Hermann's Royal Lippizans in Action

Rebecca Hermann McCullough has an obvious bond with her stallions. 

After ten years of having a visit to Hermann's Royal Lippizans on my to do list, I finally got there last week with Andrea in tow. The Hermann family has trained and shown their Lippizans since 1962 when the family emigrated to the United States from Austria with three of the powerful horses. The fifth generation of the family, helmed by Rebecca Hermann McCullough, continues to showcase the beauty and skill of the Lippizans while educating the audience about the history of this special breed. We even had a chance to get up close and personal with the horses before the show. All in all, not a bad way to spend an afternoon. 

A highlight of the performance 

The surprising history of the Lippizaner breed includes Germans and Americans working together to save hundreds of the horses during WWII. Back in 1938, the Lippizaner Breeding Mares from a Viennese riding school were moved by the Germans to a stud farm in Nazi-occupied Czechoslavakia. The goal was to create a breed of Aryan horses. What???!!!  Setting aside the occasional recessive gene, the Lippizans are known for their pale coloring, so I guess that's what prompted the idea. 

Fast forward to 1945 when the farm was in the direct path of the advancing Red Army. The Soviets had no interest in the horses, and the German officer in charge of the farm knew they would all be killed (and eaten) when the soldiers arrived. The officer sent word to American troops in the area that he and his men would surrender if the U.S. forces assisted in getting the horses out of harm's way. A cavalry unit in Patton's Third Army answered the call and fought side by side with those Nazis against Waffen-SS to save the horses. The story is too good not to have been made into both the book "Ghost Riders" by historian Mark Helton and a Disney movie entitled "Miracle of the White Stallions."  For more on this fascinating story, click here. This history is more than abstract to the Hermann family. Rebecca's great-great grandfather was among the soldiers who saved these horses, and he was given one of the stallions in appreciation of his service. Now back to Myakka. 

Andrea and I spent some time walking around the stables and property before the show to meet the equine performers. I have to admit that I'm not really a horse person. When I was a kid, my sister and I were on a horse and fell off, she into the grass and me onto the gravel. The mother of the kids we were playing with pulled my pants down -- in front of everyone, including two boys! -- to check my wounds. To add insult to injury, my bronco busting uncle laughed and laughed when I told my tale of woe. I still haven't fully recovered from the incident. Notwithstanding my personal history, I couldn't resist petting these beautiful creatures. One of them was a small adult horse that was a pony. I was highly confused despite Andrea telling me multiple times that "pony" is an actual breed of horse rather than a baby horse. Who knew (besides Andrea)?   

The barn had a posted set of rules, and one especially caught my attention. "If you fall off, get back on" one rule read. Um, no, but I could get on board with the others, including "If you ride it, feed it," "If you smoke, don't" and "If it doesn't concern you, don't mess with it." There was also a poem about the beauty of the horses that read, in part: "There's beauty in his noble stance/For it will always be/A part of all that untamed realm/So open, wild and free." A bit rhyme-y but nice. 

Then, of course, there was the actual show. Rebecca explained that they trained the horses in the classical equestrian style. She noted that the horses had minds of their own and that we would have to see what they were willing to do that day. Happily, they were (generally) quite cooperative. 

Andrea outside the barn

Many of the routines seemed somewhat simple until I thought about what's involved in training these horses to perform the moves. Take, for instance, the cross over. Facing the audience, the rider invisibly cues the horse to move laterally by crossing one leg over the other. Big deal, right? But try it yourself and you'll see it's not as easy as it sounds. Then think about getting a 1,000+ pound animal to do the move on cue. 

Also in the repertoire were two routines involving poles. The first included the use of Garrocha Poles (basically long wooden sticks). Historically this type of pole was used by Spanish horseback riders to steer cattle in the right direction. The Hermann riders (including Rebecca's 15 year old daughter Sydney) would stick their poles in the ground and the horses would circle around them. Not a "wow"-inducing move, but it was an interesting exercise in cooperation between horse and rider. Then there was the Quintain. We had been curious about the standing poles with hanging plants on them that were inside the performance area. Were they just decoration? Nope. The horses and riders circled the rink and then approached the poles. The objective was to be close enough so the rider could hit the hanging plant with her pole. It's an exercise that dates back to the days of knights when the horsemen were learning how to use lances and the horses were learning how to approach stationary objects. Interesting. 

The highlight of the show was Argentos rearing up on cue, a move that showed off his power and his beauty. Rebecca shared that they had tried to retire Argentos after he suffered a leg injury, but he would have none of it. The stallion was so adamant about continuing his training that he took his stall apart piece by piece. Okay then. The vet said if the horse was that keen to continue, they should allow it. And so they have, with great results. 

For more on Hermann's Royal Lippizans, click here. Performances will continue through the end of April, so there's plenty of time to see these beauties in action yourself.