Slovenia's dancing horses - 14th July 2022

Lipica is a village in Slovenia. It's the home of some special horses. They're Lipizzaner horses. People often call them 'dancing horses'. Their dancing is called 'dressage'.

The Lipizzaner horses started in the Hapsburg Empire, about 500 years ago.

Visitors just came to Lipica to celebrate two things. First, it was the Lipizzaner farm's 443rd birthday. Second, the Lipizzaner horses are now a UNESCO tradition. UNESCO understands the tradition's important.

Miro Dragic's a Lipizzaner rider.

Miro Dragic: "The Lipizzaner horses are known for their ability for 'Airs above the ground' dressage, something we rarely see in other horse breeds. For the 'Airs above the ground' dressage, a horse has to have a very good balance and strength. Along with that, it has to be well trained if we want him to carry out demanding movements such as the levade, capriole or courbette."

The horses are famous for their white colour. But the animals are born black. They become white at 4 years old. Then the training starts. The best horses go into the dressage teams.

For Dragic, it's important to understand each horse.

Miro Dragic: "Lipizzans can have a strong temperament, they are usually calm, sometimes shy but kind. It is up to us to recognise the quality of each horse to be able to train it based on its talents."

One horse can cost hundreds of thousands of euros.

Laura Highlander's a visitor. She's excited to be here.

Laura Highlander: "And I've always heard about the Lipizzaner horses since I was super excited to be able to come today and see them, in their training, and visit the rest of the facility as well."

Laura Highlander: "They are phenomenal animals, and and the way that they've been trained and the skill level of the riders is incredible!"

The Lipizzaners get their name from the village. So Lipica's the right place to celebrate them.