Welcome to the Spanish Riding School's 2005 USA Tour Web Log!
IMPORTANT: Please scroll down past this introduction to read the latest post; most recent posts are placed at the top of the blog. Older posts are at the bottom, and at the left of this column you will see links to the archives of stories from September, October, and November.
Your comments are welcome! Just click on the "comments" link at the end of a post to leave your input or ask for more information. Thank you for making this blog an interactive experience and for sharing your impresions of the Spanish Riding School.
The Spanish Riding School of Vienna visited America in the fall of 2005! For six weeks, 30 Lipizzan stallions and 10 expert riders toured America, and many of you were lucky enough to see a performance. It was their first visit to the USA in 15 years.
Even though the tour is over, you can still check this blog for exclusive news from the tour, information about the horses and the School, and see how America welcomed and celebrated the grandeur of the world's oldest riding school.
Ride along with EquiSearch.com and your blog guide, Fran Jurga, for web-based fun and news. Whether you are a dressage devotee, a vulture for Viennese culture, or a history buff with an interest in World War II and General Patton, you'll find all the facts and all the fun here, along with links to much more information.
Be sure to visit EquiSearch.com for news from all over the horse world and bookmark this blog (or click on the RSS link for a feed). Come back soon!
posted by Fran Jurga | 12:00 AM
103 Comments:
I have seen several references to a 2 hour clinic that will proceed the SRS performances in each venue. There seems to be some misunderstanding about who can attend. I have tickets for the Saturday performance in Atlanta. If there is a clinic proceeding this performance, I would like information on how to attend.
The USEF has info about the 2-hour clinic. Check out this link for more info and to find out if you can attend: www.usef.org/content/newsDisplay/viewPR.php?id=577
I am curious to know if there will be a bay stallion touring with the SRS as per the tradition. Thank you!
Does the Spanish Riding School or do any of the riders have email addresses where we can send fan mail? My husband and I are excited to have tickets to the very first performance in Columbus, and I would love to let the riders - AND horses! - know how much we appreciate them traveling to the US.
Right now, there is no direct contact with the staff or riders, but keep an eye on the blog and we will let you know when and if that changes.
Some of the staff and riders speak little or no English so it is difficult for them to communicate.
I will ask about this once the tour gets rolling. Columbus is just a few days away, how lucky that you have tickets!
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Are you planning any tours to washington state? If so when and where.
I would gladly attempt using the German I studied in high school and college to converse with the riders and/or trainers. It has been quite a few years, but I believe I can still translate well enough. I can also try Polish, if that is preferred, but I suspect German is the best language to use.
I am SO excited the stallions are coming! And happy I found this blog. At the risk of dating myself, when I was a child my parents surprised me and my brothers with tickets to the SRS on its visit to NY in the early 1960s. My father was in Germany under Patton's command in WWII but was not involved with the rescue. Now he and Mom live with me and a week from today I'll surprise them with tickets to the Sunday show in St. Louis! I cannot believe I get to see these great horses twice in my life! Sandy
OMG I just saw about the 2 hr clinic before. I've been waiting to go to see these stallions since April, and have been a fan of the breed for many years. I'm lucky enough to have tickets to the first show tomorrow in Columbus. I can't wait.
There was a dark brown horse at the show in Columbus 11-05-05. Very nice show, a descendant of G. S. Patton was present.
On Saturday November 5th I attended the show, and it was amazing! I have a horse of my own and absolutely love them! I'm so proud of what you all have done with the breed, and how well they are being taken care of. Keep up the good work! I am so excited about this program you have going. Its great! Keep up the wonderful work.
The Columbus show was outstanding! The clinic 2 hours prior to the show only lasted 1/2 hour, but was very interesting. It was open to anyone who had show tickets, but it seemed that seating assignements are not observed for the clinic, so if you have great seats for the show, don't assume you will get them for the clinic! Also, we were not allowed to leave and re-enter the arena after the clinic, so plan to spend an hour and a half hanging around between the clinic and the show.
There was indeed a brown stallion, and he was wonderful! We were lucky to have seats in the first row, right on the centerline, probably only about 10 feet from the dressage arena. We felt like we could have reached out and touched the horses! I don't believe we could have seen the show better in Vienna. I saw several stallions look directly into my eyes as they passed.
