Fort Hays State University - Reveille Yearbook (Hays, KS)

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(ABOVE) ROYALTY -The royal Llpizzan stallions are trained at the Spanish Riding School, Vienna Equestrian Enterprises, Inc continues the training in tne States, bringing classical equestrian periormace to America. (Photo by Don King) GRACEFUL -The elegant movements of the Liplzzan stallions win the audience’s admiration (Photo by Don King) Lipizzan Stallions

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Blue Jean Week

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Elegance remained as overwhelming impression after the performance of the Lipizzan stallions. Both stallions and riders cast a magic spell on the audience which remained completely silent while watching their graceful movements. hen the lights went out, the classical music in the back- ground remained the only sound to be heard as the audience held its breath in expectation of the first performance. Gross Memorial Coliseum was unrecognizable. All day. members of Memorial Union Activities Board and Equestrian Enterprises, Inc., had been padding the floor to protect the hooves of the precious stallions. Blue spotlights focused on the red curtain through which the first stallions would step out to perform. Austin Miles, narrator, introduced the different exercises and told the history of the Lipizzan stallions. Walt Disney ' s motion picture, The Miracle of the White Stallions, featuring tire rescue of the Lipizzan stallions from Czechoslovakia by General Patton, made the Lipizzaners famous in America. Miles asked the audience to give a PREMIERE -The audience holds its breath while stallion Capriola performs the airs above the ground lor the first time In his career, (Photo by Don King) hand in memory of Patton, and then the curtain was lifted for the first stallions, The first exercise was a pas de deux, where two trained Lipizzaners are ridden through a two-man exercise, executing riding lines and figures with mirror-image precision. The next presentation in the three- hour program was a demonstration of the classical training the stallions have to go through. The training is adopted from The Spanish Riding School, Vienna, the traditional home of the Lipizzaners. “Only few stallions get to graduate from the training on the ground to the airs above the ground, Miles said. The Hays audience had the chance to witness the very first performance of stallion Capriola, who had just graduated from the school on the ground. It was his first performance of the airs above the ground, the most difficult and dangerous exercise to a young stallion. The audience congratulated Capriola with warm applause after the stallion had finished his performance. Only the most exceptionally gifted PRECIOUS -Each of the Lipizzan stallions costs $25,000. Equestrian Enterprises, Inc. travels all over the States and in the near future all over the world. (Photo by Don King) Lipizzaner stallions can the intricate leaps in the the ground. A great demcu« « placed on each stallion for the physical strength and intelligent understanding of his task. The quadrille, a ballet of stallions and their riders, conclv 1 ' ' program. The audience ten reluctantly. Many stayed around to watch the horses being led into the trailer. The show takes 14 of the $25,000 stallions on the road, touring all over the North and South American continents, We are on the road 250 days of the year. I ' ve been with the show for five years, and I don ' t mind the road life at all, Clay Thomas Reed, rider, said. Manager of the show is Billie Hoyt. She has been out on the road for seven years and said she doesn ' t get tired of it a bit. Really, I don’t have anything to do with the horses. I just do the management. It ' s a great job. Whatever building I walk into, people walk up to me and thank me for bringing this show to them. It makes you feel good. We have a great group of guys, and we are like a little family, Hoyt said. Traveling with 14 horses might not seem an easy task, but to the members of the show, it ' s not a problem because their horses are not just horses; they are a special kind. We don’t have any problems with our horses. They are royal, and they act it, Miles s aid. Bettina Heinz Lipizzan Stallions