WW2-More Information On The Lipizzan Rescue, Photos, Definitions, ETC.

UNITED STATES 2ND CAVALRY RESCUED
RARE AND NOBLE LIPIZZANER STALLIONS

In April 1945, the heroic efforts of the 42nd Squadron of the United States Army's 2nd Cavalry were responsible for the rescue and ultimate preservation of the Lipizzans. The rescue of the horses was conducted under the orders of General George S. Patton and was carried out under the direct command of Colonel Charles H. Reed.

The story of the rescue operation is most dramatic. In early 1945, Vienna was under attack by allied bombers. Colonel Alois Podjahsky, head of the famed Spanish Riding School in Vienna, feared the valuable Lipizzaner Stallions would be destroyed and arranged for the stallions to be transferred by train to St. Martin's in Upper Austria, 200 miles from Vienna. Fodder was scarce and starving refugees attempted to steal the horses for food.

Coincidentally, elements of the U.S. Third Army moved into St. Martin's at the time Podhajsky had quartered the horses there at the estate of a friend. An officer recognized Podhajsky and the stallions, and sent word to General Patton's headquarters. Patton and Podhajsky had been old friends; they competed together in equestrian events at the Olympic Games.

Podhajsky arranged to show the Lipizzans to Undersecretary of War Robert Patterson, and General Patton the following day. Patterson and Patton were so impressed by the performance of these aristocratic white horses that the General, at the request of Podhajsky, promised to make the stallions wards of the U.S. Army until they could be safely returned to their home at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna.

While the stallions were sheltered at St. Martin's, the mares and foals had been separated from the stallions and were being held at the German Remount Depot in Hostau, Czechoslovakia. American forces became aware of their location through Colonel Reed.

On April 26, 42nd Squadron captured a German general and his staff near Hostau. Reed and the General dined together and developed a friendship. The General showed Reed photographs of the Lipizzaner horses. When questioned further, the General confessed that the horses were being held at the German Remount Depot along with allied prisoners of war who cared for the horses.

Later that day Reed contacted Patton to ask permission to attack Hostau to liberate the prisoners and horses. Permission was granted. Later, an agreement was made with the Germans to allow American forces to go into Hostau and rescue the horses from the oncoming Russian troops. German officers, great admirers of the Lipizzans, willingly cooperated with the Americans fearing that approaching Russian troops would destroy the breed.

On April 28, members of Troops A, C and F of the 42nd Squadron attacked

the German lines and accepted the surrender of the Germans at Hostau. The surrender, according to Reed, was "more a fiesta than a military operation, as the German troops drew up an honor guard and saluted the American troops as they came in."

The Americans found at Hostau a population of some 150 Lipizzans, including a few stallions, mares and their colts of two and three years of age. The first day was spent inspecting the horses. Two days later, German SS troops organized a counter attack on the 42nd Squadron as it moved eastward along the Czechoslovakian border. The Germans were driven off and a week later, the war had ended. Plans were then made for the disposition of the horses.

Colonel Podhajsky was flown in to inspect his horses. It was at this time that the Russian and Czech governments argued over possession of the horses. To prevent the horses from falling into their hands, the Lipizzans were quickly moved across the border to safety in Germany. Shortly thereafter, the Lipizzans were returned to the control of Colonel Podhajsky at Linz.

Lipizzaner Photos!

Click This Photo For Riding Music

Introduction To The Lipizzaner Stallions

The Lipizzaner Stallions are on their 31st Anniversary Tour in 2001. In 1970, Producer Gary Lashinsky created a new family arena attraction, starring The "World Famous" LIPIZZANER STALLIONS.
Many horses and riders were brought from Europe to perform in this unique family oriented arena attraction. Over the years, twenty-three million people throughout North and South America, Great Britain, Europe, Australia and Hawaii have seen this internationally acclaimed spectacle.

2001 represents the 31st Anniversary season of The Lipizzaner Stallions. All new music, choreography and routines have been incorporated in this anniversary edition with a major emphasis on the historical background and foundation of the Lipizzaner breed, from its original breeding and use as a horse of war to a horse of nobility and aristocracy to a living form of equestrian art. The show emulates the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Austria, in its presentation of Lipizzans, and maintains a traditional as well as entertaining performance similar in many ways to what you would see at the Spanish Riding School of Vienna.
Also included in the performance is a segment called the "Airs Above the Ground." These are the spectacular leaps and maneuvers, once used by riders in saddle to protect and defend themselves on the battlefield, which are now preserved as an equestrian work of art. When you see the Lipizzans perform, it is like stepping back four hundred years and viewing one of the greatest equine ballets in history.

