Lippizaners in Training

In the small, picturesque town of Đakovo (pronounced "Jakovo"), in the central Croatian region called Slavonia (not to be confused with Slovenia, Slovakia, Slavonska, or any other permutation of those sounds), live several dozen mares, their colts and fillies, and a few lucky studs. There are actually two separate places: a stud farm and a training stable, separated roughly ten minutes by car. The horses are born dark and the lucky ones grow to be white and get to perform with the world-famous Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Austria, and around the world (on tours). Others become coach horses and fulfill other specialized functions, as they have for centuries. Below, the video displays some of the horses I encountered on a beautiful day in October 2009.