The horses appeared to be unfamiliar with having an enthusiasic audience so close to their arena, and there were also very severe thunderstorms approaching, so there were a few little spooks - but we found it very educational to watch the riders handle these with calm poise, never allowing an interruption to the show.
It was truly a magical night!
Loved the Sunday matinee show of the horses in Columbus....my first ever to see them...had waited 78 yrs.
One posting states that a descendant of Gen. Patton was in the audience. Actually, the gentleman was a soldier who had served under Patton..and had been a prisoner of war. (I don't think G.Patton had children).
Hi -
I posted earlier about seeing the SRS in New York in the 60's. 6 days and counting until we see them in St. Louis!
In response to an earlier note, George Patton did have a son, at least one, who died recently. His son, also named George Patton and also a West Pointer, was a general in the Army, served in Korea and Vietnam and was, in several respects, a chip off his father's block. Sandy
The gentleman in the audience on Sunday served with Patton in WWII; Patton's grandson was in the audience at Saturday's performance.
For those of you that have seen the show. How long did it last? I want to make dinner reservations after the show in Philly and would like to know what time to make them.
Also, for those that have attented the pre-show. What was the clinic about? Were you just watching them warm up? More detail please. I have to drive from NYC that day and need to know if it is worth fighting traffic to see 30 mins of walking around.
The pre-show clinic was a demonstration of the SRS training techniques, briefly covering the young horse, the intermediate horse, the advanced horse, and work in hand. Since this was covered in 1/2 hour, there was not a lot of detail. But if you are interested in dressage it is worth seeing - especially the demonstration of the correct vs. incorrect way to get a canter piroette.
The show lasted about 2 hours and 15 min, including a 15 min intermission.
I spoke with the contct person for the Houston performances, who told me the clincs included a Q & A session, which would be wonderful.
This blod has had some great info. Its a pleasure to have it.
We were delighted to have front row seats for the Nov. 5th performance in Columbus. It was the third time the SRS has toured this country, and we have seen them each time.
We were very disappointed, though, to not be able to buy a souvenir due to the crowd around the souvenir stand. Will these items be offered for online purchase at some time?
I am attending the Saturday St. Louis show this weekend. I was just wondering what the dress code is...random I know but I dont want to be under/over-dressed. Thanks all!
Hi -
I was talking to the Savvis Center (the St. Louis site for the SRS this weekend) about handicap access and the fellow I talked to said he hadn't seen today's numbers yet, but as of late yesterday there were still seats available for this weekend's shows. There's a St. Louis Blues hockey game tonight and then they'll switch the arena over from ice to equines! Sandy
I was at the show in Columbus OH and thought it was fabulous. I was surprised there were not more dressage enthusiasts in the audience. The pre-show clinic was one excellent, but there was no q&a session. Rudi Rostek is oh so handsome, a real prince charming on his white stallion...a gorgeous man and a love of horses...just dreamy!!!
where are the horses/riders now?
We have tickets for the Sunday Houston show and I too would like to know what to wear.I know that sounds silly, but we're flying from Cheyenne.
I have studied dressage for 23 years and now I get to see the best. I can hardly wait!
I would like to hear about the performances from some who have been there this time.
I saw them yesterday at the Sunday St. Louis show! A few answers - attire is almost anything, from bluejeans to pant suits. A few men wore ties, but most were in polo shirts, some t shirts. The staff said the Saturday night crowd was a bit dressier. I couldn't believe how many empty seats there were! The preshow started 2 hours before the main show and lasted about 30 minutes. They had a brief Q&A session after that, but whether they do that depends on when the arena is going to open its doors for the show itself, so I guess you could call ahead. They changed the preshow from the Columbus event - this one was 2 young stallions, one very young, say 5, and the other maybe 8. The older of the 2 was working on walk/canter transitions and he didn't like picking up the right lead from the walk. The chief rider said after the 2nd balk (and kick!) "I'm glad he did this - we always need to remember that riding a horse is not like pushing a button". Then they brought in a more senior stallion who was learning the piaffe in hand. The Savvis Center staff let people out after the preshow and they could come back for the show itself. They said that decision was left to the individual arenas. Some of the stallions in the show didn't like something at the end of the arena and balked and ducked a couple of times, most noticeably in the pas de deux, but corrections were patient. The strength, flexibility, communication and balance of the horse/rider teams is so striking .....I could go on and on. Watch for the dapple gray caprioler! The solo was so lovely it brought tears to my eyes. Thank you SRS, and everyone who made this tour possible! Sandy
I saw the show in St. Louis yesterday with my 7 yr old daughter. I've wanted to see this show since I was her age and I was not disappointed. The show was fabulous and the horses and riders are just amazing. I hope to experience this again in my lifetime!
who speaks during the pre-show demonstration? who answers during a q&a?
another question:
are any of the riders doing clinics anywhere in between official tour performances?
Hi -
at the St. Louis Sunday show the preshow was begun by the announcer (whose name I forget) who talked a little about the history of the breed and the SRS, but the majority of it, and all the technical material was conducted by Chief Rider Johann Riegler (I think I have the spelling right - the program is at home). He did the Q&A session too. sandy
how good is chief rider riegler's english?
On the Columbus Sat. Evening show the Grandson of Gen. Patton was there, I sat near to them. Sunday may have been a different story. Each venue has members from either Patton or Reeds family there. (Well for the Sat. Evening at least)The riders are not doing clinics between venues, the time is to short. Some of them do come over to school Lipizzan horses here in America. They are private people who bring them and they are usually very happy to let others come. There is one in California this January with the young rider Rudy and Andreas Hausberger comes each summer for a round of clinics (he did the horse on the long line). In case you all dont know the average age of the stallions on tour is 17.5 and the one solo horse is 25 or 26, the Houston show will be his final peformance before he retires.
Is there a clinic before the Saturday evening show in Washington? If so, what time?
Can anyone tell me whether the School's performance includes a solo of the Schools on the Ground by Siglavy Mantua I? (here's hoping!)
To Rol:
Are you talking about a performance at the School in Vienna?
No - the solo is done only during Gala events, not during a regular show. Mantua is already officially retired in Austria. The shows in the US are his last public appearances. He is scheduled to go to Piber after this tour for breeding.
Regarding S.Mantua 1, I have had the pleasure of seeing him in training and performance in Vienna on a number of occasions and also on the British tour. He is a true star of the SRS and I thank Oberbereiter Krzisch for his wisdom, devotion and expertise in training such a wonderful horse. I will miss "Mantua Eins" in Vienna, but the horse deserves his well earned rest at his birthplace in Piber after 23 years work in the Hofreitschule.
I am looking forward to seeing the performance thisSunday , Washington D.C.This will be the third time I have seen themin DC, and, ine third venue, I also spent 5 years inVienna, and, spent manymornings watching the schooling sessions, also saw one evening performance, and,the fabulousfestival resentation in the stadthalle h duringthe 400th anniversary celebration.There are moments of such beauty that they bringtears to my eyes, and, I neverwant to leave at he end of the performance.The only diference this time isthat I am now in a wheelchair disabled due to stroke, and, wil be unable to get down close to the arena, ifyouare athe 2:30 performance in DC pleasestop by , and, say "hello"I wil be inte whelchair accessible area.Does anyone know if ther is a video available for purchase?
dear carol ames:
i'm sorry to hear of your stroke. it must be difficult. the arena may have wheelchair seating close to the arena, especially if you phone in advance, talk to the arena manager, and make a fuss about the federal disabilities act: by law, there SHOULD be wheelchair access in ALL locations of the arena.
there is a video for sale, if you email me privately, i'll tell you where i saw it.
take care-
w15608@aol.com
i've noticed that some people posting here no quite a lot of detail about things regarding SRS.
i USED to know quite a bit myself, because i dated one of the riders.
that was YEARS ago, and i haven't even ridden a horse in many years, but i'm thinking more and more about all this now...
will those of you who are more "in the know" contact me, and maybe we can swap some stories...
thanks-
w15608@aol.com
egads! i wrote "no" instead of "know"!!!!
i'm embarrased!
that'll teach me to write online at 3:00 AM!!
sorry-
:-(
reader56
Dear Ms. Ames,
as far as I know these are the DVDs that will be sold here in the US: DVD Piber multilingual, DVD SRS of Vienna multilingual, DVD Span. Riding School NTSC. Not sure how much they will be in USD. If you can't get them there try the museum online store at:
http://ecomm.khm.at/cgi-bin/khmmuseumsshop.storefront/437fc31f05a4f8fc2717c1ab3ff6071d/Catalog/1079
The show tonight at the MCI center was awesome. There was a bay stallion at the beginning of the show leading the opening dressage movements. The stallions were magnificent. The exercises done by hand were great and you could see all of the loving care bestowed by the riders as they asked these horses to perform such difficult moves. The exhibition by the stallion performing on reins with the rider walking behind him, doing the same dressage movements with no rider, just cues from the bit and spoken words was breathtaking. I will always treasure tonight and wish I could go see them again.
Hello, everyone. My name is Troy Tinker, and i am the the commentator for the American tour of the Spanish Riding School. It's so wonderful to read all of your amazing comments. Thanks for the support of this breathtaking show. I only recently learned of this blog, but will be checking it from time to time over the next few weeks to try and answer any questions you may have.
we just had a spectacular show last night in DC and another on the way today. Next stop will be Philadelphia. Please, feel free say hello to me at any of the performances.
To my great disappointment, I notice there are no shows listed in the Western part of the US. You very lucky people who have seen the the performances!!!! Is there any chance dates could be added to the tour that come closer to Colorado? That would be heavenly!
Another wonderful audience in Washington, DC at our Sunday matinee performance. You folks are awesome! We move to Philadelphia tomorrow, and we hope to see all of our fans there!
The pre-performance clinic was a big hit in Washington and the attendance was really encouraging! Herr Reigler narrated while Andreas Hausberger and other riders demonstrated on several horses. I hope people in Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Houston will make plans to be part of the total experience!
Thank you, Troy, for posting! Your presence on this blog is an honor! You did an incredible job of announcing in Washington (and I am sure you did the same in the other cities).
Thanks,everyone, for checking the blog!
The pre-performance clinic was a big hit in Washington and the attendance was really encouraging! Herr Reigler narrated while Andreas Hausberger and other riders demonstrated with several horses. I missed most of it but everyone told me how much they enjoyedit. I hope people in Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Houston will make plans to be part of the total experience!
Hi Troy,
I am hearing nothing but rave reviews of the performances so far! I was at the Columbus performances and Lipizzan registry meetings/dinner with the riders and enjoyed it so much that I'm heading to Atlanta for more - I'll be sure to stop by and say hi. Safe travels ~
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Show Narrator here, trying to answer a few questions. Thanks for your interest in the Spanish Riding School merchandise. The response to it has been overwhelming! I don't think that anyone at the Venues in St Louis or Columbus thought the demand would be so huge, and it was hard to serve everyone in a timely fashion. We are adding to the number of stands, where possible, and increasing the number of service staff, but it may still not be enough. There are plans to continue selling merchandise on-line, for an as yet unspecified period of time. There have to be soem glitches worked out, and I'm afraid it will not sell things like the collectible plush ponies, because they are limited to only 5,000 since they are collectible, but most of teh other items should be available. For more info on this, you may visit the website of teh American Producer of the Spanish Riding School sho, White Stallion Productions. There should be news on that site about the SRS merchandise once all the plans have been made. Be careful, though because they that site also sells some merchandiose for their US based Lipizzaner Show, "The World Famous Lipizanner Stallions" (Which I also host, by the way). This is all quality merchandise, but if you're looking for SRS school logo, you want to make sure you order the right thing! That web site is www.lipizzaner.com.
If you have comments for the riders, feel free to submit them here, and I'll make sure they get them. Rudoplh Rostek is already being playfully teased about the "Prince Charming" remark a fan made, and I love to be the first to take news like that back to them Lol!
There is a bay Lipizzaner, Favory Allayah, and he is an amazingly handsome, and nobile stallion.
Regarding shows in the western half of the US,..no, I'm afraid there are none scheduled this trip, however, I believe they plan on doing a western US tour in 3 years. Your continued demand for that will make it happen!
My husband and I sat down to breakfast on Sunday, and I asked if he was reading the paper. He wasn't, but he picked up Saturday's paper, and halfway through breakfast pointed to a little tiny photo and blurb about the performances on Saturday and Sunday. I've been a rider all of my life, and he has heard me talk about the SRS and the performance I saw back in 1990 in San Francisco. With no idea whether the tickets were sold out or not, we hopped on the metro and at 1:30 were in possession of a pair of seats about 18 rows up at C.
I don't think I can say anything that hasn't been said before: the horses were amazing, the riding beautiful, and both horses and riders were strong and elegant.
After the show, I commented that tears welled up in my eyes when the horses and riders first entered the arena for their introductions, and my husband echoed the sentiment. We both had strong emotional responses to the beauty of the animals and the opportunity to see an international treasure and piece of living history, as well as the pinnacle of an art form.
My husband is a member of the US Navy and will be in Germany during January. I plan to meet him at the end of the month, and we are thinking about spending a few days in Vienna. Does anyone know where I can find information (preferably in English) about watching them work with the stallions at the school? The ticket sales site doesn't have anything available unil mid-February, so I am assuming that the performances are sold out until then.
Thank you,
Liz
Liz,
you can either go to the website of the spanish riding school:
www.srs.at
or try the tourism sites:
this one is for entire Austria:
http://www.austria-tourism.at/index_e.html
and this one is for Vienna specifically:
http://info.wien.at/
Hope this helps.
Thank you. I just visited the SRS site and it looks like I'm out of luck for performances and workouts. Maybe this means we'll just need to take another trip to Austria when the riders and horses are performing.
The sites you listed will be helpful as we plan our trip.
Liz
Hello,
Our group the Potomac Highlands 4-H club from West Virginia brought a bus group to see the show. Every year we do a big trip to something horsey for the kids.
I thought it was a great educational experience for the kids and adults. On the bus ride to the show we watched the movie put out by Disney many years ago which showed how the Americans helped save the horses.
It was wonderful how the show explained step by step about the training that goes into these great horses and their riders, by the time we got to the ballet at the end, we all had a greater understanding of what it took to get there.
You could tell there was a bond between rider and horse.
I am sure we all went home with a greater knowledge about the horses.
I know myself and my 2 daughters enjoyed it greatly.
We had to purchase those cute stuffed horses too.
Sincerely,
Lisa Crites
Dear Troy,
I’m going to take you up on your offer to pass comments on to the riders. I first saw the Lipizzaners back in 1980, at age 11, when my mom and dad took a whirlwind car tour through Europe. Austria wasn’t on the agenda – but I insisted that we HAD to go to Vienna to see the Lipizzaners. So we did, and I saw a practice at the Riding School.
Fast forward 25 years . . .
When I heard the Riding School was coming to Washington DC, I pulled out the coins I kept from my childhood Vienna trip and showed the levade to my two young daughters. To further prepare the kids, we read the old Marguerite Henry book “White Stallion of Lipizza” and also saw the Disney movie, “Miracle of the White Stallions.” And read the blog. And visited the Spanish Riding School website a million times.
Anyway, the point is we are HUGE fans. Please tell the riders they’ve inspired me to ride my paint gelding even better.
Here’s what my kids wanted to tell the riders. These are their words, verbatim:
From Marie, Age 5:
Dear Riders,
I hope you get this e-mail. Today I told my mom that my favorite show was the Lipizzaners. I think your show is the best. It was as wonderful as how my mom rides, but even more better. I want to ride just like you when I grow up. I’m your and your horses’ number one fan.
Do the Lipizzaners get to eat special foods like carrots and apples?
I liked to see your performance when you were doing your amazing tricks, to show that you are proud that General Patton saved the horses from war. Hope you are doing well in your new place.
We were trying to give you signs but my mom forgot to put them up. My sign said “We love you Lipizzaners!” and that is true.
My favorite horse was the grey one that was jumping. And I used to have a pony and now I have a big paint horse.
Do your performance again soon in Washington, D.C., down where you did it before.
Sincerely,
Marie, Age 5.
P.S. Please let the horses get to see this e-mail too.
* * *
Dear Troy,
This is Nadia. I would like to tell the Lipizzaners that I like their tricks so much. I am one of their fans. I want them to do more. Please come back next year and do more tricks like the courbette, capriole, and levade.
I am very pleased that I could see your show yesterday. I am so happy that I saw it. It was my first time seeing it.
Sincerely,
Nadia, Age 7
For Liz:
Vienna is worth a visit even when the Lipizzaner aren't performing! The training sessions are interesting, and it's also now possible to tour the stables and meet the stallions - great fun! The School's website www.srs.at has details about the timings for tours. The English-speaking guides who give the tours are great, very knowledgeable and entertaining. And the stallions are lovely (but curiously small close-up!)
At certain times of year it's also possible to visit the Lipizzaner stud farm at Piber in Styria, a short distance from Graz. The foals are adorable!
If anyone is interested in background reading about the Lipizzaner and the School, I would recommend Marguerite Henry's children's novel, "White Stallion of Lipizza", and also "My Dancing White Horses" and "My Horses, My Teachers" by Colonel Podhajsky, who was Director of the School during and after WWII. All informative, and great reads for horse-lovers.
For Cathy in Maryland:
I'm so glad that you and your family were able to see us in DC. I will pass your comments on to the riders, and I'm sure they'll be delighted.
How wonderful that you prepared the kids for our presentation with the book and movie. I hear stories like this often and it's no wonder the lipizzaner legend continues to grow from generation to generation. I find it very moving to be connected, in even such a small way, to something so much larger than life.
I am sure that due to the time you have invested in your children, in sharing with them these amazing horses, that Nadia and Marie will one day share them with their children, and no doubt think of you with a smile.
Sincerely, Thanks.
I just found out about the Philadelphia visit. I have tickets for the Saturday show on the 26th. This will be the second time I have seen them and I am shaking with excitement. I can not wait. You won't have to translate my sentiments. They are universal. "Thank You for coming to the states and sharing these beautiful animals and their skilled trainer/riders." It just increases my love of these majestic animals.
OH PLEASE OH PLEASE COME ANYWHERE NEAR CALIFORNIA!!!
In December 1995 I had the opportunity to visit the Spanish Riding School in Vienna - but no one was there! Open doors, no horses, no people. So those of you looking forward to dropping in - call first! Amazingly, sometimes, no one is home.
Reading all of this great stuff on this Blog is making me so sad that I moved from Iowa to California! I have been a lifelong horse lover, and can't wait to get to see the Lippizaners perform.
Hey! saw the lipizzaners in St. Louis! They were incredible! Definitely worth driving 500 miles one way to see! I am now totally enthused and looking forward to moving up the levels on my Percheron/Morgan cross! (Hey, he's not a Lipizzaner but he's cute!) I can't wait to see them next time!
We are just a few hours away from going to see the Philadelphia show and are so excited about it!! This is our anniversary gift to each other, and there is nothing like seeing the magic of these graceful stallions to remind us of the magic of our life together. We are horse people (prior dressage and hunter/jumper turned rodeo team ropers) and even though our horses could NEVER be confused with these athletes, the communication and teamwork between horse and rider is always something to be admired and respected.
I just saw
the ad in the paper this morning. It's the last show in Philadelphia;
are tickets available for this 2:30 show? I'd like two.
Anyone know how I can find two reasonable tickets?
My mom took me to the show in New York when I was a teen and I'd like to take my daughter and grand-daughter-to-be to the show today in Philadelphia. I'm a teacher and have been very busy prepping and grading papers and totally missed the news that they were in town.
Any help would be appreciated.
Hi
I'm going to the December 3 performace in Atlanta. I e-mailed the person in charge of the pre-show clinic but she is out of town right now. It said in the e-mail that groups will need a specail pass to get in to the clinic. I'm going with my friends barn and we are a large group. Is this true that groups need these passes? I saw a notice at my friends barn that said that the clinc was not open to the general public, I'm assuming that just groups can see the clinc since you need a specail pass to get in. Also is photgraphy allowed because we have a digital camera and we can totally turn off the flash.
please correct me if I got anything wrong and answers to these questions would be very helpful
miss Carey W. age 16
Again, I wish I had more information about the clinics before the performances. I only know that it was stressed that each city was handling it differently. Don't give up! Keep calling! It is worth it!
