The South African Lipizzaners perform every Sunday morning at 10.30am in their majestic indoor hall in Kyalami. This one was at Wynbeg Military Base on 28 Oct 2006.
The performance lasts about 60min without an interval. Refreshments and memorabilia are available before and after the performance. Tickets can be booked through Computicket or bought at the door.
The oldest human bred horse in the world, ancestors of the Lipizzaners, have been traced to Carthaginian and Roman horses at the time Julius Caesar was Emperor of Rome.
The Lipizzaner breed itself dates back to around 1562 when Archduke Maximilian started to breed Spanish horses in Lipica, a village in the modern day Slovenia. It was the need for military horses of unusual strength, loyalty and courage that inspired him to import Spanish, Italian and Arab-Oriental horses for his breeding programme. Out of this grew the famous white horse – the Lipizzaner – as we know it today.
These animals are characterised by a perfect and noble physique, graceful movements, the ability to learn, liveliness, good nature, courage, toughness and stamina. In appearance they resemble in every respect the typical baroque show and parade horses..
Cost of tickets: R80 per adult, R50 per child(under 12) and R60 per pensioner.
The history of Lipizzaner horse is linked with an umbilical cord to the one of the famouns Spanish Riding School in Vienna. The School dates back 430 years to the revival of the 'Haute Ecole d'Equitation' at the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries, as the Renaissance was sweeping through the royal courts of Europe.
Horses of Spanish origin were chosen over other breeds for characteristics they possessed which made them especially suitable for classical training. Spanish Riding School of Vienna is the only riding academy in the world where the Renaissance tradition of classical horsemanship is preserved and cultivated to this day. The unique harmony of horse and rider achieved here is famous all over the world.
In 1944 a select few Lipizzaners were rescued from war-torn Austria and brought to South Africa by Count Jankovich-Besan. The stallions at Kyalami are direct descendants of those horses and their predecessors. The Lipizzaner Trust is dedicated to the advancement of this proud cultural heritage and the preservation of this most ancient breed of horse.
The South African Lipizzaners have earned the honour of being the only performing Lipizzaners outside Vienna recognised by and affiliated to the Spanish Riding School and a close association is maintained between the two establishments.
Over the years, the South African Lipizzaners have become an integral part of South Africa's cultural heritage.
Today, the South African Lipizzaners appear on film and television and at various public performances as well as their regular Sunday morning shows.
See more info: http://www.lipizzaners.co.za/Modules_FE/layout1/default.asp
The Stallions – The Black/Bay Stallions Lipizzaner horses are born dark. They gradually become lighter with each change of coat as they grow older, until they are silvery white. Although originally the breed represented different colours, today the Lipizzaner is almost exclusively white. Only a tine percentage still today remains bay or black.
After Each Performance the stables are open to the public – Everyone is invited to feed the Lipizzaners and enjoy a light lunch at Café Capriole.
Today the Lipizzaner Centre has two bay stallions to uphold the century old tradition of colour in a Lipizzaner. Both Siglavy Arva and … Arva will remain bay for the rest of their lives. In addition a colt born in 2006, Siglavy Odaliska, shows signs of remaining black. He would take up the place of Conversana Pablo, our last black Lipizzaner stallion at the Centre, who unfortunately died in 2005 at the age of 22.
