The Spanish School of Vienna under investigation
The Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into the allegations against the supervisory board of the Spanish Riding School, Johann Marihart, who allegedly had his daughter’s horse housed and trained at the expense of the School, which is a public institution and therefore at the expense of taxpayers.
Prosecutor’s spokesperson, Nina Bussek, confirmed Tuesday that the investigation is against three suspects, but did not provide names. According to the Austrian press, the suspects – for whom the presumption of innocence obviously applies – should be the chairman of the supervisory board Johann Marihart, the former managing director of the riding school, Elisabeth Gürtler, and Erwin Klissenbauer, currently co – managing director of the riding school.
The story has been under the attention of the Austrian media for several weeks, particularly sensitive to the reputation of an institution that is a real cultural symbol of the country and that since 2016 has been declared part of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. The investigation follows a complaint from the ex-knight of the School, Klaus Krzisch, who has long been a critic of the administrative management of the School. The prosecutor also received a second anonymous complaint. After examining them, the Prosecutor’s Office assessed that there were sufficiently substantiated clues and initiated official criminal proceedings.
After learning of the charges against him, Marihart rejected them, declaring that the stallion subject of the complaint is “a sponsored horse, for the maintenance and training of which the Spanish Riding School has been reimbursed by private individuals”. And he added: “If I could persuade more lenders to support similar investments, the financial problems of the Riding School could be greatly alleviated.”
The news follows several alarms, also re-launched by the international press, on the administrative management of the School. A report by the Austrian Court of Auditors, dated October 2021, denounced the serious financial crisis in which the School has been experiencing for years. Since 2001, the management of the School, which remains the property of the Ministry of Agriculture and therefore of the Austrian state, has been declared to a privatized regime, relying on its value as a tourist attraction, for enthusiasts from all over the world. The Report, however, denounces, as already since 2014, the balance sheets starting from the passive, pushing the management to multiply the performances and a spasmodic search for sponsorships, with the consequence of an excessive exploitation of horses. This situation has been aggravated by the pandemic and, since 2020, the financial crisis has led to drastic cuts in the salaries of stables and riders. Several spouses have left the school and have been replaced by new employees who are not sufficiently qualified. The same historic stables, in the Hapsburg heart of the capital, show a serious maintenance deficit. The Report calls for state intervention, but so far the Minister of Agriculture, Elisabeth Köstinger (of the Austrian People’s Party), has given no signs of wanting to intervene to deal with the situation.
In 2019 Sonja Klima was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the School, despite the negative opinion expressed by the advisory committee, appointed for the evaluation of the applications, and despite the fact that the staff consultancy Korn Ferry had awarded a higher rating of 20 points and another candidate . Ex-wife of Social Democratic canceller Viktor Klima, Sonja was CEO of Ronald McDonald Children’s Aid, starting in 2010, a position from which she resigned upon her appointment, remaining tied to the charity Kinderhilfe, as patron and board member. surveillance. She runs a horse farm in Marchegg (Lower Austria) and was president of the Baden trotting club from 2009 to 2014. In 2018 she supported the Popular Party in the Lower Austrian election campaign. She is supported in the operational management by Erwin Klissenbauer, who has worked at the School since 2007.
Born at the end of the sixteenth century, the Spanish Riding School is the oldest equestrian academy in the world and is considered a real temple of classical horse riding. The alarming news about his economic instability and the suboptimal conditions of his magnificent Lipizzaner stallions have aroused and arouse great apprehension for the fate of an institution of the highest cultural value, not only for Austria, but for the whole world.