The morning training
About an hour of the stallions' daily schooling in the Baroque hall, with classical Viennese music, no commentary and no filming.
The verdict first
Is the morning training at the Spanish Riding School worth it, or should I wait for a performance?
Worth it if you want to watch skilled riders school Lipizzaner stallions in a Baroque hall for about an hour, and you accept that it is a training session, not the performance. There is no fixed programme, nobody gives commentary, filming is not allowed and the famous leaps are rarely shown. The booking page's 3.9 rating comes from visitors who expected a show. If you want the choreography and the jumps, wait for a performance and book that instead.
Five points to check before you book
It is training, not the performance
The booking is for the public part of the horses' daily schooling. The exercises differ from day to day, the session lasts about an hour and it runs on selected mornings. Performances are a separate, choreographed programme.
The jumps may not appear
The leaps called the levade, courbette and capriole belong to the performances. The riding school's own page says they are rarely shown in the morning session, so do not book it for them.
Nobody explains it
There is no commentary, only classical Viennese music while the horses work. Read the figures section below before you go and the hour will make more sense.
Why the score is 3.9
Visitors' reviews on the booking page point to people who expected a show and found a lesson. Judged for what it is, it is a different hour from the one the score describes.
Phones away, stairs ahead
Photography and filming are not allowed inside. Children aged 3 to 5 enter free on an adult's lap and under-3s are not admitted. Pets are not allowed, and the galleries are reached by stairs.
- Length
- About an hour.
- What it is
- Morning training, not a performance.
- The jumps
- Rarely shown in the morning.
- Inside
- No commentary, no filming.
Training or performance
Morning training or a performance: how the two differ
Morning training
Performance
What you see
The horses' daily schooling
Highlights of classical riding
Programme
Not fixed, different each day
A programme with set sections
School jumps
Rarely shown
Part of the programme
Length
About an hour
45 or 70 minutes, galas longer
Music
Classical Viennese
Classical
Filming
Not allowed
Check the school's rules
How classical riding is made
Six ideas that make classical riding
There is no commentary in the hall, so this is the reader's key: the breed, three movements, the jumps and the years behind them, drawn from the riding school's own pages and from Wikipedia.
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Foals at the Lipica stud in Slovenia 1580
A breed made at Lipica
Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria founded a stud at Lipica, now in Slovenia, in 1580, and the breed took its name from the village. Lipizzaners are born dark, usually bay or black, and turn grey, a change complete by six to ten years of age. So the school's white stars are grey horses, and the young stallions are often still dark.
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A painting of the piaffe by Ludwig Koch Piaffe
Trotting on the spot
The piaffe is a highly collected, cadenced trot in place or almost in place. The hindquarters lower, the hind joints bend, and the front end stays light and free, with a moment of suspension between footfalls. It is needed to build the levade and the airs above the ground.
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Two riders of the school at an indoor show in Amsterdam Passage
A trot in slow motion
The passage is a very collected, very elevated trot. The horse lifts a diagonal pair of legs high and holds the leg in the air longer than in any other trot, so it appears to move in slow motion. A pirouette is a circle made by the front legs around the hind end, ideally almost in place.
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A painting of the capriole by Ludwig Koch Airs
The jumps
The airs above the ground are the school jumps: the levade, the courbette and the capriole. In the capriole the horse leaps and kicks out with its hind legs, the most difficult of all. They belong to performances, and are rarely shown in the morning session.
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A grey Lipizzaner in Slovenia Years
A long road
Wikipedia says a young stallion is first brought to the riding school at four, that work on the longe lasts two to three months before a rider is ever placed on his back, and that bringing a young stallion from unbroken to the high school takes four to six further years once the rider is trained.
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A Lipizzaner in its stall at the Lipica stud, Slovenia 2022
A listed tradition
In 2022 UNESCO listed Lipizzan horse breeding traditions as intangible heritage of humanity, in a joint submission by eight countries including Austria and Slovenia. What is listed is the breeding tradition, not any one hall or performance.
Sources: the English Wikipedia articles on the Lipizzan, the piaffe, the passage, the pirouette, the airs above the ground, the Lipica stud farm and the Piber stud, and the riding school's own history and morning pages.
From the entrance to the last exercise
From the entrance to the last exercise
The morning follows the horses' training, not a script, so the detail differs from day to day; your confirmation shows the start time and the entrance.
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Find your entrance
The hall is in the Hofburg, off the main-gate square. Your confirmation says which entrance to use, and tickets bought from outside sellers are collected at the riding school's ticket desk against the voucher.
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Climb to your place
There is no lift. Stairs lead up to the royal box and the galleries, and coats and luggage cannot be stored, so travel light.
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Young horses and school stallions
The session shows the schooling of young stallions, many still dark, and of the fully trained grey school stallions, with exercises that differ each day.
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The music, and no commentary
Classical Viennese music accompanies the work. Nobody explains it, and filming is not allowed, so you watch.
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Leave in the quiet
The hour ends without a bow or an encore, because it is training. Walk back out through the main-gate square and make your next plan a slow one.
The ticket, the hall and the rules
The ticket, the hall and the rules
The essentials as the booking page and the riding school's own pages give them. Where the two differ, the stricter rule is the one to follow.
- Who runs it
- The Spanish Riding School itself sells and runs this session. The Hofburg hall, its house rules and its ticket desk belong to it.
- The hall
- The Winter Riding School was built between 1729 and 1735 under Emperor Charles VI. The Fischer von Erlach family of architects are named for it: the school's history page credits father and son, and English Wikipedia names the son.
