Horsehair Weekly: Dream Fulfilled: Spanish Riding School

And... for the final destination of my trip to Europe in May:

The Spanish Riding School

I had arrived too late Wednesday evening to purchase tickets to Morning Exercise and the guided tour so I made sure I was at the door when the ticket office opened at 9:00 Thursday morning. With an hour to wait I snooped the gift shop for a bit before we were allowed in the school. Of course having my nose in dressage books in the shop kept me from getting in line and I never did get a seat. Imagine, a building this size with only a very few places to even stand.

The School

The white stallions came and went as riders exercised and schooled each horse. It was great training for my eye to watch the less advanced horses next to the well schooled, and the less experienced riders next to the more experienced riders. Some were more correct than others, some just less educated.

Morning Exercise

And, there was a token female rider. The dynamics between the men and the woman (I think in her late teens) were fascinating as well... in a very sad sort of way. She was obviously not welcome among the men. Only in recent years have women been allowed to apply to the SRS.

Token woman.

Yet, having seen Lippizan performances in the USA and watching "Miracle of the White Stallions" over and over and over again, it has been a life-long (all 27 years!) dream to see the SRS and the Lippizan stallions in Vienna. And there I was. Then I got all emotional and choked up as I watched. So unreal. And it was far too amazing to follow the "NO PHOTOS" rule. I got scolded once, but far fewer times than the people standing around me. "Everyone else is doing it too!" Ok, so that was bad, but I have some neat pictures of MY OWN.

Then I spent a small fortune at a little artist's shop down the road. She had beautiful watercolors of the Lippizans. I bought enough prints that she gave me a small one free. Someday I'll have this series of prints framed and hanging on my office wall.