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Bana Conversano and Sue Ott of Proud Meadows will dazzle the crowd
with 4 other Lipizzans and a very rare Cleveland Bay as they perform in honor
of the 60th anniversary of WWII.
The Lipizzan has had a very rich and dramatic past. It was once a horse reserved
exclusively for nobility, but on numerous occasions was faced with the ravages
of war. During World War I the horses were moved for their protection to the
snowy mountainsides, for fear of their safety, but sadly by the end of the war
(1919) there were only 208 Lipizzans known to be left. Italy received 109 horses
for its stud farm in Lipizza and Piber stud farm in Austria received 98 horses.
This was hardly enough horses to ensure a strong future. The Lipizzans were
once again evacuated during World War II they narrowly escaped obliteration
thanks to the bravery of the American Army. In 1945, General Patton along
with the efforts of the Spanish Riding School’s director, Alois Podhajsky,
and the bravery of the United States Army’s 2nd Cavalry executed a daring
rescue of the Lipizzans. A band containing 150 mares, foals, and stallions were
captured from enemy territory and marched to safety. This dramatic episode is
documented in The Walt Disney movie, “THE MIRACLE OF THE WHITE STALLIONS.”
Even though the horses were saved the war did take its toll and the Lipizzan
breed numbered less than 200. Today there are Lipizzan stud farms in America,
Austria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria, as well as South
Africa, Australia, France, and Germany, but the breed is still considered rare
with the worldwide population numbering less than 3500. America is home to and
estimated 1,500 Lipizzans.
The Lipizzan horse represents over 400 years of select breeding. They not only
possess beauty and nobility, but also a
rare combination of courage, strength, ability, temperament, and intelligence.
Lipizzans are late maturing and long lived, many times to 35 or more years of age. They are born black or bay and slowly
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Sue Ot on Bana
Concersano, AKA "Desche" |
turn “white” by the time they are five to eight years
of age. Lipizzan horses are not fully-grown in size until they are seven and
do not reach full maturity until almost ten years of age. Rarely does a Lipizzan
stay black or brown. The Spanish Riding School keeps one of each on the premises
at all times for “luck.” The Southwest Lipizzan Association is no
exception and will have a rare bay Lipizzan, Maestoso Gaela at the expo. He
represents one of and estimated 35 Bay Lipizzan horses in the world. Lipizzans
are of sound, heavy bone and lameness is rare. Their powerful hindquarters allow
them to carry themselves with a natural balance. Training does not begin with
a Lipizzan until the fourth year, but a Lipizzan can and often does continue
to perform well beyond 25 years of age. Bana Conversano is 20 years old and
is at the peak of his career. The training emphasizes praise rather than
punishment and takes many years — usually with the same trainer.
There are six Stallion lines of the Lipizzan as known today: they are CONVERSANO,
FAVORY, MAESTOSO, NEAPOLITANO, PLUTO, and SIGLAVY. There are also 23 mare lines.
A Lipizzan stallion has a duel name, the line he originates from and the name
of his Dam. Lipizzan mares have one name that is usually a feminine name ending
in the vowel “a.” It is strongly suggested fillies are named with
the same first letter of their Dam. There are two registries in the United States
today that ensure the horses are DNA typed and recorded. The United States Lipizzan
Registry and the Lipizzan Association of North America.
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Sue Ott of Proud Meadows prepares |
The Equine Expo of Texas will be a good place to introduce yourself
to the bred. There will be horses on hand for viewing and lots of information
about the breed. Perhaps by the time the official Spanish Riding School visits
Houston on December 10th and 11th the public will be ready to give them a warm
welcome.
So please come celebrate with the Southwest Lipizzan Association on this anniversary
year. It would be a great loss to the world if this cherished breed were forever
lost. The Lipizzan horses will be performing an “American Tribute”
to the veterans of World War II to publicly thank them for the dramatic rescue
of our breed a the Equine Expo of Texas (www.EquineExpoOfTexas.com) on May 14-15
in Fort Worth.
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