Col. Alois Podhajsky, Albert Ostermaier, Dianne Olds Rossi in the 50's and 60's and Neapolitano born in 1767

I have reposted the picture of Dianne and Albert to illustrate the incredible wonderful historical significance of the Lipizzan horse, and help all understand the importance of record keeping in the breeding of unique, truly special animals, and why there are now 73 comments on the infamous white tiger post on the "history channel", with a many of them unsubstantiated "word of mouth," or as it is called in the Circus "jack potting." The horse above that Dianne is riding and the horse below that Col. Podhajsky is schooling shared a common sire ancestor named Neapolitano, who was born in 1767 hence their first names Neapolitano. Lipizzaner horses get their names by a traditional system. The stallion names consist of two names, and mares only have one name. In the early 1800's Arabians were used to strengthen the 6 Lipizzan sire lines. Of the seven Arabian stallions used, only Siglavy founded a separate dynasty. The horse below is descended on his dam side from the Siglavy line of the 1800's, hence his second name starting with an "S" Santuzza.

Photo above courtesy of Dianne Olds Rossi

These photos of Col. Podhajsky and Neapolitano Santuzza doing a capriole are fabulous. I have never seen them before. The photo above was snapped just a second to soon, and the one below just a second too late, but oh so close to perfect. A difficult behavior to capture at it's apex with still camera's of the day. Really wonderful photos of an elegant special world, the world of the Spanish Riding School of Vienna. In reference to the "white lion/Champagne lion" debate, Lipizzan horses are grey, not white. The "misunderstanding" was made famous by the Walt Disney movie The Miracle of the White Stallions. But in a "hype/tweaking of the fact's" world of show business it sold many more tickets then if it had been called The Miracle of the Grey Stallions. Now you should understand better the insistence at calling the Champagne lions "white." It's show business, it is not about accuracy, education, or fact's.
Courtesy of Joey Ratliff