By Staff
Lipizzans set to perform at Bob Martin center
By GREG KATSKI
Staff Writer
The “World Famous” Lipizzaner Stallions will set the stage tonight and Wednesday at the Bob Martin Eastern Agricultural Center when they perform spectacular leaps and maneuvers as part of an equestrian ballet.
The white stallions, considered royalty of the equine world, have been bringing crowds to their feet with graceful gestures and astounding leaps for 38 years.
The Lipizzans last graced the Bob Martin center with their presence as part of the 2006 world tour.
An excellent turnout at the center in 2006 prompted the tour to make a two-day stop this year.
The stallions will be performing at 7:30 p.m. today and Wednesday, with doors opening an hour before show time.
Tickets are $22.50 for adults, and $20.50 for children (12 years old and younger) and seniors (60 years old and older). Tickets can be purchased at the door on a first-come, first-serve basis, or at Mast Pharmacy, the Martin Chamber of Commerce and Tickets.com.
The ballet performed by the stallions during the show has been over 400 years in the making.
The Lipizzan is the aristocrat, royalty, light and nimble dancer and aerialist of the equestrian world, according to a news release from White Stallion Productions.
The show emulates the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Austria, in its presentation of Lipizzans, and maintains a traditional, as well as, entertaining performance similar in many ways to what you would see at the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, said the press release.
The highlight of the show is the segment called “Airs Above the Ground,” which features leaps and maneuvers from the horses once used by riders in saddle to protect and defend themselves on the battlefield. The leaps are now considered a work of art, said the press release.
Over 25 million people have seen the stallions on tour since the show’s inaugural year of 1970.
The tour was introduced by Gary Lashinsky, a former rock-concert promoter, after he saw a performance by Lipizzaner Stallions with the Spanish Riding School of Vienna in Philadelphia, Pa.
Gary Lashinsky fell in love with the noble majestic stallions and decided to start a worldwide tour with Lipizzans from the renowned riding school.
The tour is now the third longest running family entertainment show behind the Ringling Bros. Circus, founded in 1884, and Harlem Globetrotters, founded in 1926.
The current tour features 12 to 14 stallions performing selected maneuvers.
The approximately two-hour show offers enough entertainment for anyone of any age to enjoy.
And the show is not only entertaining, but educational too, he said.
The tour stop is an ample opportunity for anyone to enjoy an upscale family event without breaking the bank or sucking the gas tank, he said.