Equestrian elegance

The Lipizzaner Stallions are going to ride through Wilkes-Barre on Sunday, Nov. 22, and as part of their 40th anniversary, they’re bringing with them an all-new performance.

The new performance features new music, choreography and routines but still maintains the tradition everyone expects to see. It’s an arena attraction that was inspired 40 years ago by the Spanish Riding School in Vienna.

“I saw the Spanish Riding School in 1964 when I was at the University of Miami,” says show producer Gary Lashinsky. “I fell in love with the Lipizzaner Stallion and the arena-type family school. Knowing the show doesn’t come over (often to the United States), I purchased horses and trainers. Forty years later, it’s amazing to see how many people come out every year.”

A marketing and advertising graduate, Lashinsky left the University of Miami with a pretty good knowledge on how to sell. His father and his brothers were in the entertainment business which exposed him to family shows, Broadway and concerts. “If you could sell a ticket to it, we covered it,” says Lashinsky.

Lashinsky works to emulate the style presentation of the Vienna riding school while creating a more theatrical atmosphere and opening the doors for a larger audience. Everything is explained in the performance. There is a steps-and-movements part of the show where the riders have the horses walk, trot and canter (easy gallop) at an Olympic level. This way, audience members can get an understanding of what they’re seeing before they see the show.

“It’s very cultural in its own way,” says Lashinsky. “It’s very educational but still an entertainment show. It’s a ballet of beautiful Lipizzaner Stallions, moving to stirring music, and it’s a real treat to see.”

During World War II, the horses were used in battle and mainly bred for nobility. General George Patton rescued three of them. and if not for that, the horses wouldn’t exist today. There’s a segment in the show called “Airs Above the Ground,” where the audience will see how riders protected and defended themselves on the battlefield.

Lashinsky owns 47 stallions, including breeding mares, young cults and fillies, and the show only uses 12 to 14 “dancing stallions” a performance.

The horses begin preparing for the show when they’re four years old and train for six to eight years. It’s not difficult to train them since they’re fast learners. Lashinsky spends ample time to make the horse performance worthy, which means a lot of saddle time for the trainer and rider.

“Most (horses) are very aggressive in learning and want to give and give,” says Lashinsky. “Some horses are stubborn like people, but they’re wonderful, wonderful animals. They’re born black and brown but turn all white by the time they’re 20.”

Business for the Lipizzaner Stallions is primarily in North America, Canada, Europe, South America, Australia and New Zealand. Since their start in 1970, hundreds of new venues have been built in cities looking for big events. “The bigger our business gets, the more people have an opportunity see the show in larger cities,” says Lashinsky.

He is bringing the show to every building he can and seizing any and every opportunity to introduce the world to the dancing stallions.

Not just anyone can ride these horses. When he was first getting started, Lashinsky did a lot of advertising in Europe, Germany, Austria and the United States. Most of his riders today are found on the Internet and have been with the show for quite a few years.

“It gives most of these young kids involved with equestrian sports (an opportunity) to experience exhibition riding instead of competition,” says Lashinsky. “It’s a freestyle form with the horses, and you’d have to go to Vienna to see what we do. It’s a lot quicker to go to Wilkes-Barre.”

Lashinky’s love for horses can be traced back to his childhood, where he took five years of lessons. He has geared the show to reach a wide range of audience members and to appeal to those that aren’t horse lovers. The show is not a seminar in “Lipizzaner 101” but a performance starring beautiful, white Lipizzaner Stallions that come from Vienna.

The breed is more than 430 years old and only 3,000 exist today. Seven hundred fifty Stallions are here in North America, but the show isn’t just for horse lovers.

“I don’t know how many times I’ve been told through e-mails or faxes how wonderful it is to have this tradition and that it’s never going to die,” says Lashinsky. “To know there are hundred of thousands of people that to come to see the show, are entertained, and love the performance is amazing. It continues to push what I’m doing.”

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“The World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions,” Sunday, Nov. 22, 2 & 6 p.m, Wachovia Arena

(225 Highland Park Blvd., Wilkes-Barre Twp.) Tickets: $22.50-$26.50, Gold Circle, $29.50, at arena box office, Ticketmaster outlets,

Ticketmaster.com, charge by phone (800.745.3000). Info: www.lipizzaner.com