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Every owner of a Lipizzan has a story. We all have a "moment" when we first became entranced by this majestic creature. This will be the first post in a series that we will be doing. We are going to start with our older stories of some of the first Lipizzans in the United States.
CONNIE by Carol Wilde
I was a born a horse lover. When Christmas came if there wasn't a toy horse for me, it just wasn't Christmas. There is a doll baby bed up in the attic of my mother's house that I swore was my sister's. I only found out in my 30's that that baby bed was mine and I just "blocked it out" of my memory. That was the year my parents bought me a wooden spring horse named Buckshot.
My favorite horses were always "white" horses. I had received a horse book every year and my father always showed me the horse pictures in magazines. When I was 10, my father showed me an article in the Sept 1958 National Geographic, titled THE WHITE HORSES OF VIENNA.. The very first photo in that magazine article was of a magnificent white horse with a golden bridle and breastplate. As I read the article I was reading about the almost magic of the horses where the riders seemed to disappear into the background as they seemed to dance to the crowds. The next photo showed 8 white horses with an almost invisible rider on each. It told of a General Patton who saved the breed from extinction. The next photo was of a horse in an almost perpendicular rear with his feet off the ground and a rider without stirrups. This was what they called a courbette. New words for me to learn at the age of 10!
There was some history about the Royalty that would put on shows called Carousels. Then there was a head study of the stallion Conversano Montebella and a photo of broodmares in the alpine pastures. Pictures of foals: a sharp contrast to the white mares. There was a photo of a brown horse in the Levade, and then I saw the picture of the horse that seemed to fly in the air performing a capriole. That was
my introduction to the Lipizzaner horses. I still have that magazine because that was where my love for the noble Lipizzaners began.
When THE MIRACLE OF THE WHITE STALLIONS came out, I saw for the first time the Lipizzaner come to life from that magazine. I must have seen that movie every day it showed locally.
In 1964, I found out that the Lipizzaners were coming to Chicago from Austria. It was a chance to see them LIVE for the first time.
I had begged my parents to go and we finally got tickets in the box seat area for $5.00. Needless to say, I was dreaming Lipizzan over and over in my head.
After I graduated high school, a friend asked if I wanted to work at a horse stables in IL. Of course I did. That is where I met Conversano III Ancona, AKA "Connie". I had to be the groom in charge of him and the manager at that time let me. Of all the horses I groomed, he was the last to be groomed so I could spend more time with him after work.
Connie was co-owned by a Frenchman named Jean Loup Petit and a German man named Manfred Leichner. When I saw Jean ride for the first time, it was just wonderful. He told me that Connie was bred in Wimsbach and had been in the circus trained by Arthur Konyot.
It was several weeks before Manfred came to the stables. After Manfred came, things changed quite a bit. The horse was beaten and came back to the aisle with sweat pouring off of his formerly white coat, which only showed the dark skin underneath.
When Jean came the next time, I told him about what happened and he said he had spoken with Manfred before, but it never did any good. When Jean rode, he had to work to calm Connie down again. I was glad Manfred didn't come out that often, only two Sundays a month. Jean came out weekly on Wed, Thurs, Sat & Sundays.
After about two months, I was thrilled when Jean offered me a chance to ride Connie on the longe. The lessons continued as long as Manfred was not there. It would be three days after Manfred came, that Connie would be calm enough me to get a lesson again.
About 6 months after Connie arrived, Manfred came to ride and he again beat Connie. He shouted, "He's gotta walk, doesn't he?" (there were very confusing signals if all he wanted to do was walk the horse). He said he was bringing out a trainer to see what was wrong with the horse.
It was on a Tuesday evening when Jean came and Manfred came with trainer Alf, from Tempel Farms. Jean told Manfred to ride first since he didn't ride much and he was the one who brought Alf out. I was glad of that since Alf could see the confusing signals Connie was getting. Then Alf asked to ride Connie. The difference was like night and day. There was a very obedient Connie doing half passes, passage and piaffe with the beauty of the Austrian Lipizzaners I saw in 1964. When Alf came back, he told Manfred, "It's not the horse, it's you." Manfred then left to drive Alf back to Tempel Farms and Jean said to me that was what Manfred needed to hear. Later that evening, after Jean had left, Manfred came back and beat Connie again so bad, that I thought Connie would drop. He shouted "He's FOR SALE!" I said "I'll buy him!"
I bought out Manfred's share of Connie for $1,000. At least Manfred was now out of the picture and Jean and I could concentrate on getting him calm again. I had continued with Jean and Connie for 3 years after that.
Then new barn management came and got rid of all girl grooms saying the job was for men only.
I paid off Jean's share of Connie with time payments and took Connie to WI with me. Jean came up a few times to see how we were doing, but then Jean got sick and could no longer come up.
