Classical horsemanship alois podhajsky biography

Podhajsky was born in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and was an officer in the Austrian Army, rising to the rank of Colonel. Founded in , the school"s main focus was the training of Lipizzan horses in the art of Classical dressage. Podhajsky was director of the school throughout World World War II and continued in the position until his retirement in Following his retirement, he continued to teach classical horsemanship, and wrote a number of books on the topic.

Podhajsky died following a stroke in , in Vienna, Austria.

BIOGRAPHY.

During World World War II, worried for the safety of the school and the horses due to bombing raids on Vienna, Podhajsky evacuated most of the stallions out of the city to Saint Martin in Upper Austria. A number of mares from the Piber Federal Study, the breeding farm that supplied horses for the school, were also evacuated. Though the horses were in relative safety, there were still harsh challenges.

There was little food for human or animals, and starving refugees sometimes attempted to steal the horses, viewing them as a source of meat.

Alois Podhajsky (24 February – 23 May ) was an Austrian soldier and Equestrian, riding instructor and Olympic medal-winner in dressage.

As American General George Patton was leading his troops through Austria, he was alerted to the presence of the Lipizzans at Saint Martin"son Patton and Podhajsky had each competed in equestrian events at the Olympic Games. Podhajsky later wrote about these events, an account which was made into a motion picture Miracle of the White Stallions by Walt Disney studios, with actor Robert Taylor playing Colonel Podhajsky.

Podhajsky alerted Patton to the location of additional Lipizzan bloodstock. Many Lipizzan mares and some stallions had been appropriated by the Germans from the Austrian breeding farm at Piber and sent to Hostau, a Nazi-run stud farm in Czechoslovakia now The Czechoslovakian Republic. When Hostau fell behind Soviet lines, captured German officers, under interrogation by United States.

Army Captain Ferdinand Sperl, provided details on the Lipizzans" location and asked the Americans to rescue the horses before they fell into Soviet hands, because it was feared they would be slaughtered for horsemeat.