyclopedic knowledge of equestrian theory that crossed many styles and countries. His principal influences were François Robichon de La Guérinière, Gustav Steinbrecht and François Baucher.

Oliveira was offered, but declined, the post of director of the Escola Portuguesa de Arte Equestre.[3]

On February 2, 1989 he was discovered dead in his bed in a hotel in Perth Western Australia. He enjoyed opera music when riding, especially Verdi.

Biography

1. Childhood and adolescence

Nuno Oliveira was born to a well-off family. He was the son of a protestant minister working for a bank, Guido Oliveira. His mother was very religious. He was involved in the horse-riding world from a very young age as his cousin, Joaquim Goncalves de Miranda, former equestrian of the Escola Portuguesa de Arte Equestre and in all likelihood turned autodidact, took him as a student from the age of eleven, until his death in 1940. Nuno Oliveira simultaneously pursued his scholarship at the anglo-portuguese secondary school, from the age of 7 to 14. He had the opportunity to learn more about classical riding in the library of Manuel de Barros, a wealthy horse owner. It’s also during his adolescence that his father introduced him to opera. He obtained his baccalauréat.

2. Beginnings

Nuno Oliveira started his career by working the horses of Portuguese wealthy families and merchants, without having his own stables or indoor arena at first. He didn't stay in Lisbon for long, as a horse owner noticed him, and settled him in a suburban yard. He started performing shows at the Coliseu dos Recreios. His reputation started to expand until he was recognised in Portugal as a riding master in 1948, the year of his wedding.

He taught for a long time in Santo Adrião. At the age of 35, he worked in a modest yard in Odivelas, in Lisbon’s suburbs. His days started at 6am with the training of young horses. He also worked with show jumping horses with refusal issues, and troubled bullfighting horses. The ambassadors of France and Switzerland in Portugal and the princess of Barcelona already featured among his students. He was officially presented to the French equestrian world in 1964, upon an initiative of L'Éperon’s editor-in-chief. The French press, the best professional riders, the Cadre Noir riders and the French equestrian federation discovered him at this point.

3. Recognition

In 1967, Nuno Oliveira gave his first lessons outside of Portugal, in Belgium, where he would be invited twice every year. He opened his own equestrian school in an old sheepfold in Aveçada (north of Lisbon), which attracted over time hundreds of riding students from all over the world. Thanks to unique his educational skills, Nuno Oliveira was able to teach his art. He traveled a lot, even to Australia and Peru. Despite his popularity, he avoided the world of equestrian competition and lived in relative poverty. He refused the direction of the Portuguese school of equestrian art (Escola Portuguesa de Arte Equestre) to keep his independence.

4. Death

His frantic work rhythm, shared between riding and the writing of his books, was possibly at the root of his early death. At the age of 60, Nuno Oliveira suffered back pain and heart failure. On February 2nd, 1989, he was found dead on his hotel bed in Australia. He didn't have enough money on his bank account to have his body brought back to Portugal, and his son João had to sell some of his lesson horses to gather the sum.

Personality and Sensibilities

Nuno Oliveira was known for his exceptional artistic sensibility, but also as a choleric and excessive man. He admitted himself these excesses, mostly in his letters. He had fall-outs with a certain number of riders and teachers, including René Bacharach, an admirer of his. His character appears in his writings, through the frequent use of caricature. He showed a dual or even binary vision, especially as he kept opposing the competition rider - a robotic technician - as compared to the equestrian artist. His approach was opposed to the world of competition, which he famously hated. His opinion can appear simplistic by lack of moderation: he denigrates, or even “destroys” riders opposed to his approach of riding, especially through his hate of German riding, as opposed to the “Latin” riding he supported. He also voiced criticism toward baucherism.

He showed in return great empathy to people as well as to horses, and spoke at length of the spiritual dimension in riding – which explains his rejection of “mechanical” riding, which ignores the sensibility and psychological aspects he cared about. Carlos Henriques Pereira took it as a proof of a certain uneasiness due to Oliveira’s position as a misunderstood man, who had reached such a level that he couldn’t encounter anyone anymore. According to Michel Henriquet, Oliveira had 'the unpredictable reactions of an artist torn by anxiety'. He couldn’t help himself to counsel the riders close to him to help them progress, criticizing them with alacrity if necessary, while never hiding any part of his knowledge. He showed generosity through his whole life, allowing riders with low-income to follow his teaching for free, even giving a horse to a student he was fond of.

Approach and sources of inspiration

Nuno Oliveira never wrote about one method of dressage, considering each horse unique and demanding a unique dressage training. He approached riding as an art and not as a sport. According to every testimony, each horse he rides underwent a change of attitude when Olivera got in the saddle. He got the best out of each horse, and assured that the heart can surpass technique. He possessed a rare ability to explain verbally feelings or sensations.

His riding has been categorized in different ways, but he qualified it himself as “Latin”. Some observers tied him to the French classical riding tradition as it was practiced in the 18th century, to a moderated baucherism, or even as a synthesis of different equestrian movements from different countries. His school and his principles are the direct expression of the basis of equestrian art: lightness and love of horses. As a great reader of the classical masters, he possessed an encyclopaedic equestrian knowledge which surpassed every frontier, every nationalism. His main sources of inspiration were La Guérinière, Steinbrecht and Baucher. He detected in his readings a fundamental unity between these masters. He developed lightness by limiting as much as possible the rider’s interventions.

Opera and music

Nuno Oliveira stayed all his life an avid amateur of operas. According to Maxime Le Forestier, he had two big phases in his life: one where he listened to Beethoven, and one where he listened to Verdi. When Le Forestier was asked by Oliveira to sing in his indoor, he requested the master rode for the occasion an old horse named Ansioso, who shared 'a physical resemblance to Beethoven'. He had the animal interpret The Emperor’s concerto, as the pair gave the impression of being a centaur. Oliveira’s horses had a special relationship with music, as they were accustomed to cadence themselves on musical rhythms.

Legacy

Nuno Oliveira is recognized as a master of equestrian art, the greatest of the 20th century. He lies at the origin of the resurgence of the Portuguese riding during the 1950s, and a renewed interest for the lusitano breed. A room is dedicated to him at the Académie du spectacle équestre of Versailles. After his death, many European riders developed a fascination for the Iberian horses. Antoine Decoux, one of his most loyal students, set himself to put in order and to publish the master’s advice which he had shared all his life, in order to perpetuate this source of precious and relevant guidance. He died before finishing, but Madame Laurenty continued his work and published in 2007 Paroles du maître (The master’s words), completing Oliveira’s writings.

Two documentaries are dedicated to him: Nuno Oliveira, l’écuyer du XXième siècle (Nuno Oliveira, the écuyer of the 20th century) distributed by 24 Images Production in 2007, and Nuno Oliveira, 20 ans après (Nuno Oliveira, 20 years after) in 2009.

Published works

The published works of Nuno Oliveira include, but probably are not limited to, the following:

References

  1. ↑ Master Nuno de Oliveira. Quinta do Brejo. Accessed August 2015.
  2. ↑ Sylvia Loch ([n.d.]). Nuno Oliveira - O Mestre (in Portuguese). Equisport Online. Accessed August 2015.
  3. ↑ Michel Henriquet (22 July 2009). Nuno Oliveira et l'Oliveirisme vu par Michel Henriquet (in French). Cheval Magazine. Accessed August 2015.
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