He’s smart though, he learned with one eye,” my guide Brigitte says about the gray stallion. He turns his clouded eye toward us and pricks his ears forward in acknowledgement before losing interest.
Lipizzaner horses may be the stars of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Austria, but the breed’s origins lie across modern-day borders in Lipica, Slovenia. Over the centuries, the herd survived wars, occupations, and numerous exiles to Austria, Italy, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia.
When government funding declined, the Lipica Stud turned to tourism. In 1996, the stud was declared a protected cultural monument, and it’s now a premier destination for horse lovers of all ages.
THE HOTEL
The property’s recently renovated Hotel Maestoso, named after a historic stud line, is a large part of the wide-ranging appeal. Its…