The Lipizzan is a rare and unique breed; its history and culture is known worldwide. The Walt Disney movie The Miracle of the White Stallions, depicting General George S. Patton saving them at the end of World War II from certain extinction, created an even greater world-wide interest in the Lipizzaner breed. Had it not been for Patton, there would be no Lipizzans today.
Although the Lipizzans star in this presentation, other show breeds are included in this 31st Anniversary Edition including the ancestral forefathers of the Lipizzan, the Spanish Andalusian and the Arabian. Spanish Andalusians are featured in high school presentations with special wardrobe and presentations themed to traditional Spanish music.
Not only is the Andalusian shown in saddle, but also in a unique presentation where the rider performs all the maneuvers of the Grand Prix Olympic level dressage on the longline, while walking behind the horse and guiding him through his paces.
The current tour features 14 stallions performing selected maneuvers as described above in an exciting presentation.
The conclusion of the performance of The Lipizzaner Stallions is the traditional Grand Quadrille, featuring six to eight Lipizzaner Stallions with their riders performing an intricate, equine ballet, exhibiting maneuvers through the highest level of dressage. The Lipizzans prance, march and intricately weave their way across the floor to the music of the Masters in a spectacular ballet of four-footed white dancers.

Harkening back to time when the horse was a symbol of grace and majesty, the Lipizzaner Stallions are truly a great experience to be enjoyed by the entire family. One does not need to be a horse lover to enjoy "The Equestrian Treat of the Century"!

"Not affiliated in any way with the Spanish Riding School"

The Saga

The Lipizzaner Stallion has galloped boldly out of the pages of 400 years of European history into the hearts of millions of Americans. Walt Disney's motion picture, The Miracle of the White Stallions, depicting the rescue of the horses by General Patton's men during World War II, did much to publicize and to create sympathy and admiration for the Lipizzaners in the United States.

The Lipizzan is the aristocrat, the royalty, the light and the nimble dancer and the aerialist of the equestrian world. His distant ancestors from the Orient bore Ghengis Khan out of the wastes of Asia to conquer much of the then-known world. The fleet Arabic strain in the Lipizzaners patrolled, guarded and raided treasure-laden caravans in the golden sands of the Sahara. Their masters were Bedouins, Tuaregs and riders from a dozen long forgotten tribes.

It is believed that the forerunner of the Lipizzan was bred in Carthage, more than 2,000 years ago. The Carthaginian stock was bred to the Vilano, a sturdy Pyrenees horse, and with Arab and Barbary strains. The result became the fabled Andalusian of ancient Spain.

During Spain's 700 years of Moorish domination, the breed remained essentially the same. Occasional crossing with fresh Arab and Oriental blood by the breeders of Cordoba and Granada assured that the fleetness and agility so prized by the Arabs remained qualities inherent in the stock. The Spanish began to export the horses after Spain rid itself of Moorish rule. The most notable stud farms were established in Italy and Frederiksborg, Denmark. The Danes produced excellent stock from the Spanish progenitors; the Italian "Neapolitan" bloodline became famous in Europe.

Archduke Maximilian, later Emperor of Austria, began breeding Spanish horses there about 1562. Eighteen years later, Archduke Karl, ruler of four Austrian provinces, established a royal stud farm in Lipizza, located in the hills of Karst, near Trieste. It was rugged, craggy country with little vegetation or water, but the Lipizzans thrived on it, lending to their endurance, strength and speed.

They became almost exclusively the property of the nobility and the military aristocracy. The stallions were trained for battle. Their great leaps and caprioles struck fear in the hearts of foot soldiers who opposed their well-born riders. The gentle intelligent white mares became the coach horses of the elite.

Fresh Spanish stock was systematically added to the blood line at intervals to maintain the strength of the breed. Oriental stallions were used occasionally for the same purpose. In the 17th and 18th centuries, horses from the northern Italian stud farm at Polesnia and the highly regarded Neapolitan strain were brought to Lipizza to mingle with the resident stock and the descendants of the original Spanish line out of Denmark and Germany.

General Patton was not the first to rescue the Lipizzans from the exigencies of war. In 1781, during the Napoleonic Wars, 300 horses were evacuated in a forty-day march to Stuhlweissenburg. They returned to Lipizza after peace was established. In 1805 they were moved again to Slavonia, and in 1806 to Karad, a Hungarian village with a population of less than 4,000. They returned to Lipizza, only to flee the advancing armies of France.

