Leaping Lipizzaners! Stallions to strut their stuff at South Point

By Jerry Fink

Monday, July 14, 2008 | 2 a.m.

The World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions return to Las Vegas this weekend to thrill anyone who appreciates equestrian beauty.

The equestrian version of “Legends in Concert” will prance, strut, soar and high step into the South Point arena.

The World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions are not the same group as those from the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Austria, although the horses are of the same bloodline and the dancing routines are similar.

“We purchase horses from the Spanish Riding School and we produce their shows when they come to the United States, but we are not affiliated with them,” Troy Tinker says during a telephone interview from Monterey, Calif., where the horses were getting set for a recent performance.

The Spanish Riding School troupe last appeared in the United States in 2005. It was celebrating the 60th anniversary of being saved by Gen. George S. Patton during World War II. That was the inspiration for the Walt Disney movie “The Miracle of the White Stallions.”

The legendary 430-year-old school cancelled a trip to the United States this year because of financial difficulties. It reportedly was on the verge of bankruptcy in January after losing nearly $2.9 million last year.

But the American troupe is doing well, Tinker says. The World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions production was created by Gary Lashinsky in 1970.

That makes it the third longest touring arena show in the country, Tinker says, behind Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, officially formed in 1919 with the merger of the two circuses, and the Harlem Globetrotters, founded in 1926.

This is the same troupe of horses that once was a Las Vegas headliner, billed as the Royal Lipizzaner Stallions. They starred in matinees six days a week at the Excalibur in 1991 and 1992 and from 1994 through 1997. Back then tickets were $7.95; now, $28.

More than 23 million fans around the world have seen the American troupe.

“We still draw huge crowds,” Tinker says. “People still come back to see us. After almost every show someone says, ‘I saw it as child and I just had to bring my kid to see it.’ ”

Tinker was an actor in Cleveland when he got a call from the producer asking him to become the show’s narrator in 1990. When the show came to Las Vegas he bought a home here in the old part of town. “At night you can hear the screams coming from the riders at the top of the Stratosphere,” he says. “But I’m never there. We’re on the road 49 weeks a year.

“When I started, traveling was one of the things I loved about the job. I’m 50 years old. Now, I love the job in spite of the travel. If I have a bad day, I just look at the faces on the audiences. You can’t be bored with it.”

There are 12 horses and 10 riders in the troupe. Only eight horses are in the show at any time, and they are rotated to avoid overworking them, Tinker says.

In addition to the horses and riders, the troupe includes three grooms, a show manager, a merchandise manager and assistant, three truck drivers and a bus driver. A veterinarian joins the group about every six weeks to tend to routine medical issues.

“Having 12 horses is like having 12 children,” Tinker says.

Tinker says training of the Lipizzans begin at about the age of 4. It takes six to nine years to train them.

“Never more than 45 minutes a day,” he says. “They have short attention spans. They’re not really interested in anything you have to say.”

The horses retire between the ages of 21 and 23 and are put out to stud to end their careers.