Stallion show entertains but goes on too long

I went to a college that valued its equestrian program, and I thought at the time there was something that separated horse people from everyone else.

It was not that everyone else hated horses. They just never quite got what all the fuss was about.

Watching the Lipizzaner stallions perform Friday night at the Show Me Center reminded me of that.

Although the show was well performed by horse and human alike, a two-hour program seemed a little long for what is known as an "equestrian ballet."

However, even someone not interested in horses can appreciate what beautiful animals the stallions are with their flowing manes and white, glossy coats. It is obvious that the horses are meticulously groomed to look their best.

Also obvious is that these horses are highly trained and athletic.

Because the horses make such a visual impression, it is easy to forget how much work the riders do to pull off the performance. That every movement seems effortless is a testament to the riders' skill.

The horses that performed at Friday's show are not, technically, the "real" world-famous horses from the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, but Lipizzaners that show producer Gary Lashinsky had originally imported from Vienna and starting breeding in Florida.

Lashinsky, a former rock concert promoter, has been touring the World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions show for 34 years now.

I hope Lashinsky's rock concerts were more exciting that the Lipizzaner shows.

An hour of aristocratic horses leaping, kicking, trotting and moving in unison was fine, but two hours seemed too much for a show where the main performers get paid in treats.

kalfisi@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182