High-flying horses

Lashinsky, a young promoter fresh out of college, had made a trip to Austria a few years earlier and visited the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, where a breed of war horses called Lipizzaners performed intricate dances and gravity-defying leaps. He was hooked.

"I fell in love with the concept," Lashinsky said. "I thought it might be a good production for a few tours. I didn't know it'd still be around 40 years later."

This weekend the World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions arrive in Anchorage to perform two shows as part of their 40th anniversary tour. The Orlando-based horses travel about 40,000 miles each year, usually driving between 200 and 300 miles at a stretch before stopping to do a show.

"Anchorage is quite a ways to go but it's not that big of a deal for us," Lashinsky said.

The Lipizzaners have made three prior trips to Alaska, beginning in 1982, shortly after the Sullivan Arena opened.

"The Alaska Highway's greatly improved now compared to when we came up it 30 years ago," Lashinsky said. "Logistically we've been doing this so long, it's just like a rock and roll tour. There's a pretty tight production to go from point A to point B."

The entire show travels in just three vehicles -- a customized coach bus, a tractor trailer full of equipment, and a deluxe 15-horse trailer, towed by a semi, complete with audio/visual monitors so the drivers can keep an eye on their equine passengers.

"They're in the lap of luxury," Lashinsky said. "The air ride is incredibly comfortable for them. The horses are extremely well taken care of. They're valuable animals, and we take care of them."

Upon arrival in Anchorage, the Lipizzaners will check in to stables in South Anchorage. Their feed is purchased locally. A swell over the years in the popularity of riding has made it possible for the Lipizzaners to travel light.

"The equestrian world has changed considerably in the last four decades," Lashinsky said. "Before we used to carry portable stalls. Now, today, it's billions of dollars in the business. Everybody has a horse."

It was on a prior visit to Alaska that the Lipizzaners picked up a fan who would become integral to the organization. During an Alaska tour 22 years ago, then-18-year-old Anthony Jackson, who grew up on the Kenai Peninsula, attended a show in Soldotna and "fell in love," according to Lashinsky. Jackson convinced the tour to take him on, and several months later he joined the team.

"He started as a groom, and we instructed him," Lashinsky said. "He came up through the ranks as a rider. Today Jackson is the Lipizzaners' head rider.

"He's a good guy," Lashinsky said. "He has a natural ability with the horses."

Lipizzaners are descended from Spain's Andalusian war horses. The stock was maintained and developed over centuries by Austrian royalty. The breed survived the Napoleonic Wars, the fall of the Hapsburg empire and, most famously, World War II, when they were rescued by General George S. Patton and the United States Second Cavalry (an incident that was later made into a Walt Disney film, "The Miracle of the White Stallions").

The leaps and dance movements are based on the principles of classical dressage, which evolved from cavalry training and battlefield movements.

"The Lipizzaner was bred for war," Lashinsky said. "You can see it when you look at some of the young stallions in the paddock that haven't even started their training yet."

Lipizzaners are slow-maturing horses, particularly when compared to thoroughbred racehorses, which begin their careers at a young age.

"Thoroughbreds are on the track at 2 or t3, while Lipizzaners don't even start their training until (age) 4," Lashinsky said. "It takes approximately six to eight years to train a Lipizzaner."

The Lipizzaners' Anchorage shows will feature all-new horses, riders and routines.

"We're more of a theatrical entertainment attraction versus a demonstration of dressage," Lashinsky said. "We have a lot of narration throughout the show ... to help the audience learn the history, the significance of what we're doing. You see them do their leaps, their hops and jumps in the air as they would have done 430 years ago. You don't have to be a horse lover to enjoy it. It's very traditional and very entertaining."

The World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions

Perform at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Sullivan Arena. Tickets, $24-$36.50, are available at Ticketmaster.com.

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