Lippizaners at the Lipica Stud Farm
If you’re a horse person, then you’ve probably heard of Lippizaners – those spotlessly white horses renowned for their good showmanship in classical dressage. These days they’re mostly associated with Austria and the Habsburg monarchy, but did you know that these horses are originally from Slovenia? And that the very first stud farm has been in the small town of Lipica since 1580? And that you can go visit them on this farm yourself?
It was an incredibly hot day when we visited and we moved from one shady spot to the next, spending an inordinate amount of time actually outside the farm itself, while the little traveller amused himself in the kiddies play park first. He was worn out long before we’d even seen any horses!
When we eventually dragged him away from the slides and entered the farm, we headed straight for shade and the little museum with its informative and interactive displays on the history of horses for those of us (ahem) who don’t know anything about horses at all.
Then we got sidetracked in the gift shop for half an hour.
And then we finally went looking for the horses.
We arrived at the stables just in time to catch an English guide, who took us on a walking tour to go see the breeding mares, the prize performers (including one particularly photogenic one!), and a herd of ponies.
The little one particularly enjoyed the antics of this pony:
Afterwards, we were ushered into a big arena to watch the show. By this time, the little traveller was exhausted from all the excitement, so I’m afraid to say that he slept through it.
But Gareth and I were suitably impressed by the spectacle.
We’re not horse people, so I don’t think we appreciated the skill and training on display as much as we should have. For us, it was a nice day out in nature to see some pretty horses. We could easily have skipped this visit without having felt we missed out anything.
But if horses is your thing, then definitely make a point of visiting Lipica Stud Farm. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
Are you a horse person? Would you want to see the Lipica Stud Farm for yourself?
