Montag, 23. November 2009

Ysbrand Chardon switches to Lipizzaners

Finally.... he saw the light


"Dutch top driver IJsbrand Chardon will from now on compete with Lipizzaner horses in the FEI World Cup Driving competitions. The four times World Champion bought three horses of his fellow competitor Jozsef Dobrovitz from Hungary right after the World Cup competition in Stuttgart this weekend"



http://www.hoefnet.nl/en/home/site/news/ijsbrand-chardon-switches-to-lipizzaner-horses


Sonntag, 22. November 2009

FÊTE IMPERIALE

Start:     Jul 10, '10 8:00p
Location:     Spanish Riding School
„Trend meets Tradition“

A Midsummer Night’s Dream comes true: An imperial summer ball within and around the Spanish Riding School! Vienna is different – and Vienna’s summer balls are different too. Two prestigious Viennese establishments liven up the summer season in Vienna!

Together Vienna’s coffee house association and the Spanish Riding School will create this innovative ball which will breathe life into Vienna’s summer season!

Maximilian K. Platzer, chairman of the traditional ball organized by the owners of the Viennese coffee houses: “Both Vienna’s coffee houses and the Spanish Riding School represent Viennese culture and lifestyle and have always been closely linked to Viennese tradition. It therefore seems obvious to award this bond an exclusive, unprecedented ball night.”

Guests will be received in the impressive Michaelerkuppel – straight in front of the Spanish Riding School’s main entrance, where they will be put into the mood for an unparalleled ball night with music and exotic cocktails. The ball will be imperially opened in the gorgeously decorated Stallburg with its mobile roof. For the first time since its completion in the 16th century, Vienna’s most beautiful Renaissance courtyard will be transformed into a ballroom for the “Knights of the Rose”! Nowhere else can one find a dance floor measuring more than 1000m2 and horse boxes turned into luxurious VIP boxes!

The baroque Winter Riding School, which was completed in 1735 by the architect Fischer von Erlach, will also quite literally experience a “renaissance” as the world’s most unique ball room. The riding arena will be turned into a dance floor and two-legged dancers will be able to perform the Kapriole, Levade, Courbette, School Quadrille and Pas de Deux. Bernd Fröhlich and his live orchestra will accompany Tini Kainrath and provide trendy music for exuberant dances. Due to a special lighting concept the three enormous Lobmeyr chandeliers will seem to float above the dancers’ heads, giving the impression of dancing under the open sky.

Those not inclined to dance will not miss out either: a corso invites strollers to observe and enjoy – “to see and be seen” has always been an important part of the fun during the Viennese balls.

Mittwoch, 18. November 2009

Maestoso Lublice horse of St. Nicolas.




Entrance St . Nicolas Dokkum. Last weekend was again the entry of St. Nicolas a dutch tradition. Every year in November he's coming from Spain on a steamboat to a town. Then he is greeting by many children and make a horseback tour of the city. St. Nicolasis a real children festival. The children receive gift on December 5.
This year, St . Nicolas in the city of Dokkum a very special horse. A beautiful Lipizzaner. Maestoso Lublice (Quinten) did very well as a horse of St. Nicolas. This year there were a lot of people in the city, it was very busy with music and balloons. But Maestoso Lublice remained very calm and St. Nicolas did very nice allowed to ride a real Lipizzaner !

Workshop Working in Hand very successful

The workshop "Working in hand" with Oberbereiter Andreas Hausberger in Aubenhausen (GER), November 14, 2009 was very successful.


See:  website Aubenhausen


A 3-hours workshop "Working in Hand" with Oberbereiter Andreas Hausberger took place in the Aubenhausen-estate of the Werndl Family, near Munich.
About 100 interested people participated in this first event, organised in this way, and were thrilled.

A video impression





Original text:

Der Workshop "Die Arbeit an der Hand" war ein riesen Erfolg

Am Samstag den 14.11.2009 fand in Aubenhausen der ca. 3 stündige Workshop "Die Arbeit an der Hand" mit dem Oberbereiter der Wiener Hofreitschule Andreas Hausberger statt. Knapp 100 Interessierte nahmen an dem ersten Workshop dieser Art in Aubenhausen teil und waren begeistert. Egal ob Profi, Amateur oder Freizeitreiter, für jeden waren die Ausführungen von Andreas Hausberger aufschlussreich und interessant.


