Die Fahnen ab

Der Staat Osterreich siegte gegen zwei amerikanische Zirkustruppen, die von der Popularität der Wiener Spanischen Hofreitschule profitiert hatten.

"Meine Hengste atmen auf", so projizierte Oberst Hans Handler, Chef der Spanischen Hofreitschule zu Wien, seine eigene Erleichterung auf seine Tiere. Ab sofort darf sich kein amerikanischer Schimmel ungestraft "Weißer Gott von Wien" nennen.

An die 400 Jahre ritten und tanzten die Stars aus Habsburgs Stallungen exklusiv, Wiens Lipizzaner-Ensemble -- offizielles Gründungsjahr: 1572 -- hielt die equestrische Tradition des 16. Jahrhunderts international konkurrenzlos hoch. Seine Kapriolen, Levaden, Courbetten setzten höchste Maßstäbe. "Alle, die wissen, was ein Pferd ist, verspürten Schauer", urteilte der berühmte spanische Reiter Alvaro Domecq nach einer Vorführung der Hofreitschule.

Während des letzten Jahrzehnts aber fanden sich die Ballettänzer auf Hufen unversehens fürs US-Showbusiness mißbraucht. Viele New Yorker und Bostoner sahen den Disney-Film "Flucht der weißen Hengste". Triumphal verlief 1964 die Amerika-Tournee der Wiener Truppe.

Eine derartige Vorwerbung wollten sich clevere amerikanische Zirkusbesitzer nicht entgehen lassen. Sie kauften ihrerseits Lipizzaner, als erster ein Ottomar Herrmann aus Florida, Er erwarb seine Schimmel teils aus Osteuropa, teils aus dem Lipizzanergestüt

der ehemals Wiener Opernsängerin Maria Jeritza und gab ihnen den stolzen Titel "The Royal Lipizzan Stallions".

Auch sonst sparte er nicht mit Österreich-Symbolen. Von seinen Masten hingen bodenlange rotweißrote Fahnen, seine Reiter steckten in genau kopierten Wiener Empire-Uniformen, seine musikalische Begleitung waren Walzertöne. Als Souvenirs gab es Biskuitroßäpfel mit Doppeladler in Schokoladentunke.

Impresario William C. McGawn streute rührende Lügengeschichten ins Publikum: Die Familie Herrmann sei den wunderbaren Pferden der Wiener Hofreitschule seit zwei Jahrhunderten engstens verbunden. Oder, noch kühner: "Herrmann vertritt in den USA sozusagen Österreichs Regierung. die selbst keine Privatgeschäfte machen darf."

Protestschreiben der österreichischen USA-Botschaft brachten Herrmann nicht aus der Ruhe. Um so böser reagierte er, als ihm plötzlich eine zweite Dressurgruppe Konkurrenz machte: die "Royal Lipizzan Stallion Show" des früheren Herrmann-Partners Harry Lashinsky.

Nach einer Lashinsky-Show in Pittsburgh ließ Herrmann sämtliche Pferde plus Abendkasse beschlagnahmen und klagte zusätzlich auf 460 000 Dollar Schadenersatz. Doch letztlich zog er vor Gericht den kürzeren. Die "Royal Lipizzan Stallion Show" stahl seither den "Royal Lipizzan Stallions" die Show.

Seit etwa zwei Jahren beschränkt sich der geschlagene Herrmann mit dem Rest seiner Lipizzaner auf kleine Manegen in Florida. Dafür kurvt nun Lashinsky quer durch die Vereinigten Staaten. Sein Werbeprospekt, groß wie ein Leintuch, protzt mit Geschichte und Geschichtchen der Wiener Hofreitschule.

"Lashinky lebt einzig und allein von der Irreführung", polterte Oberst Handler in Wien und weist auf einen Berg von Beschwerdebriefen enttäuschter amerikanischer Zirkusbesucher. "Die Leute reisen oft Hunderte von Meilen an, um die "weißen Götter aus Wien" zu sehen. Und was sehen sie? Ein paar Pferdln inmitten von Eseln, radfahrenden Bären und reifenspringenden Löwen." Kavallerist Handler hat es stets abgelehnt, die Darbietungen der "königlichen Lippizanerhengste" des Lashinsky ("Der Mann war nicht mal Pferdepfleger") selbst in Augenschein zu nehmen.

