The Spanish Riding School of Vienna will visit London and Birmingham

To celebrate its 450th anniversary next year, the Spanish Riding School of Vienna will perform six new shows in London and Birmingham.

GTOs will find the shows taking place in November 2016 at the SEE Arena at Wembley on 11th, 12th and 13th, and the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham on 18th, 19th and 20th.

Which comes as good timing as the riding school has just been recognised by UNESCO and placed on its world heritage list.

The shows will be hosted by TV presenter and British Dressage Ambassador, Nicki Chapman, plus special guests (to be confirmed). The shows have been described as ‘impressive displays of classical equitation.’

What will the show entail?

The Spanish Riding School in Vienna is said to be the only institution worldwide where classical equitation in the Renaissance tradition of the haute école is still cultivated, and the anniversary tour aims to reflect this.

The classical equestrian skills are practiced in their original form by the riders, and audiences can expect to see the impressive precise movements of white Lipizzan horses and their riders.

The horses will perform a series of in-hand work and movements above the ground at the UK shows, including the capriole, which is an upward leap made without going forward and with a backward kick of the hind legs whilst the horse is mid-air.

Other performance highlights of the shows will be the levade, a move in which the stallion puts its entire weight on its hind legs and raises its front legs no more than 45 degrees, and the courbette where the horse raises its forehand off the ground, tucks up its forelegs evenly, and then jumps forward in a series of ‘hops’.

Group booking information

Ticketmaster regularly has Spanish Riding School deals for groups, such as buy ten tickets, get two free.

Tickets are available now from www.ticketmaster.co.uk/groups.