In medieval times, a horse’s primary job was to transport men into battle in times of war and to pull carriages in times of peace. If you had good horses, you had everything you needed, in times of war and in times of peace.

In the mid-1500s, Austrian Archduke Charles II, ruler of Inner Austria, sought to create a special breed of horses. He imported Andalusian horses, Berbers and Barbs from Spain and crossed them with a now extinct breed called Karst, a sturdy, light gray horse from Austria. Charles’s brother, Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, also founded a stud farm in Kladrub in Austria (now part of the Czech Republic) for the same purpose and used Spanish breeds crossed with local horses. The resulting elegant and powerful horses—eventually called Lipizzans—became heavy carriage horses at Kladruby Stud, and light riding and carriage horses at the Lipizza Stud of the Habsburg Monarchy.

The brothers sometimes exchanged breeding stock, crossing borders to create aristocratic animals that were more than just war and work horses; they were partners in what had become the much revered art of classical riding, which combined maneuvers used in combat with exercises that emphasized the athletic ability of the horse and obedience to the rider.

Charles and Maximilian were members of the Habsburg family, rulers of the most influential monarchy in European history. Connoisseurs of fine horses, the brothers created the Lipizzaner breed for their own use. In response to the growing admiration for classical riding during the Renaissance among the aristocracy, the Habsburg family established the Spanish Riding School in Vienna to teach horses and riders these fine skills. Over the next two centuries, more Spanish and Arabian blood was infused into the breed to help strengthen the basic breeding of the Lipizzaner.

Six of the stallions used during the 18th and 19th centuries established the family lines that are still seen in the Lipizzaner today. These stallions – Conversano, Favory, Maestoso, Neopolitano, Pluto and Siglavy – all came from bloodlines originating outside of Austria. To this day, Lipizzaners are branded with an ancestral mark representing their family line.

modern race

Many people think that the Lipizzaner is an exotic horse from the past, famous for its performance in the Spanish Riding School. The truth is, purebred Lipizzaners are alive and well in today’s horse world, with over 900 registered in the United States. These horses compete in a variety of sports. In Eastern Europe, they are considered the first carriage horse.

It’s rare to see a Lipizzaner in the United States because their numbers are small, so to help raise awareness of the breed, the United States Lipizzan Foundation (USLF) is working hard using a comprehensive social media and publicity campaign aimed at spread the word. . The organization hopes to show that these horses, while they have a rich and exciting history, have their place in modern competition.

“We think these horses have a lot of abilities beyond the classic non-competitive dressage you see at the Spanish Riding School,” says USLF Vice President Sam Martinson. “They have always had great success in dressage competition. Many fanciers are now looking for a small, athletic horse that can compete at the top level of the sport, which Lipizzaners can do because collecting is so easy for them.

She notes that in 2020 alone, American Lipizzaner riders were at the top of their sports in dressage, driving, working equitation, mounted archery and western dressage.

“It’s really something if you consider our population and the few horses we have in competition,” says Martinson.

Don’t be surprised if you see a Lipizzaner the next time you attend a local dressage, driving or working equitation event.

“In recent years, there has been a lot of interest both in breeding these horses and in buyers looking to buy them for sport,” says Martinson. “We are thrilled to see people recognizing the incredible athletic ability, temperament and trainability of a breed that has 500 years of careful breeding behind it.”

This article on Lipizzaner horses originally appeared in the June 2021 issue of illustrated horse magazine. Click here to subscribe !