BRING ON THE DANCING HORSES

It’s fitting that there are currently 65 horses at the Tempel Farms in Old Mill Creek, just northwest of Gurnee. Some are retired, some are performing, and some are or will be in training. They’ll all be celebrating the farm’s 65th anniversary this summer.

Lipizzaners, or Lipizzans, are one of the oldest breeds of horses in Europe and hail from modern-day Slovenia—back when it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The breed got its start in 1580 when Archduke Charles established a stud farm in Lipizza near the Adriatic Sea. Originally bred as a cavalry horse, there are only about 12,000 left in the world.

While originally bred for battle, that role changed during the Renaissance when the craft of horsemanship became a popular pursuit. Today, many of the horses are trained in performance and known for their choreographed dancing skills.

“Classical riding schools popped up then around Europe, and classical riding is essentially a stylized version of cavalry riding, and horsemanship became a type of entertainment for the Royals,” says Esther Buonanno, Program Director for Tempel Lipizzans and granddaughter of the farm’s founder, Tempel Smith.

Lipizzans are medium-sized horses. Buonanno says they’re “strong and sturdy,” very intelligent, athletic, and connected to people. They’re like modern-day dressage horses, only smaller, with shorter legs.

Buonanno’s grandparents, Tempel and Esther Smith, first brought Lipizzans to Illinois in the 1960s. Her grandfather owned a steel manufacturing company in Chicago and many of the parts and machinery they used had to be sourced from Europe. On one of their first trips to Europe they became taken with the Spanish riding school in Vienna.

“I think they were just totally inspired by the traditions, the boldness, the beauty, the overthe- top baroque presentation,” Buonanno says. “In the States, we had racehorses and western riding, barrel racing, and show jumping. But this fancy European dressage really wasn’t present here.”

Buonanno says her grandfather’s vision was to bring this unique breed of horses to the States and resurrect the same classical traditions of riding and training that were started centuries ago. However, because they were living in the suburbs when the horses first arrived and didn’t own any land at that time, they had to rent a place to house them.

“They eventually settled in what is called Old Mill Creek and began a proper, really well-advised breeding and training program,” she says. “This was all possible thanks to the help of a lot of Germans in Austria and Austrians that actually came over and helped get things underway.”

Buonanno initially went her own way after college. The farm was a place where she came to visit, and she grew to love horses over time. Thirteen years ago, one of her cousins asked for her to help out on the farm and she eventually became Program Director.

“As a grown-up, coming back into it, it has a ton to do with realizing how much was done to produce the farm—really nice horses and a lot of respect for the culture of classical riding,” she says. “These Lipizzans are quite personable, and you almost feel like they’re acknowledging you and looking through your soul when you meet them.”

With a background in education, Buonnano says part of her motivation is to provide access to the horses to the public and be able to explain that there’s a lot that goes into the performances. They should be appreciated as a beautiful experience set to music, like going to a ballet.

Upkeep of the Tempel Farms requires around 15 employees. Summers are particularly busy, when most the horses’ performances take place. There are 30 horses, mostly stallions, in training, and then a breeding program.

“We’re breeding all of our horses right here, and I will say when you ask me what I love about being here and being a part of this place, it is the breeding side, which has become an absolute fascination to me,” says Buonanno. “We’re doing all our own breeding, but it’s not just matching them up and running with it. There’s so few of these horses you have to be quite careful about it.”

Breeding is really an art form, Buonanno says, and there are basic rules about how you want a horse’s body to look. The horses are bright, and first being bred.

“Some of the people who do this are the experts and mentors for me. They say, ‘You know, you can have a horse that looks like a Lipizzan, but if they don’t have a brain like a Lipizzan, they’re actually not one’,” she says. “So, it’s all very fascinating.”

This summer’s program at Tempel Farms will include a new soundtrack for the farm’s 65th anniversary. Buononno says in the past the farm has presented programs with music from the likes of Johann Strauss II, Mozart, and other Germans and Austrians.

“We are delving into some really fun and recognizable tunes from American history. We’ve got music from Ragtime and swing music for one of our solos,” she says. “We’ve got some Broadway tunes. We’ve put an awesome musical arrangement together and worked closely with a woman whose entire job is choreographing music freestyles, and she’s a former opera singer and musical arranger.”

Dancing—at a human level— has always been a good analogy for what Tempel does because in addition to it having harmony and rhythm, it’s a long slow process bringing the horses along.

“Just like a young dancer doesn’t get into shoes in the first year of ballet, the same thing is true with the Lipizzaner movements,” Buonanno says.

For more information about the summer’s program at Tempel Farms and to purchase tickets, visit tempelfarms.com.