1973 endlich entschloß sich der österreichische Staat zu klagen. Die Wiener erhielten wegen des Lashinsky-Rummels keine neuen Gastspielangebote aus Amerika, Lashinsky kündigte sogar eine baldige Europa-Tournee seiner Pferde-Show an.

Vor dem District Court in Washington stritten beide Parteien dieser Tage um ihr Recht. Die Verhandlung endete mit dem Sieg der Österreicher.

Lashinskys Lipizzaner dürfen zwar weiterhin "königlich" auftreten (Handler: "In den republikanischen Vereinigten Staaten kann jede Waschmaschine "royal' sein"), nicht aber mit österreichischen Fahnen, Wappen und Uniformen. Als künftigen Namen empfahl der Richter "American Royal Lipizzan Horse Show".

DER SPIEGEL 11/1974
Alle Rechte vorbehalten
Vervielfältigung nur mit Genehmigung der SPIEGEL-Verlag Rudolf Augstein GmbH & Co. KG.

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Clinic in New Berlin, NY

Start:	Jul 7, '11
End:	Jul 10, '11
Location:	The Waltzing Horse Farm

The Waltzing Horse Farm

(607) 847-9406

waltzinghorsefarm@gmail.com

Clinic in Carmel Valley, CA

Start:	Jul 13, '11
End:	Jul 17, '11
Location:	"Across The Diagonal" Farm

Contact:

Jennifer Roth

(831)624-2848

jrdressage@gmail.com

Clinic in Snohomish, WA

Start:	Jul 20, '11
End:	Jul 24, '11
Location:	Raflyn Farms

Contact:

