Sportsmanship
Proven Strategies, Refined Through Experience.
This collection brings together a select group of classic titles focused on skill, strategy, and the refinement of craft. Whether at the card table or on horseback, these books offer practical guidance rooted in experience, observation, and time-tested technique.
Focused on bridge and horsemanship, these works have remained relevant because they emphasize fundamentals—how to read situations, make better decisions, and develop a deeper feel for the process over time.
Clear, direct, and highly practical, they reflect a belief that mastery is built gradually, through attention, consistency, and a willingness to keep learning.
“I think that every rider who trains his own horse and wants to achieve success in dressage, will read this book with as much enthusiasm as I did. There is a great deal to be learned from it and there is every reason to be very grateful to Colonel Podhajsky for passing on his knowledge and experience”
-Prince Bernard of the Netherland
For over a quarter century, Colonel Alois Podhajsky was the Director of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, home of the famous white Lipizzaner stallions whose remarkable performances thrilled audiences throughout the world. Now, for the first time, Colonel Podhajsky has set forth in a practical, instructive fashion, the step-by-step methods of training both horse and rider that were used at the school and are applicable foundations of all good horsemanship. The purpose of these methods is to develop the natural abilities of the horse, making riding a graceful, pleasurable experience.
From the moment the young horse is led from the stable, we follow stages of training on the longe and mounted. The walk, trot, canter, the halt and half-half, lateral work, and at the more advanced levels, the piaffe, passage, pirouette, and other figures are clearly described in simple, exact terms for obtaining the best results.
The training of the rider is meticulously addressed with full attention to the use of aids at every stage and in all exercises. Equipment is also analyzed in detail. And finally, there is a unique revelation of just how the spectacular “airs above the ground ” are achieved and correctly performed.
The result is a definitive book on classic horsemanship. It is a book that belongs in every horseman’s library.
You May Be Realizing Only Half the Potential and Half the Fun of Your Horses!
If you are simply riding your horse, you are only using part of his ability. When a horse is trained to drive, his usefulness–and your enjoyment–are both greatly increased.
In her classic book, Breaking and Training the Driving Horse, Doris Ganton shares in detail her highly successful, step-by-step method of learning how to drive your horse. Many horse enthusiasts recommend it as a go-to reference, including Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh.
The material stems from the author’s 30 years of experience with harness horses as a competitor, a teacher, and a judge. She has taught horsemen of all levels from the Canadian Yukon through Wyoming and California and is keenly aware of the problems, apprehensions, and requirements in learning to drive your horse.
This book shows you how to train a green horse to drive using Ganton’s proven method that is both safe and easy for the horse and driver–a method that inspires confidence and trust. She begins by describing the harness and how to adjust it. Then she expertly guides you through introducing your horse to the harness, ground driving, shafts, poles, reins, and more, right through to a two-wheel cart and a four-wheel buggy. Written with the training of a colt in mind, these instructions can just as easily be followed to train an older animal or a saddle horse to drive.
This is your opportunity to open up a whole new world of horsemanship for yourself! You will learn the fundamentals, procedures, and overall techniques necessary to be successful right away.
One of the most outstanding bridge players and best-known bridge writers in the word will teach you the all-important declarer’s skills you need to play winning bridge.
Within these pages you will learn the fundamental concepts of declarer’s play in an easy-to-understand, concise, logical manner from one of bridge’s greatest ambassadors–Edwin B. Kantar.
Whether you are a beginner or are more experienced, you will discover a wealth of hints and tips that will help you become a better bridge partner. Kantar’s delightful humor goes a long way toward simplifying the strategies needed to become an accomplished player–and it makes the process enjoyable.
He does such an amazing job explaining the basic declarer’s concepts that many new players will see their play improve dramatically after their first read!
If you are a more experienced player–even if you think you understand the principles of planning the play when Dummy comes down–this book will likely help you see gaps in your knowledge, and help you fill them.
Edwin B. Kantar has more than 30 bridge books in print, many considered classics and translated into numerous languages. He is a regular contributor to the Bulletin, The Bridge World, Bridge Today, and many other bridge publications.
He has won 2 World Championship titles and 11 North American Championships. He is a Grand Master in World Bridge Federation rankings and an ACBL Grand Life Master. He was inducted into the Bridge Hall of Fame in 1996.
From Edwin B. Kantar…a book that will take your bridge play to the next level.
Test Your Bridge Play is a unique compilation of the top 100 problems from Edwin B. Kantar’s popular “Test Your Play” articles, which appeared for 20 years in newspaper columns, Popular Bridge, The American Contract Bridge League Bulletin, and The Bridge World.
The author chose the best 25 problems from each of these sources and arranged them into 4 sections of increasing difficulty, sure to challenge every level of player—beginner, intermediate, tournament, and expert.
Bidding is given on most hands. There is a rating scale at the end of each section and a grand finale rating at the end of the book. Whatever your score, your card-playing techniques will get better and better as you master the fascinating problems in this comprehensive quiz book.
Edwin B. Kantar has more than 30 bridge books in print, many of which are considered classics. He is a regular contributor to the Bulletin, The Bridge World, Bridge Today, and numerous other bridge publications.
He won 2 World Championship titles and 11 North American Championships. Edwin is a Grand Master in World Bridge Federation rankings and an ACBL Grand Life Master. He was inducted into the Bridge Hall of Fame in 1996 and has long been known as one of bridge’s greatest ambassadors.
IF YOU ARE A GOOD DEFENDER YOU WILL BE A WINNING PLAYER!
There is no question that defense is the most difficult aspect of playing bridge. Many players become adequate bidders by simply memorizing the point count for various bids; others find that playing a dummy becomes easy with practice. But defense is a matter of logic.
If you are a good defender it is almost impossible to be a losing player. At least half of your opponents’ contracts can be defeated with a good defense, but the sad truth is that about eighty percent of them are fulfilled. Why?
Because most players have not been well-drilled in the fundamentals of defensive play: know the suit and the card in that suit to lead that will give your partner the maximum amount of information; know when to signal; know when to play an attacking defense (taking your tricks as quickly as possible) as opposed to a passive defense (sitting back and waiting for your tricks); decide what the declarer is trying to do based on his manner of play. This is the blocking and tackling of bridge. You cannot be a good bridge player unless you can do these things with reasonable skill.
Introduction to Defender’s Play can teach you the defender’s skills you need to play winning bridge.
Edwin B. Kantar has more than 30 bridge books in print, many considered classics and translated into numerous languages. He is a regular contributor to the Bulletin, The Bridge World, Bridge Today, and many other bridge publications.
He has won 2 World Championship titles and 11 North American Championships. He is a Grand Master in World Bridge Federation rankings and an ACBL Grand Life Master. He was inducted into the Bridge Hall of Fame in 1996.