Kathy Higginbotham, age 10, of Oaklandon, Ind., for her question:
WHAT ARE THE LIPIZZANERS?
Arabian horses are strong and are noted for endurance. Arabs developed this breed for use in the desert. For hundreds of years, breeders in many countries have brought these horses from Arabia and used them to develop new breeds. One of the breeds developed from the Arabian horse is the thoroughbred used in racing. Another breed is the Lipizzaner, Europe's famous show horse.
In Vienna, Austria, is a famous horse showplace called the Spanish Riding School. Here the famous white Lipizzaner can be found. He's also called the Lipizzan horse.
Long before the Spanish Riding School was established in 1564, a special quality of horse was being bred at Lipizza in Yugoslavia. His ancestors included a breed known as the Kladruber which came from Czechoslovakia and the line of stallions called the Royal Stud which came from Fredriksborg, Denmark. Added also were mixtures of pure Arab blood and even traces of the Tarpan from the Fogaras Stud in ancient Translyvania.
Years of special crossbreeding in central Europe produced the Lipizzaner, a show horse considered to be one of the world's most distinct and most distinguished.
Since the 16th century, the Lipizzaners have been giving breathtaking displays of their artistry.
Vienna's Spanish Riding School survived the demise of the Austro Hungarian regime which long supported it. In 1735 a splendid Baroque building was erected where the horses continued to put on their shows in a spectacular museum¬theater.
Although the early riding masters of the Vienna school were Spanish, the present masters are of international background.
The white Lipizzaners wheel and dance and leap with balletic grace. One difficult trick is called the capriole. A Lipizzaner will free leap high into the air from a standing position. The horse specializes in difficult and impossible¬looking movements. He doesn't do "cute" or easy tricks.
A Lipizzaner is trained for seven years before he is even considered ready to compete. And he doesn't start his training until he is 5. Happily, he is a long lived and durable breed and will still be able to perform at the comparatively advanced age of 25.
During World War II, Gen. George S. Patton Jr., American master of armored warfare and a former calvary officer, saved the famous Lipizzaners of Vienna for the West. He directed that the horse be rushed behind U.S. lines before they could be taken by the oncoming Russians. Miraculously, the superb Spanish School itself was largely spared by the war.