Polish Instructor

 

Above, a Polish officer from the Vistula Legion (right) instructing a group of French chevau-légers in the handling of the lance. 

Once Napoleon had created his chevau-légers regiments in 1811, the men still had to be taught to use the lance properly to turn them into efficient combatants. To do so, Napoleon enlisted the help of Polish lancers who were the best at their craft. 

(Possibly, the type of uniform the instructor is wearing had already been retired in French service by 1811, but if you're here for historical accuracy, you'll quickly realise you're clearly in the wrong place anyway!)

Training was a constant part of military life especially between campaigns.

If the cavalryman could enjoy the relative confort of riding between military stations or battles rather than walking there, this came with extra duties as he had to become at least an adequate horseman as well as a combatant and he had to care daily for the horses. This last duty being too often neglected, especially by young, inexperienced and often unwilling recruits.