Spanish Riding School, Dressage.com

The Spanish Riding School of Vienna
The True Miracle of the White Stallions
1939 - 1955

by John D'Addamio

Introduction

In the beginning of my series of articles about the Spanish Riding School, I mentioned the Disney movie, The Miracle of the White Stallions. It depicts events in the spring of 1945 including the evacuation of the Spanish Riding School from Vienna and the recovery of the Lipizzaner mares from Czechoslovakia. The movie is great fun and follows the broad outline of true events. However, the Disney film is not a documentary and wasn't intended to be. It is a dramatized version of the true story.

Frankly, I think the real story is even more interesting than the movie! So, in this series of articles, I will compare points between the movie and the written record. I hope to do two things by this comparison:

Increase awareness of the misrepresentations in the movie and

Demonstrate how critical Podhajsky was to the survival of the Spanish Riding School and the Lipizzaner breed during World War II and the post-war years. The movie skips from the return broodmares to Austria in 1945 to a 1955 performance when the School returned to Vienna. The crucial events between 1945 and 1955 are omitted.

To get an accurate picture of the events, we have to go to the sources: the people who lived the events. The bulk of the story can be found in Colonel Podhajsky's autobiography, "Ein Leben Für Die Lipizzaner" (English title: "My Dancing White Horses"). A few other pieces can be added from his other books and a book by his successor, Colonel Handler. Handler's "Die Spanische Hofreitschule zu Wien" (English title: "The Spanish Riding School"). These books tell a much different story than the Disney movie!

Let's begin with the movie's introduction which says that the movie is based upon a book by Podhajsky entitled, "The Dancing White Stallions of Vienna." As far as I know, Podhajsky never wrote a book which had this English title. Although I have a dozen different books by Podhajsky, none has that title. Nor do I find that title listed in Wells' bibliography of equestrian books published between 1500 and 1974 (one year after Podhajsky’s death). However, Podhajsky did write two books with similar English titles: "The White Stallions of Vienna" (a picture book) and his autobiography, "My Dancing White Horses." I have been told that the picture book was the inspiration for the film. The picture book does contain photos of the performance for Patton as well as a chapter entitled “The Miracle of the White Stallions” so it makes sense.

Next Time: Staffing during the War

Bibliography

I. Handler, Hans, 1913 - 1974
     1. "Die Spanische Hofreitschule zu Wien", Vienna, Verlag Fritz Molden, 1972
            a. "The Spanish Riding School". English translation by Russell Stockman,    New York, McGraw-Hill, 1972

II. Podhajsky, Alois, 1898-1973
     1. "Ein Leben Für Die Lipizzaner", München, Nymphenburger Verlagshandlung, 1960, 413p.
          a. "My Dancing White Horses", English Translation by Frances Hogarth-Gaute, London, Harrap, 1964, 287p.
          b. "My Dancing White Horses", New York, Holt Rinehart & Winston, 1965, 302p.

     2. "Triumph der Lipizzaner: ein Bildband" München, Nymphenburger Verlagshandlung, 1962, 179p.
          a. "The White Stallions of Vienna", English Translation by Frances Hogarth-Gaute, New York, E. P. Dutton, 1963 201p. "The White Stallions of Vienna", London, Harrap, 1963, 201p.
          b. "The White Stallions of Vienna", London, Sportsman's Press, 1985, 224p.

3. "Das Grosse Buch der Spanischen Hofreitschule", München, Nymphenburger Verlagshandlung, 1978, English and German text 112p. (German 1-70, English 73-112) & 90 plates.

III. Wells, Ellen B., "HORSEMANSHIP: A Bibliography of Printed Materials from the Sixteenth Century through 1974", New York, Garland Publishing, 1985

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