- What the ticket covers
- A place at the morning training session, about an hour, with classical Viennese music. Commentary, food and drink are not part of it.
- No commentary
- Nobody explains the exercises. Read the figures above, or the guide named What you are watching, before you go.
- No photography or filming
- Photography and filming are not allowed inside. The riding school's pages call the ban on cameras and recording equipment strict.
- Children
- Children aged 3 to 5 enter free on an adult's lap, and children under 3 are not admitted.
- Pets
- Pets are not allowed. The riding school's page says dogs cannot be taken in.
- Stairs and access
- The building has no lift, so the royal box and the galleries mean stairs. Wheelchair users are asked to write to the riding school in advance, because places are limited.
- If you cancel
- The booking page shows free cancellation for this ticket. Read the terms for your date on the booking page before you pay, because they are the seller's to set.
Watching or walking round
Watch the morning training or tour the stables: which visit?
The training
The tour
Length
About an hour
About 55 minutes
Led by
Nobody
A guide
Music
Classical Viennese
None stated
Horses
At work
Depends on the day
Filming
Not allowed
Not allowed
Rating
3.9
4.7
Best for
Watching the work
Understanding the place
Book the morning, then fill the rest of your Vienna day
A training hour, a guided tour and two city walks
Put the training first. Beside it on this page are the guided tour, which is the better pick if you want explanations, and two walking tours of the city for the rest of the day.
Guided tour behind the scenes
About 55 minutes with a guide through the Winter and Summer Riding Schools and the Stallburg, a Renaissance building that is part of the Hofburg.
Viennese underworld walk
A walking tour of one and a half to two hours into basements in the city centre that are not open to the public.
Second World War history walk
A guided walk of about two and a half hours through the city on what happened in Vienna during and after the Second World War.
More to do in Vienna
Getting there and what to bring
Getting there and what to bring
On foot
The riding school's own advice is to walk in through the square at the Hofburg's main gate.
By metro
The riding school's page names the stations Stephansplatz, Herrengasse and Karlsplatz. Check a route planner for the line.
By tram or bus
Its page lists the tram stops Kärntner Ring Oper and Burgring, and the bus stops Herrengasse and Habsburgergasse, with another at the main-gate square.
Your ticket
Your confirmation says where to enter and how to collect. Tickets from outside sellers are collected at the riding school's visitor centre against the voucher.
Stairs
No lift. Coats and luggage cannot be stored, so leave bags at the hotel.
Leave behind
Dogs, cameras and recording equipment are not allowed. Bring a layer you can fold, and your confirmation.
Beside the hall
Josefsplatz and the main-gate square lie either side of the hall, and the Stallburg stands next door. Walk the Hofburg block before or after.
The hall and the horses
Photographs of the hall and its surroundings, and of the Lipizzaner's home stud. None of them shows this session, where photography is not allowed.
The Winter Riding School, seen empty 
A chandelier above the arena 
A relief above a door in the hall The end of the hall, with the sand floor 
A painting of the courbette by Ludwig Koch
Useful before you choose a morning
Six guides to the morning, the hall and the horses
- Start here Vienna morning training: worth it? Is the morning training at the Spanish Riding School worth it, or should you wait for a performance? What you see, what you do not, and who it suits. Read this first →
- The comparison Training or the stables tour? Watch the morning training or tour the stables: which visit? How the two hour-long bookings differ, what each shows, and who should choose which. Read this first →
- Before you go What you are watching The training has no commentary, so here is a reader's key: the piaffe, the passage, the pirouette, the airs above the ground and why some horses are dark. Read this first →
- The hall The Baroque riding hall The Winter Riding School in the Hofburg: when it was built and for whom, what it looks like, and what else has happened in the room besides horses. Read this first →
- The horses From Lipica to Piber Where the Lipizzaner comes from: the Habsburg stud at Lipica, the horses that gave the school its name, the stud at Piber today and the 2022 UNESCO listing. Read this first →
- Getting there Getting there and what to bring How to reach the Hofburg riding hall on foot, by metro, tram or bus, what to do with your ticket, and what to leave at your hotel before you go. Read this first →
FAQ
Questions before you book a morning
Is the morning training at the Spanish Riding School worth it, or should I wait for a performance?
Worth it if you want to watch skilled riders at work in a Baroque hall and accept that it is training: no fixed programme, rarely any leaps, no commentary. If you want the choreography and the jumps, wait for a performance and book that instead.
Will I see the Lipizzaners jump?
Probably not. The school jumps belong to the performances, and the riding school's own page says they are rarely shown in the morning session, which keeps a balanced training schedule for the stallions.
Why is the rating only 3.9?
Visitors' reviews on the booking page point to people who expected a show and found a training session. The rating describes that mismatch more than the horses. Judged for what it is, the hour can still suit you.
Can I take photos or film?
No. Photography and filming are not allowed inside, and the riding school's pages call the ban on cameras and recording equipment strict. Plan to watch rather than record.
Is there commentary, and is it suitable for children?
There is no commentary. Children aged 3 to 5 enter free on an adult's lap, and children under 3 are not admitted. The hour is quiet, so it suits children who can sit still.
Can I bring a dog, a suitcase or a wheelchair?
Dogs and other pets are not allowed, and there is no storage for coats or luggage. The building has no lift, and wheelchair users are asked to write to the riding school in advance.
Can I cancel?
The booking page shows free cancellation for this ticket. Read the terms for your chosen date before you pay, because they are the seller's to set.
Is this site connected to the riding school?
No. Vienna Lipizzaner Guide is an independent guide. It sells no tickets of its own; every booking made from these pages is made with GetYourGuide.