Ralph & Freddy Dreitzler

(425) 487-1643

7014 180th St SE
Snohomish, WA 98296

Rescue of the White Mares

This article was written by Sadie Babits while a junior in High School in Salmon, Idaho.  She interviewed Carl Zieglar, who was assigned the task of finding the lost Lippazzan mares during WWII.   Sadie is now a reporter for Public Radio Network, Flagstafff, Arizona.  This article was published in the Rocky Mountain Rider, of Hamilton, Montana, in 1998.               In April, 1945, First Sergeant Carl Zieglar, 319th Infantry Unit, 80th Division, received orders to go on a special mission…orders issued by General George Patton, himself.             Nineteen-year-old Zieglar and two other soldiers, who were fighting World War II in Europe, were to cross into Yugoslavia, through enemy lines, and rescue Lipizzaner mares which had been released two years before into the countryside by Vienna’s famed Spanish Riding School.             The war had taken its toll on the classical riding school, which was located in the heart of the Austrian city.  Although the academy’s director, Colonel Alois Podhajsky, had kept the school running, funding was very low and the safety of the animals and personnel was threatened.             After General Patton succeeded in taking Vienna, Podhajsky gave Patton a special performance and convinced Patton to put the school under U.S. Army protection for the remainder of the war.             Zieglar had grown up on a ranch in Challis, Idaho, where he had worked his grandfather’s horses.  He could read the large horse herd of 300 head, pick out the lead mare, and work with problem animals.             When Zieglar was drafted to fight in World War II, the Army thought so highly of his equine expertise that they stamped “Horse Experience” on all of his official paperwork.  In the Army, Zieglar and several comrades who were part American Indian were nicknamed “warriors.”  The name reflected their hard-working go-getter attitudes, and they were always ready to serve their country.  When Patton issued orders for the rescue mission, Zieglar and two other “warriors” were assigned to the task.             Zieglar, who now resides on a ranch in Salmon, Idaho, recalls, “Our outfit, commanded by General Patton, recaptured Vienna.  When I first went to the Spanish Riding School, they had not had any money for two years.  The Austrian government did not have any money to spend on the School to keep it going.              In 1943, with the war right on them, the Spanish Riding School had no choice but to turn loose seventeen of the world’s most revered horses.  Not only could they not afford to keep them, the horses’ lives were endangered because horses had become a food source during the war.  The breeding stock mares were left to find their own ways and to fend for themselves.             “At the time, I believe they had eleven studs…and those were all the horses they had left.  There weren’t any mares at all.  It was Patton’s idea to rescue those mares.”             Once Patton had secured Vienna, he focused his attention on rescuing the mares.  “General Patton was quite a horseman,” recollects Zieglar.  “He was a heck of a person for anything traditional.”             Patton sent Piper Cub airplanes to search war-torn Europe for the Lipizzaners.  After several surveillance flights, pilots located the horses in Yugoslavia, not far from Sarejevo.  The country was covered by rugged mountains and thick forests, and quite similar to the territory along the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Zieglar’s home state of Idaho.             To the fleeing Lipizzaner mares, this rough terrain meant sanctuary: however, it put a hitch in the rescue plans by making it impossible to land a plane.             “They decided that a ‘touch and go’ landing would work the best,” explains Zieglar.  “Since the planes couldn’t land, they were to run along with their wheels on the ground and I was to bail out.   I was 19 years old and, at that time, I thought I was indestructible.  I thought nothing would hurt me, I would try anything.”             In late spring, Zieglar and the two other young soldiers assigned to the mission boarded Piper Cubs.  Each was to work independently of the others, and had five days in which to bring the horses out to Ach, Czechoslovakia.  In the plane, the men could not stand or sit up because the chances of being shot were extremely big.  Zieglar spent the entire plane ride lying on his side, ready to roll out at the appropriate time.             “At that time, Yugoslavia was under the control of General Tito.  The Russians had gone around Yugoslavia and into Czechoslovakia.  I flew over their lines and then through the Yugoslavian lines because that was where the horses were.”             Zieglar’s supplies included a 20-foot rope, any food he could carry, a compass and a knife.  He was not allowed to carry a gun or any identification papers showing he was an American.             “The word was that if we got captured, nobody knew us,” says Zieglar.             An airplane flew over the area daily to check on the three men.  “They flew over to see if I was all right…but they didn’t bother to bring me any food.”             In the wilds of Yugoslavia, Zieglar found the Lipizzaners nestled in a densely forested area.  They were running with a band of various other horse breeds, many of which were draft horses.  He was greeted with a horrific sight.  Food had been scarce, and the beautiful mares were skin and bone.  Their manes were knotted and matted.             Now came the treacherous process to getting the horses back across enemy lines.  At the Spanish Riding School, only stallions were broke to ride.  Mares, which were only used for breeding purposes, were never ridden, and only knew how to lead.             “The only horse I could catch was a one-eyed brood mare,” says Zieglar.  “She was a gentle old mare, and when I got to where I was going, she was broke.  I went over 50 miles with her.  She was the lead mare and every place she went, all the others followed.”             Zieglar had eleven Lipizzaners under his care: four older mares, two fillies, and five colts.  They traveled at night, staying away from enemy lines, and kept to ridge tops because it was impossible to get the horses through the impassible forests at the bottoms of the canyons.  Sometimes, they were only a few feet away from a village.  No one ever found out.             “I even watered horses in towns that didn’t know I was there at three o’clock in the morning.  There was one time when the enemy could see my old mare’s behind.”             Zieglar was confronted by one major problem…grazing.  “I’d find a glade up in the hills that was maybe a sixteenth of an acre in size, and I’d stop and let the horses eat it all.  It was hard to tell when you would find any more feed.”  While the horses grazed, Zieglar spent the day searching for a safe route to travel during the night.             Relief swept over the First Sergeant Zieglar when he crossed the border into Czechoslovakia.  “I was thanking God that I gotten the horses out.”  Upon reaching Ach, he turned the Lipizzaners over, and did not see them again for several weeks.             From Ach, Patton placed the horses once again under the control of the Spanish Riding School.  There was still not enough grain and hay to feed the horses, so Patton appropriated enough food to keep the horses fed.             “Patton was the one who kept the school going,” affirms Zieglar.  “If it hadn’t been for that old man, the School would have stopped right then, because there was no way it could have survived through the war without his help.”

