“World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions” Show Review – The Living Art of War

Video of the WF Lipizzaner Stallions - a small taste of the show from a couple of years ago.

Perhaps you’ve always dreamed of going to Vienna to watch a performance at the legendary Spanish Riding School. But you doubt that you’ll ever be able to do that.

But that’s okay because the World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions can come to an arena near you. And you may not even miss the Spanish Riding School’s baroque arena and chandeliers.

Dressage explained

For one thing, early in the show the horses perform dressage maneuvers while Master of Ceremonies Troy Tinker explains them.

This part of the show takes my Newbie’s Guide to Dressage post another step further to give the names of the moves with demonstrations done by one of the stallions.

Lipizzaner shown in hand – with  a surprise

Have you ever seen an unsaddled Piber Stud-bred Lipizzaner? Me neither. Until this show.

One of the riders led out one of the unsaddled stallions to show in hand.  And we all were in for a big surprise.

Because each Lipizzaner in the show carries his pedigree on his body in multiple brands.

We attended the show in the Mohegan Sun Arena, filled with a large Connecticut audience. When Tinker mentioned the brands, a hush came over the crowd. And I held my breath.

We live in a time in which horse people hesitate to mention some of the realities of life with horses. There’s always someone out there who’ll take issue with any equine care procedure — from twitching to bitting to shoeing to fly masks.

Plus, the horse people in the audience come from disciplines in which a visible brand is a defacement of a horse’s coat. Let alone a potentially unthinkable ordeal for a companion horse.

Yet here was an announcer publicly talking about brands on these horses whose grace had moved and inspired many of the spectators.

I honestly expected boos. Even walkouts.

The uniformed rider led the placid white stallion with a thick line-backer-like neck where similar horses had pranced earlier. The black brands showed up great on his white coat in close-up video on the arena’s large screen TVs.

But people were polite. Our seats were high at one end of the arena, so I would have seen walkouts. But no one did.

Maybe they realized that the Lipizzanners are living historical relics? That their brands are leftovers from the culture from which the breed arose?

Because the Lipizzaners originally were cavalry horses.

The Living Art of War

From the riders’ uniforms to the dressage moves to the fabled Airs Above the Ground, all of this was developed for warfare.

In modern times, these horses and this show are kept and presented as living history, as well as the the stars of an entertainment show.

These days, we watch Lipizzaners and dressage and see “horse ballet.” But back in the day, all of these moves were martial arts.

The Airs Above the Ground were designed to protect the rider and fight ground troops. In the Levade, the horse’s body protected the rider from spear- or saber-carrying troops. The same goes for other moves. And, in the Capriole on the battlefield, a horse becomes a combatant as its hind hooves becoming weapons.

Watching a Lipizzaner show can be compared, in a way, with watching an air show of military aircraft.

Current Life for Lipizzaners

Despite all that, pacifists can still have a wonderful time watching this show. If there were ever an example of “swords into plowshares,” this is it. The arts of war have become performance art. And the former military weapons are now stars who like attention.

Plus, life apparently is not all drills and formality for the stallions in the troupe. When the stallion was shown in hand, the handler led him to stand in the spotlight by Tinker while the MC continued his spiel.

On a loose lead, the horse eased his nose over to sniff the pocket of Tinker’s tuxedo jacket. The MC noticed and told him that he was sorry but he didn’t have a treat for him. The stallion’s ears drooped in “oh well” resignation, to the delight of the crowd.

And, no, it didn’t look like a rehearsed part of the show.

Tips for Attendance

Do check the World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions tour calendar for performances near you. Also, FWIW, the performance I attended at Mohegan Sun was not on the group’s website calendar.

I found out about it because I was on the Mohegan Sun email list. They send out “upcoming events” bulletins.

You, too, might want to get on your local arena’s mailing list. Yeah, you’ll get a lot of notices of pop concerts and ball games, but you might also find a pleasant surprise.

Also, when researching this article, I found some comments that the show is an expensive ticket. That was not true. I’m sure that if you sit down front, the tickets can get pricey. But I saw plenty of middle class families in the audience.

Plus, the tickets for seats higher up in the arena are cheaper and offer a great view of the action.

Also, keep in mind that many arenas have big screen TVs so everyone can see broadcast-like closeups of the horses.

If the World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions come near your town, I heartily recommend that you go.

It’s even a good show for the non-horsey spectator who happens to be accompanying someone more horsey.

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Tags: Mohegan Sun, Spanish Riding School, Troy Tinker, World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions