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The Lipizzaner Stallions have galloped boldly out of the pages of four hundred years of European history... into the hearts of millions of people. The Walt Disney movie, The Miracle of the White Stallions, depicting General George Patton's involvement in saving the breed, did much to publicize and create the mystique of the Lipizzans.
The Lipizzan is the aristocrat, the royalty, and the nimble dancer of the equestrian world. His distant ancestors from the Orient bore Ghengis Khan out of the wastelands of Asia to conquer much of the then-known world. The fleet Arabic strain in the Lipizzan line patrolled, guarded and raided treasure-laden caravans in the sands of the Sahara. Their masters were Bedouins, Tuaregs and riders from a dozen long-forgotten tribes.
It is believed the forerunner of the Lipizzan was bred in Carthage, more than 2,000 years ago. The Carthaginian stock was bred with Vilano, a sturdy Pyrennees horse, and with Arab and Barbary strains. The result became the fabled horse of ancient Spain, the Andalusian.
During Spain's 700 years of Moorish domination, the breed remained essentially the same. Occasional crossing with fresh Arab and Oriental blood, by breeders of Cordoba and Granads, ensured that the fleetness and agility so prized by the Arabs remained qualities inherent in the stock. The Spanish began to export the horses after Moorish rule ended. The most notable stud farms were established in Italy and Denmark. The Italian "neapolitan" blood line became famous in Europe.
Archduke Maximilian, Emperor of Austria, began breeding Spanish horses there in about 1562. Eighteen years later, Archduke Karl, ruler of four Austrian provinces, established a royal stud farm in Lipizza (now in Slovenia) near Trieste, Italy. It was rugged country, but the Lipizzans thrived in it and became famous for their endurance, strength and speed.
Lipizzans became almost exclusively the property of nobility and the military aristocracy. The stallions were trained for battle. Their great leaps and caprioles struck fear into the hearts of foot soldiers. The gentle white mares became the coach horses of the elite.
Fresh Spanish stock was systematically added to the line to maintain the strength of the breed. Oriental stallions were also occasionally used. In the 17th and 18th centuries, horses from the Northern Italy stud farm at Polesnia were brought to Lipizza to breed with the resident stock and descendants of the original Spanish line (out of Denmark and Germany).
The Lipizzans were evacuated several times for protection during wars. Three hundred Lipizzans made a 40 day march to Stuhlweissenburg during the Napoleonic War in 1781 and returned when peace was restored. They were moved again in 1805 and 1806 only to return and flee the advancing French armies. From 1809 to 1815, they lived in the lowlands of the Tisza River, a tributary of the Danube. In 1915, the Lipizzans were split up; one group to Laxenburg, near Vienna, and the other to Kladrub.
The fall of the Austrian House of Hapsburg, in 1918, brought about the breakup of the Austrian Empire. Lipizza became a part of Italy and the Italian and Austrian governments divided the Lipizzan herd. The Republic of Austria took their horses to Piber, a privately owned stud farm that was founded in 1798 to breed calvary mounts. It became a government breeding farm in 1858. Although the WONDERFUL WORLD OF HORSES® show is not affiliated with the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, a number of horses appearing in the show were born at the Piber Stud Farm.
In 1942, Lipizzan mares were sent for safekeeping to what was known as Czechoslovakia, where they fell into German hands. In 1945, Russian troops were rapidly approaching the farm and it was feared the Lipizzans would be destroyed in the battle. The stallions, still at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, were under attack by allied bombers. The director of the School, Colonel Alois Podhajsky, had the stallions transferred to the St. Martin's in upper Austria, 200 miles away. There, starving refugees attempted to steal the horses for food. This separation of mares and studs could have meant the end of the Lipizzan line.
The U.S. Army, under the command of General George S. Patton, moved into St. Martin's shortly thereafter. The Undersecretary of War, Robert Patterson, met with Colonel Podhajsky and surveyed the stallions. Impressed by the horses, Patton agreed to make them wards of the U.S. Army until the horses could be safely returned to Vienna.
Meanwhile, the 42nd Squadron, under command of Colonel Charles H. Reed, discovered the mares and foals at the German Remount Breeding Depot in Hostau, Czechoslovakia, where they were being cared for by allied prisoners of war. Colonel Reed, at Patton's direction, liberated the prisoners and horses. The Germans, great admirers of the Lipizzans, agreed to allow American forces to rescue the horses, for fear that oncoming Russian troops would totally annihilate the breed. They rescued nearly 150 horses from the Depot. When the Czech and Russian governments both decided the horses were theirs, the 42nd Squadron fought off a counterattack by German SS troops. The Americans quickly moved the Lipizzans into Germany, which had become a "Lipizzan" ally, and returned the horses to the Spanish Riding School.
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