Clinic at "Piñon Farm"

Start:	Jul 19, '10
End:	Jul 23, '10
Location:	Santa Fe, New Mexico

contact:

Karen Bershad

karenbershad@gmail.com

Clinic at "Raflyn Farms"

Start:	Jul 12, '10
End:	Jul 16, '10
Location:	Snohomish (Seattle), Washington State

contact:

Ralph and Freddy Dreitzler raflyn@aol.com
John and Jan D'Addamio johndaddamio@gmail.com

Clinic at "Across the Diagonal Farm"

Start:	Jul 5, '10
End:	Jul 9, '10
Location:	Carmel Valley, California

contact:

Jennifer Roth

jrdressage@gmail.com

Open letter from a distinguished equine veterinarian in the US!

Dr. Kellon is a graduate of the very prestigious University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (New Bolton).  

December 6, 2009

 

The shock waves from the FEI's implementation of the progressive medications list has encircled the globe and sharply divided the equine community. I am very concerned by the rhetoric being used to justify the change. I signed the petition at www.no-fei.com, and stand squarely with the BEVA, many of the FEI's own present and past veterinarians, their Honorary Scientific Advisor, all national organizations opposing this change and concerned individuals everywhere.

 

To suggest that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are not performance enhancing but rather “restorative”, implying they are actually beneficial to the horse, is patently ridiculous and flies in the face of current scientific knowledge. These drugs do not “treat” musculoskeletal issues. They mask the animal's natural, protective pain response by interfering with inflammatory pathways (the cyclooxygenase enzyme systems) while the cause of that pain remains.

 

Short term use of NSAIDs for the humane relief of pain in injured animals is reasonable, but no horse genuinely in need of NSAIDs should be competing. Compelling evidence has accumulated in the human literature that this class of drugs used chronically interferes with the normal metabolism and healing process in bone, joint cartilage and tendon insertion sites onto bone. In fact, human orthopedic surgeons caution their patients to avoid NSAIDs for at least a week before and several weeks after surgical procedures. A review article on the impact of NSAIDs on the musculoskeletal system in humans which appeared in the September 2008 issue of Drugs Today concluded:

 

“It is clear, however, that cyclooxygenase activity is involved in the healing of many skeletal tissues, either directly or indirectly through modulation of the inflammatory response. Consequently, pharmacological manipulation of cyclooxygenase using NSAIDs or celecoxib can profoundly affect skeletal health.”

 

Preliminary studies, published in the American Journal of Veterinary Research in May of 2000 and December of 2001, confirm similar effects in equine tissue. In the study by Dr. Rhode et al, Ohio State, phenylbutazone at 4.4 mg/kg every 12 hours (a common therapeutic dose), significantly reduced mineralization and delayed healing at bone biopsy sites compared to untreated horses. Dr. Beluche et al, also at Ohio State, used the same dosage to assess the effects of phenylbutazone on cartilage and concluded:

 

“Oral administration of phenylbutazone for 14 days significantly decreased proteoglycan synthesis in articular culture explants from healthy horses to a degree similar to that induced by in vitro exposure to IL-1beta [an inflammatory cyotkine in arthritis - EK]. Phenylbutazone should be used judiciously in athletic horses with osteoarthritis, because chronic administration may suppress proteoglycan synthesis and potentiate cartilage damage.”

 

The BEVA has expressed concern that the change could lead to an increase in catastrophic injuries, a concern that is supported by a June 2009 study in the Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics which found higher levels of phenylbutazone and flunixine in catastrophic breakdowns in racehorses, as well as injuries in general. Pain means injury. Is it not simply common sense that masking pain so that a horse can perform with weakened tissue is asking for trouble?

 

This is to say nothing of the legendary potential for this class of drugs, in particular phenylbutazone, to cause oral ulceration, gastric ulceration, renal damage and right dorsal colitis.

