Horsey highlight at Uplands
The South African Lipizzaner's performed at the Uplands Festival
There was much anticipation for the South African Lipizzaner’s performance as crowds gathered at the beautiful equestrian centre at Uplands College on Friday evening.
Although it was a bit chilly, this did not stop spectators from arriving over two hours early for the performance, in order to secure a good seat. “We originally had 800 tickets available for the show, but they sold out so quickly that we had to keep adding more and more tickets. Over 1 000 people watched the show. This was the first time the Lipizzaners have been at the Uplands Festival, and I definitely think that it was a highlight of the weekend.”
The evening was opened by fire performers, before the white stallions kicked off their enchanting performance under the stars. The South African Lipizzaners is a non-profit company which focuses on the preservation of this ancient breed. The horses came all the way from Kyalami to do a special performance in the Lowveld.
Each stallion was introduced and the story of the Lipizzaners and their training told by a student from the South African Lipizzaners, Camilla Lamb. Overseen by chief trainer, Adriaan van Wyk, the horses enthralled the crowd as they showed off by doing amazing movements such as the courbette, where the horse raises himself on his haunches and executes one or more forward leaps at the command of his handler, and the capriole, where he raises himself on his hind legs and then kicks out.
It was mesmerising to watch as the stallions performed in sync, doing manoeuvres and the piaffe, a cadenced trot associated with high classical dressage led by team leader Briony Wilde. This was originally designed as equine military training, but over time has transformed into a living art form of balletic grace and precision. These horses were remarkable and eager to please. It was fascinating to watch the relationship and trust between the horse and rider. The performance lasted just over an hour and spectators were able to meet the riders and feed carrots to the stallions after the show.
