LIPIZZANS Horse breed has a proud history

The emphasis this year is on the World War II rescue of the breed.
By GUY D'ASTOLFO
VINDICATOR ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
The Lipizzan is a horse with a history.
Originally bred as a war horse, these proud animals have come to be appreciated for their beauty and intelligence.
Lipizzans are descendants of the famed Andalusian horse of ancient Spain. The breed began in 1562 when Archduke Maximilian, who later became emperor of Austria, established a royal stud farm in Lipizza.
The agile white stallions were bred for battle, and their great leaps struck fear in the foot soldiers who opposed the nobleman riders. The intelligent mares became coach horses.
The breed has been maintained through the centuries and remains prized to this day.
Coming to arena
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions, a touring show, comes to Chevrolet Centre in downtown Youngstown. The two-hour show (with 15-minute intermission) consists of 12 to 14 stallions performing maneuvers, including "Airs Above the Ground," the spectacular battlefield leaps.
The show is geared toward families. "Kids love it and a lot of senior citizens come and enjoy it," said Gary Lashinsky, the show's producer. And of course, horse trainers and breeders -- of which there are many in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania -- are usually in the stands.
But Lashinsky stressed you don't have to be a horse lover to appreciate the show.
"It's entertainment, as opposed to a demonstration," said Lashinsky. "There are costume changes, and it is set to classical music."
At the beginning, the horses and their riders demonstrate the basic steps and movements, Lashinsky said. A narrator gives descriptive information throughout the show about what the audience is seeing.
Lashinsky said the horses in his show are brought to his Florida farm direct from their ancestral home, the Spanish Riding School in Austria.
"We bring them here when they are 2 or 3," he said. "They start training at age 4, and receive six to eight years of training."
The Lipizzans' maneuvers comes naturally. "The horses already are doing leaps before you train them," said Lashinsky. "You can see them do it when they play in pasture."
The trainers select the most athletic horses for training, which basically means they are encouraged to improve on what they love to do.
Salute to Patton
This year's edition of the show is a salute to Gen. George C. Patton, said Lashinsky. The narrator tells the story of how the general saved the breed during World War II.
The breed was kept at Hostau, Czechoslovakia, under the control of Nazi Germany during World War II. U.S. Col. Charles Reed, leading the 42nd Squadron of the U.S. Army's 2nd Cavalry, defeated the Germans there. The vanquished Germans were great admirers of the Lipizzans, and agreed to allow the Americans to remove the horses for safekeeping, lest they fall into the hands of the approaching Russian Army, which they feared would kill them. Patton approved the rescue operation.
The rescue of the breed was immortalized in the 1963 Disney movie "The Miracle of the White Stallions."