The Royal Lipizzaner Stallions are noted for...
The Royal Lipizzaner Stallions are noted for the classical dressage movements instilled in the breed over decades of training at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna.
The stallions were made famous worldwide by the 1963 Walt Disney film “The Miracle of the White Stallions.†The movie chronicled how the noble white stallions, originally trained as military mounts, were rescued by U.S. Army Gen. George S. Patton in the closing days of World War II. Patton gave the Spanish Riding School military protection and allowed the animals to be shipped from a stud farm in Czechoslovakia back to Austria before they could fall into Soviet hands.
Although the Royal Lipizzaner Stallion Show is not affiliated with the Spanish school, it features purebred descendants of the Vienna line. These horses will be
showcased during tonight’s 7:30 performance of the “Wonderful World of Horses†at the Industry Hills Equestrian Center.
The show will begin with the pas de deux , in which two riders put their mounts through their paces in mirror-image precision. The stallions will also showcase “airs above the ground,†including capriole, in which the steeds leap and seemingly pause in midair. Another performance, the quadrille, will feature six stallions weaving an intricate ballet as their riders guide them through tight and precise movements.
Admission is $13 for adults and $11 for children 12 and under or adults 60 and over. Tickets are available at the Equestrian Center, 1 Industry Hills Parkway, and at Ticketmaster outlets. For further information: (213) 480-3232.
