Lipizzaners to return to North Adams

By Linda CarmanPrint Story | Email Story
A rider rears one of the famous stallions. (Submitted Photo)
NORTH ADAMS — Dazzling Lipizzaner stallions will combine the delicacy of ballet dancers with the precision of military drill when they return to Noel Field to benefit the North Adams Library after a three-year absence. The performance of Herrmann’s Royal Lipizzan Stallions of Austria Sept. 10-12 is sponsored by the Friends of the North Adams Library and will benefit the library’s building fund, according to library director Marcia Gross. “They were very successful here three years ago, and we’ve had a lot of request to bring them back,” said Gross, who has headed the Equus therapeutic riding program at her Oakhollow Farm in Williamstown for the past 23 years. Three years ago, the Lipizzaners made $10,000 for the library. “We hope this year we’ll do even better,” Gross said. “The response has been very good. This show appeals to people who like animals. The performance is spectacular.” Performances will be Sept. 10 and 11 at 7 p.m. and Sept. 12, a Sunday, at 2 p.m. The rain date will be Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. Tickets, if purchased by Sept. 1, are $12; children under 6 free, children 6 to 12, $8. At the gate, tickets will $15, children $10. Tickets are on sale at the library, the David and Joyce Milne Williamstown Public Library, the Adams Free Library, and the Berkshire Athenaeum in Pittsfield. Other locations are: Williamstown, Oak Hollow Farm and Shear Creations; Lanesboro, Country Tack; Shaftsbury, Vt., Trumbull Mountain Tack Shop, Adams, the Adams Cooperative Bank and North Adams, Greylock Animal Hospital. “We’ve been promoting it in the different libraries in the region,” Gross said. he North Adams library’s $4.5 million expansion is under way and expected to be completed by next year. The library has been operating out of temporary quarters in the former Wall-Streeter building at the corner of Union Street and Willow Dell.. The horses will arrive early in second week of September and will open their stables to the community, Gross said. The breed, founded in the 16th century for the exclusive use of the Hapsburg royal family of Austria, is world-renowned for its ability to perform classical dressage, including the gravity-defying “airs above the ground. The performance will include the airs above the ground, including courbette, capriole and levade, highly refined leaps requiring great strength, intelligence and endurance. In the courbette, the horse does several jumps on its hind legs while holding its forelegs off the ground; in the capriole, it leaps in the air and, at the height of the leap, kicks out with its hind legs. In the levade, the horse rises on its haunches from a standstill and tucks its forelegs under. This is often the pose of classical equestrian sculpture and art. All the movements, were originally outlined by Xenophon and derive from defensive horsemanship during war. The leaps were designed for mounted riders to inspire terror among foot soldiers. The performance will conclude with a complex military quadrille, six to eight stallions working intricate patterns. The horses perform to the music of Mozart, Wagner and Tchaikovsky. The Lipizzaner stallions are under the direction of Col. Ottomar Herrmann, who, with his father, helped U.S. Gen. George S. Patton rescue the breed during World War II, a celebrated escape that was recounted in the Walt Disney film “Miracle of the White Stallions.” The Hermann family has trained and ridden Lipizzaners for the Royal House of Hapsburg for six generations, nearly 300 years. Col. Herrmann and two subsequent generations of Herrmanns maintain a 200-acre ranch in Florida to continue propagating the breed. During the performance, Herrmann, who has kept both the horses and their art alive, will give a lively and informative narrative of their history and evolution. A noted trainer, he emphasizes that extreme patience and particularly love are needed to school the talented and intelligent animals. More information is available at www.herrmannslipizzans.com
Share
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Friends of Great Barrington Libraries Holiday Book Sale

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The Friends of Great Barrington Libraries invite the community to shop their annual Holiday Good-as-New Book Sale, happening now through the end of the year at the Mason Library, 231 Main Street. 
 
With hundreds of curated gently used books to choose from—fiction, nonfiction, children's favorites, gift-quality selections, cookbooks, and more—it's the perfect local stop for holiday gifting.
 
This year's sale is an addition to the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce's Holiday Stroll on this Saturday, Dec. 13, 3–8 PM. Visitors can swing by the Mason Library for early parking, browse the sale until 3:00 PM, then meet Pete the Cat on the front lawn before heading downtown for the Stroll's shopping, music, and festive eats.
 
Can't make the Holiday Stroll? The book sale is open during regular Mason Library hours throughout December.
 
Proceeds support free library programming and events for all ages.
View Full Story

More Stories

Sports
image description

Lee Executes Game Plan to Perfection in Quarter-Final Win

Sports
Sports
image description

Lenox Volleyball Reaches State's Final Four

Sports
Sports
image description

Mount Greylock Boys Win 3rd Straight Regional Crown

Sports
Sports
image description

Mount Greylock Girls Again Top Monson in Western Mass Final

Sports
Sports
image description

Lenox Sweeps Its Way to Western Mass Crown

Sports
Community News
image description

North Adams License Commission Sees Little Need for License...

Community News
Latest Stories
Previous Next

What's Trending?