 

It is being claimed that there is no concern over NSAID use in human athletes. In truth, several recent articles have expressed concern over the level of NSAID use by human athletes with respect to decreased blood clotting, drug side effects, negative effects on the ability of muscle to respond normally to exercise, electrolyte abnormalities and the potential for worsening injury, for example:

 

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/medicationanddrugs/a/NSAID_endurance.htm

 

We are told that the permitted dosage of 1 gram of phenylbutazone no closer than 12 hours before competition is too low to have a significant effect on lameness and would be administered in a supervised setting. There are several problems with that statement.

 

A study in the December 1994 issue of the Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics found that 2 mg/kg of phenylbutazone, 1 gram for a 500 kg horse, the same “low” dose being proposed by the FEI, provided as much pain relief as higher doses in an experimental model of severe arthritis. Higher doses only provided a longer duration of pain relief.

 

It's true that a 1 gram dose of phenylbutazone 12 hours out from competition would not be providing significant pain relief at that 12 hour mark. However, the proposed allowable plasma level of 8 µg/mL is well within the known therapeutic blood level and is more consistent with the level that would be found between 6 to 7 hours after administration, not 12. This leaves the door wide open for abuse by anyone inclined to give the horse more drug on their own, a practice called “topping off”. In his letter to the FEI protesting the rule change, Leo B. Jeffcott, former Chair of the FEI Veterinary Committee, refers to past problems with topping off. Does anyone seriously believe that won't happen again?

 

Advocates of the change also refer to violations that occurred under the zero tolerance policy, alluding to those being unjust or the test too sensitive, and applauding the new rules for that reason. However, the level detectable under zero tolerance depends on the sensitivity of the assay being used. These drugs lose their analgesic effects long before the nanogram levels detected by ultrasensitive ELISA tests. Using chromatography techniques, a typical limit of detection for a 3 gram dose of phenylbutazone correlates with the drug having been administered 30 hours prior to testing, or 39 hours for its metabolite, oxyphenylbutazone when testing blood samples. The limit of detection for this high dose when testing urine is 48  hours for the drug itself and 120 hours for its metabolite. Lower doses would be undetectable much sooner. Is it really all that unreasonable to ask that a horse not be given NSAIDs for 3 to 5 days prior to a competition?

 

I am also concerned that the rule change will lead to greater use of NSAIDs in general, both between and at competitions. Trainers and riders will feel that those who are using them are at an advantage and will feel compelled to give their horse an equivalent edge.

 

As a veterinarian and advocate for the horse, I cannot support the progressive drug list and strongly agree with those who feel it is a step backwards both in terms of equine welfare and the clean sport effort.

 

Eleanor M. Kellon, VMD

Equine Nutritional Solutions

Denver, Pennsylvania

USA

www.drkellon.com

FEI warns sport is 'as good as dead' if not cleaned up

Lord John Stevens, head of the ethics committee for the FEI (international equestrian federation), wasn't kidding around at the organization's annual meeting last week, when he told delegates that they needed to approve a series of recommendations aimed at cleaning up the sport and its image.

"This is the most important decision in the history of your organization,'' he maintained during the often-contentious Copenhagen session.

"Without clean sport, quite simply, you're going to lose your public, you're going to lose your sponsors and your sport actually is going to be as good as dead.''

Whoa.

After the disastrous fallout from six positive equine drug tests at the Olympics last year, the FEI appointed a Clean Sport Commission headed by Arne Ljundqvist, vice president of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Subsequently, Stevens -- the former chief of the London Metropolitan Police who led the investigation into the death of Princess Diana -- was named to head an ethics panel looking into the practices of the German equestrian team, after news reports had indicated that cheating with drugs appeared endemic. 

The panel's mission later was widened to consider the integrity of the sport. Both committees came up with a wide-ranging series of recommendations that called for greater clarity in drug regulations, upgrades in everything from stable security to professionalizing officials, and setting up a permanent integrity unit to maintain a corruption-free environment in the FEI and its disciplines. 

"The FEI is really determined to deliver a clean and uncorrupted product to its commercial partners and to the public that comes and sees what goes on and also participates,'' said Stevens.

