Jessica Farley
Right next to the Kyalami Equestrian Centre, on Dahlia Road, lies a sanctuary far from the madness of modern-day technology. Within these walls lives a centuries-old tradition.
The performing Lipizzaners of South Africa are housed here.
Every Sunday morning at 11am these dancing white horses are geared up in their traditional tack and sent forth into the indoor sand arena to wow the crowds with a series of piaffes, levades, caprioles and courbettes.
The magic of these white stallions is presented to the audience in stages. First, the young stallions are brought out. They are still grey their coats turn white as they grow older.
Second, a lunging demonstration is given the trainer stands and the horse moves around her in a circle under the control of the long lunge rein. The lunging demonstration educates the audience about the Lipizzaner and its movements.
After this comes the carriage demonstration, followed by the long-rein demonstration, solo mounted performances and the finale, the quadrille.
The quadrille is the coming together of all the movements, performed to Bohemian composer Bedrich Smetana’s Bartered Bride. No mares perform, only the stallions are presented in performances reminiscent of the glory of European royal courts of times past.
Within the white arches of the Lipizzaner Centre is the only other school of performing Lipizzaner stallions in the world to be given the seal of approval of the Spanish riding school.
The tragedy is that the Lipizzaner Centre is in financial danger. It costs up to R50 000 a year to look after one Lipizzaner properly and there are close to 40 horses at the centre.
The people who devote themselves to the lives and welfare of these horses have to look after them with no major sponsorship whatsoever.
Gillian van As, director of the Lipizzaner Society, says that the financial situation “couldn’t be worse”.
Many long, difficult hours are devoted to raising money to keep the tradition of the Lipizzaners afloat.
One ingenious idea is to create champions. A company will sponsor a horse for three years (at R50 000 a year) and in return will get special perks and advertising, such as its name and logo on the horse. Companies such as M-Net Supersport are already among the patrons.
Another fundraiser will be a glittering ball. Held traditionally in the first week in September (this year on September 1), this fairy-tale extravaganza always attracts a vast crowd, with many returning year after year.
As a holiday treat until July 15 all children under the age of 12 will be let in to Sunday performances free.