Sonntag, 15. November 2009

Matrix-Rhythm-Therapy

http://www.marhythe-systems.de
The Matrix-Rhythm-Therapy is a new kind of therapy that is predominantly used in cases of pain and movement disorders or restrictions. But it’s effectiveness has proved of values to greater extent.

Donnerstag, 5. November 2009

Spanische Hofreitschule Virtual Tour

 

Virtual tour of the Spanische Hofreitschule. If you have never been there, see what it is like. If you have been there, relive some memories.

http://www.moving-pictures.de/vtour/spanische_hofreitschule/index.php

SRS 2010 US Tour

I read this morning that the SRS will kick off its 2010 US tour in September at the World Equestrian Games in Lexington. Is this confirmed, Andreas? Do you have tour dates/cities?

Dienstag, 3. November 2009

The Vienna Fiaker




No matter how heavy the traffic in modern Vienna, there always is room for the horsedrawn cab known as the Fiaker. The German word " Fiaker’ refer to both the two-horse cab itself and to the cabby, who is generally dressed in pepita-check trousers, a velvet jacket and derby hat.

Once the fiakers were Vienna’s taxi transport, but today they are mostly popular for special ceremonial use and as a tourist attraction. Fiaker ranks are near the Imperial Palace, the State Opera and beside St. Stephen’s Cathedral. The well-kept vehicles and their picturesque drivers add an attractive bit of color to the Vienna street scene.
The fiaker cabs have a long history, which is recorded in the Fiakerhaus, a building that has belonged to the profession for a century. It now houses the fiaker museum and is located at Veronikagasse 12 in the 18th district.
The fiaker cabby has long been a respected person. In the museum, for instance, there is an oil painting showing the famous Aschenbrunner driving Czar Nicholas I of Russia through the gates of the Ballhausplatz in a fiaker.
The name fiaker actually comes from Paris, where cabs for hire were lined up outside the Auberge Saint Fiacre, an inn whose portal was decorated with a painting of the Irish monk, St. Fiacrius.
The system of putting cabs for hire was introduced there in the 17th century by Nicole Sauvage, and before long, cabs were plying for trade in cities all over the Continent. Elsewhere, other names were developed for cabs, but in Vienna they have always been called fiaker.
The first Viennese fiaker license was issued in 1693 during the reign of Leopold I. It specifically forbade cabbies to undertake journeys of more than four miles out of the city. Not until 1822 was this strange restriction lifted, but even then, no traveler could hire a cab without presenting proof of identity. There were other rules too. For instance, no passenger was permitted to carry a torch or lamp through a town or forest unless it was extinguished.
Every applicant for a fiaker license had to show that he had been in the transport trade for several years and that he knew how to drive. He also had to own a reasonable amount of property and be of good character. At the same time, he was not permitted to be associated with any other form of commerce, and he was exempted from military service. Clearly, driving a cab was considered a position of great responsibility and importance. Widows of cabbies were permitted to carry on their late husbands’ business, to which they could take full title.
If a cab owner refused to accept a fare, he was liable to 48 hours behind bars. An employee was punished ten lashes with a birch branch. Smoking during a journey was forbidden. Overcharging was punishable by confiscation of the fee plus a 5-guilder fine or by 24 hours in jail for a cab owner - or a birch whipping of an employee.
Until the introduction of fiaker cabs in Vienna, the normal way of carrying Viennese who did not own a carriage was by sedan chair. The traditional cry of " Trag ma Euer Gnaden? " ( " May I carry you, Sir ") is still the fiaker driver’s announcement of the availability of his cab.
Since a ride by a fiaker was anything but cheap, it was seldom used by ordinary Viennese. Realizing this, an enterprising citizen named Zeisel put covered coaches with benches for 20 people into service. These coaches were inevitably nicknamed " Zeiserlwagen " and represented the first attempt to provide a means of mass transport for the public. Eventually, these were replaced by horse-drawn and then electric streetcars.
Today, a traditional use of the fiaker by the Viennese is at Confirmation, when youngsters are brought from St. Stephen’s to the Prater amusement park by horse-drawn cabs. They are frequently used to transport wedding parties.
A fiaker ride is almost obligatory for the visitor to Vienna. Each cabby is well-versed in local history and is always delighted to tell visitors stories of the buildings they pass on their horse-drawn tour of his beloved city.