Attended the Friday evening Philadelphia performance last night with my daughter and granddaughter. Last year they were in Vienna, but missed the stallions (one of their days off!) I was happy to read that many of you had the same tearful reaction to this beautiful presentation. As a newbie rider (three lessons!) I was in awe. Thank you so much for coming to the States. As to the riders, I found Prince Charming striking, but thought Chief Rider Klaus Krzisch and Mantua I the sexiest.
My friends and I attended the show on Sunday 20 November in Washington D.C.
It's simply spectacular! It will make a dressage lover out you for sure!
We just came back from the Philly show and OH MY GOD.... if you are lucky enough to catch one of their performances, BRING TISSUES. It is a truely breathtaking show. On the camera topic... Even if you have a digital camera and can shut off the flash, there is still the red-eye function that is distracting ( it happened a few times this afternoon... ) and they ask very politely for you not to take pictures, so I think its something that should be respected. Enjoy the Atlanta show!
How old were the horses in the preformances. I understand that the dark brown horse was 25 years old. How old were the other horses?
What were the ages of the horses used in the performances?
Saw the Friday night show in Philadelphia last night, and as always, it was magnificent. I have been lucky enough to see them three times in my life; the first in Philadelphia on their 60's tour, and then in 1999 when I was visiting Europe. I was so disapointed that they would not be in Vienna during my visit that I tracked them down, and found that they would be giving a show in Piber for their 100 Years festival. What a magnificent show! They also had a performance by the Vienna Boys Choir, and, of course, the stud farm was beautiful. It was the trip of a lifetime! But the Philadelphia show equalled it. If there is any way that you can make it to a show, don't miss it!!
I saw the show yesterday in Philadelphia, and it truely is amazing and spectacular to see. It was more than hoped for, and I also had the same tearful reaction to the beauty, grace and skill of these wonderful creatures and their riders. Thanks for bringing the show to this area. I was in Vienna last month, but only had the opportunity to see a practice session, and tour the stables. It was extra fun recognizing some of the riders and horses I saw in Vienna in the performance here.Thanks again.
Sorry I didn't hear/know about the clinic prior to the show. Only issue I had was with the Wachovia Complex's parking situation, as I spent 40 minutes driving around the complex, and unable to get in to park, and was almost late for the show. But, alas, the performance of the SRS made up for all the inconvenience.
Thanks to all of you who braved the cold weather to come out to the Philly shows.
To answer a couple questions, the youngest horse in the show is 7 and the oldest is 26 (that's Siglavy Mantua, a featured solo horse) and this is his retirement tour. These horses live to be 30-35 yrs of age, so they still have plenty of life in them at retirement. In fact, they retire to the Piber farm where they become stud horses. Not a bad way to retire, I think!
Let me try to clear uup some mis-information on the clinics. They are NOT 2 hours long, but start usually 2 hours before the start of the show. the clinic may be 30 to 45 minutes in length, and normally we do have a brief Q and A after, but it isn't always possible.
Good news about the SRS merchandise! If you were unable to be waited on at the performances, you may go to www.lipizzaner.com and click on the spanish riding school merchandise link. Most of the memorabilia at the stands will be available there.
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. All of us are safe and sound in Atlanta, working toward this weekend's shows.
My father took me to see the movie 'The Miracle of the White Stallions' several decades ago, and ever since then, I have dreamt of seeing these gorgeous horses. So, I was honored to be in the audience to see them perform in Philadelphia 11/26, and cried when the performance concluded. The Philadelphia/New Jersey (home of the USET) areas love horses, and in all venues. So, it was a very knowledgable and appreciative audience. We all watched everything in detail - the way the reins were held, the riders talking to his horses, the communication with the feet, gait changes - it goes on. But what was so incredible was that the Lipizzans wanted to perform these incredible feats! One young Lipizzan twice missed his Corbette, but the 3rd time around, HE DID IT!!! and, of course, we ALL applauded. That rider made sure his horse could and would do it, and he did because he wanted to! Fabulous!
When the riders gave their final salute, we all IMMEDIATELY stood in respectful ovation to the Spanish Riding School for its history and excellence.
To Mr Tinker, I hope that the SRS will know how much America and Americans thank you and the School for this year's 2005 tour.