"You can't put a price on integrity. It means fair play for the sport. We need to turn all these words into action. With clean sport, you can restore the image of your sport and public confidence in it,'' he contended.

Stevens' stern words were convincing. The vote to approve the procedures was 90-8. New anti-doping and medication control measures were okayed 95-5.

There was, however, a much closer vote, 53-48, on authorizing a so-called "progressive'' list of prohibited substances, which will allow use in FEI competition of two non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, phenylbutazone (bute) and Banamine, as well as salicylic acid (aspirin) to be used in competition horses. The FEI previously had a zero tolerance policy toward such substances. 

That upset many riders, who felt there was no reason to deny horses the equivalent of ibuprofen that would ease muscle aches for equine athletes, the same way it is allowed for human athletes.

But some felt use of these substances would tarnish the sport's image in parts of Europe where the idea of analgesics for horses in competition is anathema. Director Frank Kempermann of Germany's Aachen show, which is one of the world's best, contended that "we organizers have to sell the sport to the public. I cannot understand how we can sell the sport...with a new policy with bute on the list,'' he said, fearing that will cause shows to lose sponsors and spectators. 

Hours after the progressive list was approved, a number of delegates called for a re-vote, but FEI President Princess Haya of Jordan vetoed the request. The Princess, meanwhile, wants to see federations follow FEI doping rules in their national shows, unless their country's laws bans the use of NSAIDs in competition horses, as some do.

The U.S. has the opposite problem. The FEI's permitted levels of bute and Banamine are approximately half of what the U.S. Equestrian Federation allows. And was reported in The Star-Ledger last week, leaders of the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association already are bridling at a U.S. Equestrian Federation rule proposal barring use of two NSAIDs in conjunction with each other and allowing only one.

Having to cut the amount of bute and Banamine to comply with the FEI standards would cause a furor. (USEF has no levels on salicylic acid.)

USEF CEO John Long, who told the FEI general assembly that the progressive list was not the USEF's idea, would not say how the federation voted on the issue. But he did note the FEI agreed to an accommodation that would enable countries such as the U.S., which have had drug testing programs for five years, to decide how the program would be implemented for national-level (non-FEI) classes. Long said he saw no reason for amateur riders with no international aspirations "to comply with rules...for purposes of qualifying for a team. That's the line we have to find over the next couple of years. I'm sure it's going to be a huge topic of conversation at the annual meeting.''

People already are talking.

"The FEI is 1 percent of what we do in this industry; it doesn't concern the rest of it,'' said Susie Schoellkopf, a member of the USHJA's Hunter Zone Committee.

Olympic double-medalist Chris Kappler of Flemington, president of the North American Riders Group, said he thought the FEI initiative was "a great start. It will help make a difference,'' but he likes the USEF levels of medications.

"It's been a proven commodity for us for a long time,'' he commented. "Hopefully, they'll (the FEI) see the positive effects of this and ... it will become more broadband with the allowance.''

Kappler, who would like to see a certain uniformity on rules globally, nationally and regionally, noted, "it's hard to keep up with them all. Some sort of continuity would be important. But there needs to be give and take on both sides.''

On the other hand, he noted, "our somewhat lenient'' medication program has enabled shows not to have the best footing, since horses can receive analgesics.

He pointed out that many European shows have top-notch footing because no medication was permitted.

"The zero-tolerance rule meant it was imperative the shows had only the best footing, riders didn't go unless the shows had the best footing.'' 

Kappler would like to see the new medication rules signal improvement.

"Hopefully,'' he said, "all around it goes to better horsemanship.''

Karl Mikolka in hospital!

www.ultimatedressage.com

The message was posted by REX:

I just got the following from a friend. 

