Musings on the History of Lipizzans in the United States
Just musing: The Lipizzans selected for the US by General Patton didn't last long in US hands at the end of World War II. True, they were shipped home, along with the great Polish Arabian stallion Witez II. They landed in Virginia and then somehow showed up at the Kellogg Arabian Farm in Pomona, California, which had been comandeered as a remount station during World War II by the US Cavalry.
Horses were not a priority for the US military in 1946, and these precious horses, so carefully selected as the best of Europe by Patton and his staff, were put up for auction.
According to the excellent book, "War Horse", the stallion Pluto XX ended up in private hands in Oklahoma. The mares were sold to a circus. Don't you just wonder if there are horses in Oklahoma with some small percentage of Piber bloodlines?
Not to be outdone, there is a roadside marker in St. Rose, Louisiana--perhaps the SRS vans passed it--marking the resting place of Nordlicht, the Thoroughbred believed to have been owned by Adolf Hitler. Nordlicht was undefeated as a racehorse and won the Austrian derby in 1943. He died in 1968.
Horses were not a priority for the US military in 1946, and these precious horses, so carefully selected as the best of Europe by Patton and his staff, were put up for auction.
According to the excellent book, "War Horse", the stallion Pluto XX ended up in private hands in Oklahoma. The mares were sold to a circus. Don't you just wonder if there are horses in Oklahoma with some small percentage of Piber bloodlines?
Not to be outdone, there is a roadside marker in St. Rose, Louisiana--perhaps the SRS vans passed it--marking the resting place of Nordlicht, the Thoroughbred believed to have been owned by Adolf Hitler. Nordlicht was undefeated as a racehorse and won the Austrian derby in 1943. He died in 1968.
posted by Fran Jurga | 12:12 PM
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