The striking white Lipizzaner stallions of the famed Spanish Riding School in Vienna have been thrilling audiences for centuries. During the winter public performance season, these elegant and intelligent horses execute a breath-taking display of carefully choreographed and synchronized movements known as high classical dressage. Their success relies on the very strong bonds this historic breed has established with their riders over years of training.
How the Lipizzaner developed from a horse bred for war to one bred for performance is the subject of NATURE's Legendary White Stallions airing Wednesday, May 1 at 8 p.m. (ET) on
PBS (check local listings). After broadcast, the program will stream at pbs.org/nature.
The origins of the Lipizzaner, one of the oldest horse breeds in the world, began in the rugged Atlas Mountains of North Africa. To thrive in both the hot barren desert and on icy mountain slopes, horses needed to possess tremendous stamina, agility, and courage.
These traits helped the Berbers, also known as Moors, who rode the horses, outmaneuver their foes as they sought to build an empire. The Berbers and their spirited steeds seemed to perform in perfect sync as they clashed with the Europeans and conquered Spain in the year 711. The Moors brought their horses with them and over time, a new breed emerged -- the Spanish horse -- setting a new standard for beauty, refinement, and power.
For a sovereign, a horse was a symbol of his own prestige. So Spanish horses became highly coveted by European royalty as the Renaissance began to flourish, and the Austrian Hapsburgs were no exception. Archduke Charles established an Imperial stud farm to develop his own breed based on the Spanish model which became the Lipizzaner.
Oddly enough, these famous white horses are born dark brown, even black. It takes six years or more for them to turn as milky white as their mothers. All this takes place at the Federal Stud Farm in Piber where mares and foals have an idyllic life on the alpine meadows.
Humans are introduced to the Lipizzaners from the first day of their lives and care for them around the clock. Their constant presence is central to developing the special relationship between man and horse. Not only are the Lipizzaners fed and groomed, but also whispered to, and shown affection which helps makes them such a good natured breed.
The best of the young stallions selected for the Spanish Riding School train in Vienna for a minimum of six years before any performance. It is the start of a long and unique relationship between the horse and its sole rider and trainer. The "students" learn to execute complex movements and comprehend discreet commands. The daily training prepares them for the day they will enter the baroque arena for their premiere performance.
Although Lipizzaners are selectively bred to be white, about one in every hundred fails to turns white. It is fortunate however that this is the case. There is a long-held superstition at the Spanish Riding School: the school will prosper as long as there is a dark stallion in its stables. Obviously, it works.
Nature is a production of THIRTEEN in association with WNET for PBS. For Nature,
FrEd Kaufman is executive producer. Legendary White Stallions is a production of ScienceVision and Satel Film in co-production with Servus TV, Terra Mater Factual Studios and THIRTEEN in association with WNET.
Nature pioneered a television genre that is now widely emulated in the broadcast industry. Throughout its history,
Nature has brought the natural world to millions of viewers. The series has been consistently among the most-watched primetime series on public television.
Nature has won almost 700 honors from the television industry, the international wildlife film communities, and environmental organizations including 11 Emmys, three Peabodys and the first award given to a television program by the Sierra Club. The series received two of wildlife film industry's highest honors: the Christopher Parsons Outstanding Achievement Award given by the Wildscreen Festival and the Grand Teton Award given by the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival. Recently, Nature's executive producer,
FrEd Kaufman, received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Media by the 2012 International Wildlife Film Festival.
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Support for this
Nature program was
Made possible in part by the Arnhold Family in memory of Clarisse Arnhold, the Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust, The Arlene and Milton D. Berkman Philanthropic Fund, the Filomen M. D'Agostino Foundation, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and by the nation's public television stations.
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