Spanish Riding School
The Spanish Riding School is a Vienna traditional riding school of Lipizzan horses, exquisite vintage horses bred by the Habsburgs for both military and fashionable purposes at Lipizza, in Slovenia. The heritage of the Lipizzan includes Spanish Andalusian horse, the now extinct Neapolitan breed and other Baroque horses. Today, the stallions are bred in western Styria, Austria.
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The Lipizzans perform in the Winter Riding School, at Hofburg Palace, both a center for classical dressage and one of the main Viennaise tourist attractions.
The location of the Riding School, established in the first half of the 18th century, is a sunlight-flooded hall painted in white, beige and light grey, displaying a portrait of emperor Charles VI above the royal box, opposite of the entrance. The hall was built by architect Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach.
The riding school is the oldest kind in the world, first named in 1572, during the Austrian Empire. Today, the hall is open to the public, who may witness the training and the performances of distinguished stallions.
The training methods of the Spanish Riding School were not developed primarily for aid in battle. They were meant strengthen the horse's body and mind, making him a supreme athlete.
The training has three stages. The Remontenschule or forward riding teaches 4-year-old stallions to be saddled and bridled, to obey and how to strengthen their muscles in preparation for a rider. They are ridden in the arena on straight lines.
In the campaign school stage, the horses are assigned experienced riders to help prevent the development of bad habits. They are taught collection and ridden in turns and circles. The stage is meant to develop impulsion and flexibility.
The high school stage pushes the horse to perfection in suppleness, straightness, contact. The horses learn to perform difficult movements such as pirouettes, passages, piaffes, one-tempi-changes. The final step of the training is the "airs above the ground".
The program of the public event begins with Young Stallions from the stud farm in Styria. It demonstrates the first phase of training. The next section is Steps and Movements of the High School, with 4 fully-trained stallions in double bridle performing movements seen in the Olympic Grand Prix Dressage test, such as flying change, pirouette, passage and piaffe.
The Pas de Deux section shows two horses performing High School movements in mirror image.
The Work in hand section shows horses executing the school jumps levade, courbette and capriole, with work on the diagonal, on the wall and between pillars.
Next, a stallion is worked on The Long Rein, wearing a red snaffle bridle and a red shabrack with the golden coat of arms of the Austrian Empire.
The Airs Above the ground section follows. In the final School Quadrille, 8 riders work in formation at the walk, trot and canter, with pirouettes, flying changes, half pass and passage. It is the longest and most difficult riding performance in the world.
