The Spanish Riding School

The one activity I wanted to do in Vienna was to go see the horses at the Spanish Riding School. Before we left California, I booked tickets for a Saturday matinee performance. Standing tickets were significantly cheaper than seats, so that's what I booked.

The Spanish Riding School (Hofreitschule), located in central Vienna, is a traditional riding school for Lipizzaner horses.The school has been active for over four hundred years and still focuses on classical dressage. Originally, performances were only presented to guests of the court. The school opened up performances to the general public at the turn of the in 1918 after the Austro-Hungarian empire fell at the end of World War I.

G and I arrived on time to the performance, but apparently, many others arrived before us, so we were forced to squish in among hundreds of people.

The show began with a performance piece with the young horses. Next, fully-trained stallions performed several pieces. The next performance piece was the Pas de Deux where two horses moved in mirror image. The horses did some jumps. Then, one of the riders led one of the horses on long reins through the routine; the rider held the reins and walked behind the horse as the horse performed. The show ended with the school quadrille. Eight riders came in on their horses in formation. The Spanish Riding School quadrille is the longest and most difficult in the world.

The horses were beautiful. Although not as action-packed as I was expecting, I enjoyed the performance immensely. The horses were impeccably dressed and groomed. After the performance, we saw the horses as they were led back to their stables across the street from the school performance arena. G and I thoroughly appreciated the performance.