For those of you who have asked about Karl and his condition , please see below from Lynn. Prayers, please, for both of them. I am thinking that we might be able to help a little with what I know will be financial worries if people would be able/willing to make a donation to send on to Lynn to help while he is working through the chemo. Whatever you might be able to contribute would be appreciated and helpful. I will, with your permission, consolidate the funds if you would like to send them on to me, and send them on in a single check to Lynn along with your names, as I know that you are all praying for him and for them. Cherie 

Karl was admitted today and will begin chemotherapy tomorrow. The chemotherapy will consist of 5 different drugs at once (cytoxan, adriamycin, vincristine, prednisone and rituxon). The cancer has been diagnoses as an agressive, rapid-growing large-cell non-hodgkins lymphoma. We have been warned against the possible risks including heart damage, bladder-bleeding and bone marrow supression. Do we have a choice???? He is taking it much better than I. I am numb from worry and exhaustion and feel helpless. He's at the East Campus of Beth Israel in Boston, Feldberg 7th floor, room 785. Please share this information with Karl's students and well-wishers as you see fit. 

Karl's business address is P.O. Box 388, Rockport, MA 01966. The e-mail was sent from ( twasbrilag@aol.com ) 

I am at a loss for words. 

Rex

Work in Hand Seminar

Start:	Jul 22, '09 4:30p
End:	Jul 22, '09 6:00p
Location:	Piñon Farm, Santa Fe

Enjoy wine and cheese while you learn about work in hand from the beginning to Grand Prix level.

The Obama Factor

At the Amerikahaus, Simon Inou was in constant motion, organizing the last details for the Radio Afrika & Co celebration of the inauguration of Barack Obama, a consortium of NGO’s representing the migrant communities in Vienna supported by the U.S. Embassy.

We caught him in the final moments before the festivities were to begin. The inauguration of Barack Obama was, without question, a day of days.

“For our generation, in our Africa countries, there are no statesmen who have done anything like this,” Inou said, clearly moved, reaching for just the right words. “It’s unbelievable! The picture of a statesmen…, someone who gives you hope that you can reach the goal that you commit yourself to achieve!”

Even after more  a decade in Vienna, Inou feels racism as a constant presence, defining what is possible for him and others of African descent. The experience of Vienna International School teacher Mike Brennan, beaten by Vienna police on the platform in the subway at Spittelau on Feb. 11, is only the latest in a long list of incidents. The ZARA Racism Report reports 406 reported incidents of racism in Austria in 2007 alone. Assuming many go unreported, the actual number is surely even higher.

In a parallel he sees with Obama, Inou spent his childhood in a developing country and trained himself in the ways of the West. Born in Cameroon, he studied sociology at university and has since spent a lifetime in journalism. He has lived in Austria since 1995, serving as chief editor of Radio Afrika International from 1995 to 2005, and now founding head of the web portal Afrika Info (www.afrika.info), covering immigrants of African descent living in German-speaking countries.

Barack Obama has changed his view of what is possible. When Inou tries to imagine how this has could have happened, he comes, inevitably to Obama’s mother, Stanley Ann Dunham Sutoro.

“When I think of this woman, this young mother, and what she managed to accomplish, that she had so much strength to get from Kansas, I am overwhelmed,” he says, It’s so convincing, the way she just got things done.”

But the biggest thing for him is feeling that his reality is being considered.

“That’s the difference,” he said, “representing the values of the minorities.” But it’s not affirmative action. “With him, I believe that his skin color hasn’t played such a big role. It’s a picture of someone who has accomplished something.”

He paused, acknowledging a visitor who came over to great him, and another who haled him from the doorway. Then, he turned back, apologizing, and caught my gaze.

“Personally, it all very emotional,” he said. “I never dreamed in my wildest dreams that something like this could happen in my lifetime.”

Clinic in Santa Fe

Start:	Jul 20, '09
End:	Jul 24, '09
Location:	Santa Fe NM

Hosted by Steve & Karen Bershad - Piñon Farm

Clinic in Snohomish

Start:	Jul 13, '09
End:	Jul 17, '09
Location:	Snohomish (Seattle) WA

Hosted by Ralph & Freddy Dreitzler - Raflyn Farm

Clinic in Carmel Valley

Start:	Jul 7, '09
End:	Jul 11, '09
Location:	Carmel Valley CA

Hosted by Jennifer Roth - Across The Diagonal Farm