From 1809 to 1815 they lived in the lowlands of the Pisza River, a tributary of the Danube. The land was hard on them. It took several years and an infusion of fresh blood to recapture the vitality and high standard of the line. In May of 1915, the Lipizzans were split up. One group was taken to Laxenburg, near Vienna, and the other to Kladrub.

The fall of the Austrian House of Hapsburg in 1918 brought about the break up of the old Austrian Empire. Lipizza became a part of Italy. The Italian and Austrian governments divided the Lipizzaner herd equally. The Republic of Austria took their horses to Piber in Steiermark. Piber, a privately owned stud farm, was founded in 1798 to breed calvary mounts for the army. In 1858, it became a government breeding farm and produced Lipizzans of another and lighter strain for stud purposes in the provinces. Although "The World Famous" Lipizzaner Stallions are not affiliated with "The Spanish Riding School," a number of the Lipizzans appearing in the show were purchased from the School or born at the Piber Stud Farm.

The Lipizzan is a long-lived horse. Thirty to thirty-five years is their average life span. They are usually born black and change slowly through a period of six to ten years to their final, pure white color. Occasionally a Lipizzaner colt is born pure white, but they are rarities. Those, so born, in the days of the Hapsburg were chosen to draw the royal equipages.

There are six significant bloodlines in today's Lipizzaner breed. They originated with and date back to the following stallions: The Dane, "Pluto," 1765; The Neapolitan, "Conversano," 1767; "Maestosa," 1773; "Favory," 1799; "Neapolitano," 1790; and the Arab, "Siglavy," from the stables of Prince Schwarzenberg, 1810.

In The Air

Preserved as classical equestrian art, these awe-inspiring movements were originally intended to be used in warfare.

Only Stallions with the greatest strength, talent and athletic ability were chosen for training in these ancient manuvers. You will be amazed and delighted with the results.... The Airs Above the Ground.

Levade...
The horse must maintain a haunched position at a 45-degree angle to the ground, requiring muscle control and perfection of balance almost beyond belief.

Courbette...
The horse balances on the hind legs and then jumps, keeping the hind legs together and the forelegs off the ground.

Capriole...
The stallion leaps into the air, drawing his forelegs under his chest at the height of elevation, and kicks out violently with his hind legs.

Definitions

Airs Above the Ground: This is a series of maneuvers where
the horse leaps above the ground. These include the Capriole, Courbette, and Levade. They are performed with or without a rider.

Capriole: The horse finds his tempo, leaps into the air, drawing his forelegs under his chest and, at the height of elevation, kicks out violently with the hind legs.

Courbette: The horse balances on the hind legs and then jumps, keeping the hind legs together and the forelegs off the ground.

Croupade: The jump is similar to the Capriole, but in this maneuver, the horse tucks both his fore and hind legs under his body at the height of elevation

Dressage: The guidance of a mount through a set of maneuvers without the perceptible use of hands, reins, legs, etc. It is a French word for "schooling of the horse," and it simply means harmony between horse and rider.

Haute Ecole: The advanced art of High School riding� the highest level of dressage.

Levade: The horse must maintain a haunched position at a 45-degree angle to the ground, requiring muscle control and balance that is most difficult to perfect.

Lineage: There are six significant bloodlines represented in today�s Lipizzan breed. The names of the horses in the show indicate these bloodlines, allowing one to trace the stallion�s lineage. The names are: the Dane, PLUTO, 1765; the Neapolitan, CONVERSANO, 1767; MAESTOSO, 1773; FAVORY, 1799; NEAPOLITANO, 1790; and the Arab, SIGLAVY, 1810.

Movements: Also called Maneuvers, these are the actions of the horse in presentation�and they are never referred to as "tricks."

Piaffe: The horse stands in one spot while performing a cadence trot.

Pirouette: While balanced on his hind legs, the horse is required to pivot in a half circle or full circle before coming down on all four legs.

Quadrille: As it applies to the Lipizzan�s performance, it is a military drill performed to music and features several horses and riders.
Spanish Riding School of Vienna: A centuries-old training center in Austria, considered the "Harvard" of the equestrian world. The "World Famous" Lipizzaner Stallions is an authentic presentation of this style, but is not affiliated with the Spanish Riding School.