Wednesday, February 16, 2011
World Famous Lipizzaner Stallion Show
The past 6 weeks has been an unbelievable experience. The schedule is grueling but the horses are stoic and wonderful and it is immediately evident that they are truly 'war horses'. They frequently have 15 hour work days, many hours of which are schooling on a concrete floor, or standing tied to a hay string on a tie line back stage, standing in their tack during the 1.5 hour show doing whatever is asked of them at the moment - and everything is in collection. This collection is asked of them with out a warmup. The warmup is walking in a 10 meter circle , all 8 stallions back stage for (maybe) 8 minutes.When the curtain opens, even the most scared horse on the squad lifts his shoulders as if to say silently "I am here and this is my job!" Yes, the rider still has to ride the stallion through the show and stay straight, engaged and on the aids, but the good riders always make it look to the audience as if this is the easiest job in the world.
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