Connie had special habits that were well remembered. At nights he would sometimes stand like a flamingo with one hind hoof in the air. He would drink coke out of a bottle and loved treats especially oranges and tootsie rolls. After he had a treat, he would wiggle his tongue in and out of his mouth, making slobbery, slurpy noises for hours.
Connie was some days a joy to ride, some days trying to calm him down again.
In 1970, the Herrmann Lipizzan troupe came to Milwaukee and they said that Brigetta was the only woman to do a capriole mounted. I told them yes, in shows, however I had done it on Connie a few times when I asked him to (and a few times when he decided that water puddle or stick in the pastures was just something to capriole over). Those unexpected caprioles put me on his neck a few times, but never off him.
I told them about Connie and how he was circus-trained by Arthur Konyot. They asked if he was for sale and I thought that was best since he was probably not getting the best training anymore since Jean got ill and I had no other trainer to help me.
Dressage was basically unheard of back then. I thought they could best use him for what he was trained for. They came out to look at him and they bought him. I had free admissions to their shows after that and two years after they bought him, he was performing on the long rein in the shows. He remembered me and gave me one of his slurpee kisses. He looked handsome with his golden tassels in his mane, Connie had an unusually soft coat and fine mane. He was a fleabitten grey. Connie's registered name was Conversano III Ancona. He was a 16.2-hand gelding reg # 31 with THE IMPERIAL LIPIZZANER horse registry (long passed). He was bred by Wimsbach stud, sired by the stallion pictured in my National Geographic magazine, 159 Conversano III Montebella x 24 Ancona 233 (Favory Santa I x Valdamora) He was foaled in 1954 and imported as part of the war booty from WWII.
In addition to the dressage movements, Connie could bow with both front legs folded or one folded with the other streched. This helped me mount him. I could put my foot in the stirrup and he would get up when I swung my leg over his back. He did a Spanish walk, passage, piaffe, capriole, pesade and three-legged canter.
Connie was the first privately-owned non - show Lipizzaner in Wisconsin. In 1961 the Smaha family moved to Baraboo, WI from the King Brothers Circus to the "Old Time Circus" at the Circus World Museum in Baraboo with their Circus Lipizzaner.
At the time of this blog post we have learned that Carole Wilde is very ill. We wish her good health and are indebted to her for sharing this wonderful story for us!
If anyone out there has anything more to share about Connie we would love to hear it!
CONNIE by Carol Wilde
I was a born a horse lover. When Christmas came if there wasn't a toy horse for me, it just wasn't Christmas. There is a doll baby bed up in the attic of my mother's house that I swore was my sister's. I only found out in my 30's that that baby bed was mine and I just "blocked it out" of my memory. That was the year my parents bought me a wooden spring horse named Buckshot.
My favorite horses were always "white" horses. I had received a horse book every year and my father always showed me the horse pictures in magazines. When I was 10, my father showed me an article in the Sept 1958 National Geographic, titled THE WHITE HORSES OF VIENNA.. The very first photo in that magazine article was of a magnificent white horse with a golden bridle and breastplate. As I read the article I was reading about the almost magic of the horses where the riders seemed to disappear into the background as they seemed to dance to the crowds. The next photo showed 8 white horses with an almost invisible rider on each. It told of a General Patton who saved the breed from extinction. The next photo was of a horse in an almost perpendicular rear with his feet off the ground and a rider without stirrups. This was what they called a courbette. New words for me to learn at the age of 10!
There was some history about the Royalty that would put on shows called Carousels. Then there was a head study of the stallion Conversano Montebella and a photo of broodmares in the alpine pastures. Pictures of foals: a sharp contrast to the white mares. There was a photo of a brown horse in the Levade, and then I saw the picture of the horse that seemed to fly in the air performing a capriole. That was
my introduction to the Lipizzaner horses. I still have that magazine because that was where my love for the noble Lipizzaners began.
When THE MIRACLE OF THE WHITE STALLIONS came out, I saw for the first time the Lipizzaner come to life from that magazine. I must have seen that movie every day it showed locally.
In 1964, I found out that the Lipizzaners were coming to Chicago from Austria. It was a chance to see them LIVE for the first time.
I had begged my parents to go and we finally got tickets in the box seat area for $5.00. Needless to say, I was dreaming Lipizzan over and over in my head.
After I graduated high school, a friend asked if I wanted to work at a horse stables in IL. Of course I did. That is where I met Conversano III Ancona, AKA "Connie". I had to be the groom in charge of him and the manager at that time let me. Of all the horses I groomed, he was the last to be groomed so I could spend more time with him after work.
Connie was co-owned by a Frenchman named Jean Loup Petit and a German man named Manfred Leichner. When I saw Jean ride for the first time, it was just wonderful. He told me that Connie was bred in Wimsbach and had been in the circus trained by Arthur Konyot.
