Horse Racing in Old Wien

The horse is a beautiful creature.
Its great strength, nimble agility, and noble form
have inspired countless artists through the ages.

Once upon a time,
this appreciation for the horse
was shared by most people in the world
because horses were an ordinary part of everyday life.

Yet few artists today
could match the skill of this artist
in drawing the personality of a horse.

 

 

 

 

These horses were the work
of my favorite postcard artist,
Fritz Schönpflug ( 1873 – 1951),
an Austrian artist who created hundreds
of wonderfully witty caricatures
of his beloved Wien (Vienna).
And Fritz clearly loved
visiting the racetrack.

 

 

The first image shows horses in a near collision during a harness race.  I'm not absolutely certain, but I believe Fritz Schönpflug's medium was water colors. His composition captures all the horses' excited movements and the drivers' colorful racing silks.

 

Harness racing was once a very popular sport, especially because like with all racing, gambling was involved. The horses are harnessed to a sulky, a lightweight two-wheel cart with a single seat for the driver. The horses are trained to pull with a specific gait, either as trotters or pacers, and not at a full gallop. Drivers have a whip, but it is only used to signal the horse with a tap. In Schönpflug's drawing we can see the horse on the right has a trotting gait with its diagonal hoofs paired in step, i.e. right front with left hind leg. This is the style typical in European harness racing.

 

This postcard was mailed on 24/6/1922, but Schönpflug painted it in 1909, as notated after his signature as 909. The royal profile on the stamp is the King of Spain, Alfonso XIII (1886-1941) and the postmark is from Barcolona.

 

 

 

 

 

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This second postcard by Fritz Schönpflug shows a group of horses and carts in a confused mix. From what I can understand of the older rules of harness racing, just before the start the drivers circle around each other striving to get the best position before the start call. I think that is what is happening here, and the horses are upset at the directions. In the olden days there was a starting tape across the track that could not be crossed until the judge released it. Today the sulkies line up behind a folding gate mounted on a motorized vehicle.

 

 

 

 

This last postcard of this series shows a rather portly driver being hoisted into his seat by two stable hands. His horse does not look happy. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was known for horsemanship, but that also included the kind that did not involve sitting on a saddle. I suspect that harness racing was a gentleman's sport in Schönpflug's era, and that older, less athletic men sometime indulged in it as a recreation.

 

One of the oldest racing tracks in Vienna is the Trabrennbahn Krieau which opened in 1878 in the Leopoldstadt district of old Wien. It's just next to the Prater, the famous public amusement park in Wien. Given its close proximity to the city center, I think this was the racetrack Fritz Schönpflug visited to find inspiration for this series on horse racing. 

 

Courtesy of Wikipedia, here is a photo of the racetrack at the Trabrennbahn Krieau showing some horse sulkies passing by the judges tower. The photo is from 2007 but today the track looks like it has fallen on hard times and the bleachers overlooking the track are in a state of decay.

Trabrennbahn Krieau, Wien, Austria
Source: Wikimedia

 

 

 

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The second image that starts this post today shows a more traditional race of horse and rider. Or in this case one horse who has become riderless by bucking off its jockey. The poor fellow flies through the air as his horse gives him the snake eye. Other riders rush past at what I am guessing is the finish line post.

 

This postcard has a postmark from Karlsruhe, Germany and was posted on 2 November 1912. The writer sends Herrn Kürt Ziegler "warmest greetings to the donkey and the elephant."

 

 

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This last postcard offers a scene from before the race with a jockey trying to mount his horse just as the animal takes exception to a man behind him. Perhaps this is the owner getting his horse's opinion about the merits of racing with this jockey. Fritz Schönpflug's signature dates this picture to 1909. 

 

This card was sent as a letter and the message is curiously in French. I believe the date is  31 Août or August 31, 1915. I say curious because in 1915 France was at war with Austria, but Schönpflug's postcards were sold in many countries and this was likely one purchased in France. 

 

 

 

Unlike the harness racing on dirt tracks, these horses are on turf. Following the Danube River, just a short distance walk east from the Trabrennbahn Krieau is the Rennbahn Freudenau, a racetrack for thoroughbred horse racing. This track opened in 1839 and was once the most prestigious venue for equestrian sports in Austria. Presently the racing seems to have moved, possibly because of a dispute over taxes. Horse racing is usually more about money than horses. 

 

 

Rennbahn Freudenau, Wien, Austria
Source: Wikimedia

 

I can't resist adding another image of horse racing at the Rennbahn Freudenau. This is a painting by  another Austrian artist, Carl Rudolf Huber, (1839-1896), entitled "Renntag in der Freudenau" which conveys a thrilling finish to a race at the Rennbahn Freudenau. I think Fritz's horses are better.

 

 

Renntag in der Freudenau
by Carl Rudolf Huber (1839-1896)
Source: Wikimedia

 

 

Here is a beautiful short video on the Rennstall Freudenau - Vienna/Austria.

It shows the horses and the grounds to better affect that still photos. 

 

 

 

 

 

I also found this video about a horse at the Trabrennbahn Krieau which one day decided to have his own race. The setup at the beginning is quick. How many times do you think this horse ran around the track?

 

 

 

 

 

Fritz Schönpflug artistry is apparent in his skillful rendering of horses. With quick brushstrokes he somehow manages to depict the character of an individual horse which helps us poor humans to understand  its great intelligence and virtue. I will have more of Schönpflug's equestrian work to feature in future posts. To see his artwork of Vienna's Fiaker coach horses, check out my story, Getting Around in Old Wien. 

 

 

 

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday
where everyone always places a bet
on the sepia horse to win.