Graceful Lipizzaners leap onto the stage

Graceful Lipizzaners leap onto the stage

By GUY D’ASTOLFO

vindicator entertainment writer

YOUNGSTOWN — The Lipizzan stallion: Accept no other brand.

The Lipizzaner stallions are a rare breed, and there simply is no substitute.

The beautiful and intelligent white horses are known worldwide for their balletic prances, precision struts and powerful leaps. The moves are vestiges of its history as a horse of war, a horse that led men into battle.

Proof of the Lipizzan’s authenticity can be found in its brand; that is, the permanent marks made on its body that give information about its breeding.

Lipizzans have always been heavily branded, especially the ones raised in Austria, and to a lesser extent, other European nations.

The Austrian Lipizzan has an “L” branded into its left cheek (for Lipizzaner). On the left side of the horse are more brands, identifying its sire and dam (father and mother), the date and location of its birth and its birth order.

The World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions show will bring the white animals back to Youngstown on Friday for a show at Covelli Centre that will demonstrate the breed’s extraordinary intelligence and athleticism.

The Lipizzans are descendants of the fabled Andalusian of Spain. In 1580, Archduke Maximilian of Austria began a royal stud farm to breed the Spanish horses near Lipizza. The horses were trained for battle; their great leaps struck fear into foot soldiers.

Although the horses are now bred in many nations, there remain six original bloodlines for the thoroughbreds, according to Gary Lashinsky, producer of the Lipizzaner Stallions show. Many of the show’s horses also bear the “crown over P” brand of the Piber stud farm of Austria, the most famous in the world, said Lashinsky.

Lashinsky noted that hot branding was recently stopped in Europe in favor of freeze branding, which is considered more humane.

It takes anywhere from four to six years to train a Lipizzaner for the show. “By the time a horse is 9 years old and ready to be in the show, we have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on it,” said Lashinsky. “But once fully trained, it is priceless. You would never sell it.”

There are about 3,000 Lipizzans in the world, and Lashinky’s show owns 47, including eight stallions purchased as a rescue from a Missouri farm.

“The horses were in bad shape, nearly dead,” he said. “The man who owned the farm died, and his widow didn’t have insurance. It took us two years to get them into shape to begin training them.”

Inbreeding, he said, can become a problem if the horse’s aren’t scrupulously maintained.

“Every year, the director of the Spanish Riding School in Austria evaluates every one of our horses on size, temperament and gait,” said Lashinsky. “Then he sits down and says ‘this stallion should be bred to this mare,’ or ‘breed this one to that one to get this result.’

“It is very carefully thought out,” he continued.

“We won’t interbreed for five or six generations before again crossing a sire and dam, and by that time they are clear.”

Lashinsky said that the Lipizzaner has an 11-month gestation period and lives 30 to 35 years, often performing into its late 20s and 30s.

Only the stallions possess the athleticism and body type required for “airs” or leaps. The mares, however, often see duty pulling carriages.

Lashinsky said Lipizzans of every bloodline can be trained. “We will first recognize the horses that have the most athletic ability and then begin to train them at around age 4,” he said. “It makes no difference what their bloodline is. What matters is their natural ability and tendencies.”

Lashinsky said this year’s version of the World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions show features more “air” horses plus three new horses that do solo presentations.

“We’ve improved it a lot, but still, it’s traditional — that’s what people expect to see,” he said.

The family-friendly show, he said, includes a narrator who talks about the history and movements.

“You don’t need to be a horse lover,” said Lashinsky.