One of the great modern Masters, Nuno Oliveira was a pupil of Joaquin Gonçalves de Miranda, form Master of the Horse for the Portuguese Royal family. After Miranda’s death, a student asked him to train at his brother-in-law’s stud, where there were good horses to ride, and an excellent equestrian library that Nuno studied carefully. At this time, he met Spanish Riding School director, Alois Podhajsky and the pair became friends.

From the late 1950’s Nuno started to attract many pupils and opened his riding school at Quinta do Chafaris. One of these pupils was the Frenchman, Michel Henriquet, who is still a keen promoter of Nuno’s ideas in France. In 1961, Nuno gave an exhibition of his riding in Switzerland, and the following year, appeared in the Winter Circus in Paris.

In 1976, Nuno wrote his first book, Reflections on Equestrian Art, with the assistance of his American pupil and friend, Phyllis Field. He gave clinics throughout Europe, North and South America and in Australia, where he died in 1989.

Publications:

Reflections on Equestrian Art (1976)

Horses And Their Riders (1988)

Classical Principles of the Art of Training Horses (1983)

Nuno Oliveira, oeuvres complete with illustrations by Jean-lLouis Sauvat (2006)