1964 Spanish Riding School Tour #4

1964%20Tour-4, a photo by bucklesw1 on Flickr. As related in the Disney film, during the closing days of World War II, Col. Podhajsky evacuated the performing Lipizzaner stallions from Vienna. However, the Lipizzaner mares were all in Czechoslovakia and in danger of falling into the hands of the advancing Russians, who would have slaughtered them. To enlist the aid of General Patton to rescue the mares, Podhajsky hastily assembled a performance for the general (who was also a noted horseman) to win his sympathy.