Editing Dressage (section)

== "Airs" above the ground ==
{{Main|Airs above the ground}}
[[File:KochLevade.jpeg|right|thumb|upright|The levade]]
[[File:KochCapriole.jpeg|right|thumb|upright|The capriole]]

The "school jumps", or "airs above the ground", are a series of higher-level [[classical dressage]] movements where the horse leaves the ground. These include the capriole, courbette, the mezair, the croupade, and levade. None are used in modern competitive dressage, but are performed by horses of various [[riding academy|riding academies]], including the [[Spanish Riding School]] in [[Vienna]], Escola Portuguesa de Arte Equestre in Lisbon, Portugal, and the [[Cadre Noir]] in [[Saumur]]. [[Baroque horse]] breeds such as the [[Andalusian horse|Andalusian]], [[Lusitano]] and [[Lipizzan]] are most often trained to perform the "airs" today, in part due to their powerfully conformed hindquarters, which allow them the strength to perform these difficult movements.

There is a popular belief that these moves were originally taught to horses for military purposes, and indeed both the Spanish Riding School and the Cadre Noir are military foundations. However, while agility was necessary on the battlefield, most of the airs as performed today would have actually exposed horses' vulnerable underbellies to the weapons of foot soldiers.<ref>Chamberlin, J. Edward. ''Horse: How the Horse Has Shaped Civilizations.'' Bluebridge, 2006, pp. 166–67 {{ISBN|0-9742405-9-1}}</ref> It is therefore more likely that the airs were exercises to develop the agility, responsiveness and physiology of the military horse and rider, rather than to be employed in combat.