Respect for Slovenia's white horses - 14th July 2022

The small Slovenian town of Lipica is the home of the world-famous Lipizzaner horses. These beautiful 'dancing horses' perform the art of dressage.

The breed Lipizzaner was created by the Hapsburg Empire in the 1500s. Former Hapsburg countries such as Austria, Croatia and Hungary followed the Lipizzaner tradition. They joined together in Lipica to celebrate the 443rd anniversary of the horse farm. They were also celebrating the fact that UNESCO's now accepted the Lipizzaner culture onto its special list. That means it's now recognised as a tradition of great interest for the world.

Miro Dragic leads Lipica's team of riders.

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."

Everyone thinks of these horses as being white, but the Lipizzaner foals are black when born. By the age of 4, they become completely white. That's when their challenging training starts. The most talented male horses – the stallions – are selected to be part of the dressage team.

Dragic knows it's necessary to understand each individual.

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."

These valuable horses can be worth hundreds of thousands of euros each. For visitor Laura Highlander, seeing them has been a lifelong ambition.

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 Lipizzaner breed is named after the village of Lipica, so it seems appropriate to hold the celebration here.