It was several weeks before Manfred came to the stables. After Manfred came, things changed quite a bit. The horse was beaten and came back to the aisle with sweat pouring off of his formerly white coat, which only showed the dark skin underneath.
When Jean came the next time, I told him about what happened and he said he had spoken with Manfred before, but it never did any good. When Jean rode, he had to work to calm Connie down again. I was glad Manfred didn't come out that often, only two Sundays a month. Jean came out weekly on Wed, Thurs, Sat & Sundays.
After about two months, I was thrilled when Jean offered me a chance to ride Connie on the longe. The lessons continued as long as Manfred was not there. It would be three days after Manfred came, that Connie would be calm enough me to get a lesson again.
About 6 months after Connie arrived, Manfred came to ride and he again beat Connie. He shouted, "He's gotta walk, doesn't he?" (there were very confusing signals if all he wanted to do was walk the horse). He said he was bringing out a trainer to see what was wrong with the horse.
It was on a Tuesday evening when Jean came and Manfred came with trainer Alf, from Tempel Farms. Jean told Manfred to ride first since he didn't ride much and he was the one who brought Alf out. I was glad of that since Alf could see the confusing signals Connie was getting. Then Alf asked to ride Connie. The difference was like night and day. There was a very obedient Connie doing half passes, passage and piaffe with the beauty of the Austrian Lipizzaners I saw in 1964. When Alf came back, he told Manfred, "It's not the horse, it's you." Manfred then left to drive Alf back to Tempel Farms and Jean said to me that was what Manfred needed to hear. Later that evening, after Jean had left, Manfred came back and beat Connie again so bad, that I thought Connie would drop. He shouted "He's FOR SALE!" I said "I'll buy him!"
I bought out Manfred's share of Connie for $1,000. At least Manfred was now out of the picture and Jean and I could concentrate on getting him calm again. I had continued with Jean and Connie for 3 years after that.
Then new barn management came and got rid of all girl grooms saying the job was for men only.
I paid off Jean's share of Connie with time payments and took Connie to WI with me. Jean came up a few times to see how we were doing, but then Jean got sick and could no longer come up.
Connie had special habits that were well remembered. At nights he would sometimes stand like a flamingo with one hind hoof in the air. He would drink coke out of a bottle and loved treats especially oranges and tootsie rolls. After he had a treat, he would wiggle his tongue in and out of his mouth, making slobbery, slurpy noises for hours.
Connie was some days a joy to ride, some days trying to calm him down again.
In 1970, the Herrmann Lipizzan troupe came to Milwaukee and they said that Brigetta was the only woman to do a capriole mounted. I told them yes, in shows, however I had done it on Connie a few times when I asked him to (and a few times when he decided that water puddle or stick in the pastures was just something to capriole over). Those unexpected caprioles put me on his neck a few times, but never off him.
I told them about Connie and how he was circus-trained by Arthur Konyot. They asked if he was for sale and I thought that was best since he was probably not getting the best training anymore since Jean got ill and I had no other trainer to help me.
Dressage was basically unheard of back then. I thought they could best use him for what he was trained for. They came out to look at him and they bought him. I had free admissions to their shows after that and two years after they bought him, he was performing on the long rein in the shows. He remembered me and gave me one of his slurpee kisses. He looked handsome with his golden tassels in his mane, Connie had an unusually soft coat and fine mane. He was a fleabitten grey. Connie's registered name was Conversano III Ancona. He was a 16.2-hand gelding reg # 31 with THE IMPERIAL LIPIZZANER horse registry (long passed). He was bred by Wimsbach stud, sired by the stallion pictured in my National Geographic magazine, 159 Conversano III Montebella x 24 Ancona 233 (Favory Santa I x Valdamora) He was foaled in 1954 and imported as part of the war booty from WWII.
In addition to the dressage movements, Connie could bow with both front legs folded or one folded with the other streched. This helped me mount him. I could put my foot in the stirrup and he would get up when I swung my leg over his back. He did a Spanish walk, passage, piaffe, capriole, pesade and three-legged canter.
Connie was the first privately-owned non - show Lipizzaner in Wisconsin. In 1961 the Smaha family moved to Baraboo, WI from the King Brothers Circus to the "Old Time Circus" at the Circus World Museum in Baraboo with their Circus Lipizzaner.
At the time of this blog post we have learned that Carole Wilde is very ill. We wish her good health and are indebted to her for sharing this wonderful story for us!
If anyone out there has anything more to share about Connie we would love to hear it!
Great story and one I haven't heard before! Thanks for posting Rebecca. Well wishes to Carole, and I hope we hear from her soon.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes to Carole, what wonderful memories she's shared with us.
ReplyDelete