On our last morning in Vienna we got up early, had breakfast and headed for the Spanish Riding School to watch the magnificent horses rehearsing at the school. No photography or filming is allowed and I behaved myself (unusual) despite many people simply ignoring the continuous reminders.
I took a couple of photographs outside and, before the horses and their riders came into the arena, the arena itself. I also managed to get a couple of the horses in their stables.
They are beautiful creatures. Rehearsal was interesting. It seemed to be a free for all, each rider doing exactly what they wanted with their horse; I suppose they may have particular things which they want to hone. I was surprised by the quite frequent ‘stampede’ in which horses would suddenly decide to do what THEY wanted to do and not what the rider was trying to achieve.
The horses look graceful and beautiful. However, within a short time I began to feel uneasy with it all. I watched as the horses were trotting around the arena with their heads bowed down close to their chests in a graceful swan-like curve and felt that they were being forced to do so (they are) and, more importantly, it was unnatural and not something which the horses wished to do. I only felt comforted by the thought that each rider must truly love their horse and that they are probably very well looked after. That was a consolation to my uneasy feelings about the horses’ wellbeing.
Just before leaving the city we walked one final time around the streets. Another coffee house: another large selection of cakes. Another tobacconist: another large selection of cigarettes.
2015 Euro Flight 