THE HISTORY OF TEMPEL FARMS
Tempel and Esther Smith greet their new Lipizzans in New York City with a cube of sugar.
In the late 1950’s Tempel and Esther Smith attended a performance of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. They were incredibly impressed with these beautiful animals and started a venture that would change their lives forever. A man of great vision, Tempel Smith not only felt that he should bring these horses to the United States, but also that he should start a school of riding modeled after the Spanish Riding School. Not only were these horses extremely rare in the US, but the art of classical riding, or dressage, was virtually unheard of. In 1958 the Smiths imported twenty horses, mostly pregnant mares, to Spring Grove, IL. Over the next ten years the Smiths recruited the help of many professional breeders, veterinarians, and riders to grow their herd and to maintain the quality of the herd and the riding. During that time they started to put on performances for private events or special occasions. In 1969 the East Good Luck Stables in Wadsworth, IL, current home to these Lipizzan stallions, was purchased. The Tempel Lipizzans have been asked to perform all over the country including performances at the White House and in several Inaugural Ceremonies. In 1982 the first public performances were put on at the East Good Luck facility. At this time the herd was at its largest with around 400 Lipizzaners. It was at this point that Tempel Farms was acknowledged for having the largest herd of privately owned Lipizzaners in the world and it was also the only private facility to breed, train, and perform all in the classical manner of the Spanish Riding School. In 1993, Linda Smith Buonanno and Martha Smith Simpson, current owners of the Tempel Lipizzans, received the Officer's Cross, Grand Decoration of Honor for Service to the Republic of Austria, for their "careful management of a cultural institution with such close ties to Austria".
The mission of the Tempel Lipizzans is today as it has been from the beginning: to promote classical dressage and the Lipizzan breed in the United States through a careful breeding and training program. Public exhibitions and tours serve to educate and entertain on the history of this classical art.
The mission of the Tempel Lipizzans is today as it has been from the beginning: to promote classical dressage and the Lipizzan breed in the United States through a careful breeding and training program. Public exhibitions and tours serve to educate and entertain on the history of this classical art.