Pam
To everyone that has seen the show. And to Troy Tinker as well.
I was at the philly show, the saturday preformance.
I would like to know why the riders don't ride with stirrups during the "airs above ground" part of the show. I being a rider and preformed such moves when my horse is trying to get rid of me. (LOL) would think that a rider would want as much support and stalibity to "keep a seat".
Any other people notice that the riders were stirrup-less?
I was amazed that they were able to keep shoulder-elbow-hip-heel in line with out stirrups.
Thanks
Four of us flew from Colorado to St Louis just to see the SRS. What an awesome performance! We were not disappointed. Untill we got home and heard for the first time about the pre-show clinic. The Event Center was less than half full and there was nothint outside saying what was going on. Why wasn't this more publicized? Was it intended only for horse people?
I attended the Sunday performance in Washington DC, and it was spectacular. I'm a college student, and I didn't think that I would be in the DC area. However, I was home that weekend, and on Saturday I came across this blog and saw that there was a performance in DC the next day. My mother and I immediately got tickets (4 rows from the front), and it was spectacular. The entire audience (horse people and non-horse people alike) was enthralled. I highly reccomend it.
SRS is very meaningful to our family. We became acquainted with Tom Stewart, whom you recently honored in Washington, D.C. for leading the group in WWII who rescued the horses, who then introduced us to Don and Karen W. of Texas. Our daughter-in-law's grandfather, McCaleb, was the leader of the Point Platoon who came under fire during the rescue. Mr. McCaleb inspired our daughter-in-law and family to compete in dressage over the years. This little side story is very meaningful to all of us. Thank you for becoming a connection to bring all of us together.
We would love to have you in Nashville, TN. We lived in Washington, D.C. when you were there before this time,but missed you. Hope to see you during this visit. Sorry we missed D.C. the other day. Ross
The first time I heard of these horses I had just moved and found a book about them. The 'Spanish'became my friends. Finally, after 40 years I have seen them. It was like a prayer, like something far removed from this Earth, something of total beauty that took my breath and now reaches into my best dreams!
Thanks to all who made this experience possible.
Hello, from Atlanta! Nice to see so many nice comments from those who have seen our presentation!
A few more answers for those of you with questions,...
First of all, the Clinics were originally intended for those people who purchased groups sales tickets only, and were not intended for the general public. Some buildings have been allowing the general public in, however, which may be why we had more than 2,000 attend a clinic in Philly last week!
I believe that the decision to make the clinic's a "group sales only" even was a bad one and it probably will be done differently in the future.
There will be a "future" as plans are already underway for another US tour in 2008 0r 2009, this time focusing on the western half of the uS. This is not an official announcement, but you can bet you'll learn more in the future on www.lipizzaner.com.
For those who wondered why the airs were ridden without stirrups, it's because the riders who ride the airs must have perfect balance. With stirrups, the balance is not so important, so they ride without them to show they have mastered that challenge.
Looking forward to seeing you in Atlanta, and next week, our final stop, Houston.
Troy, I was told by the contact in Houston that if you had a ticket for the performance, you could attend the clinic. There are 4 of us with tickets together. Are we going to be able to attend the clinic in Houston? Thanks!
We can hardly wait.........
I'm going to the show tomorrow in Atlanta and I can't wait. I've seen the Royal Lippizanners tour many times but it has always been a dream of mine always wanted to see the SRS. Not that I'm attempting to compare the two groups. Believe me, I already recognize the differences. It is quite obvious in watching the commercials and from reading this blog. I can't wait to see the true masters of this art perform. Did I mention I can't wait?! :-)
I do have information concerning the preshow clinic in Atlanta. You had to e-mail Carla White. (Her email is listed on the first page of the blog that shows the articles.) Originally it was only that those that purchased group tickets could get into the clinic, but they chose to open it up to others as well. I've heard that they have no more passes for the clinic on the 3rd, but you might want to e-mail her anyway. I think it would be worth the try.
Anyway, I'm going to attempt to get back to sleep now. :-)
I have traveled from Kentucky to Atlanta to attend the performance this evening. I have heard so many stories about the clinics that it has been really hard to get the correct information.There has been othe