In connection with allegations against the chairman of the supervisory board of the Spanish Riding School – he is said to have trained a Lipizzaner stallion of his daughter at the expense of the Riding School – the Vienna Public Prosecutor has initiated an investigation into breach of trust. Official spokeswoman Nina Bussek announced on Tuesday. The investigation is against three suspects, said Bussek, without giving their names.
The suspects – for whom the presumption of innocence applies – are likely to 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 former Chief Rider Klaus Krzisch had submitted a statement of the facts to the law enforcement authorities against these three. After examining whether there was a justified initial suspicion, the prosecution assumed that there was sufficient suspicion and an official criminal case was initiated, which Marihart had rejected after the allegations against him became known. The stallion is “a sponsored horse, for whose keeping and training the Spanish Riding School has been reimbursed the costs from private sources,” he clarified. And further: “If more people were to be won for such investments, the financial problems of the riding school would be significantly alleviated.” The court of audit also criticized the arrangement come up on this bill. The Court of Auditors literally criticized the arrangement as follows: “According to the placement contract from 2013, the owner had to pay not only a placement fee but also all the costs of veterinary care and the farrier. In fact, the company has borne these costs since the horse began to be trained as a school stallion in 2014. Since then, the stallion’s owner has only paid the contractually stipulated entry fee at the Heldenberg training center. There was no contractual regulation regarding the bearing of costs from 2014 onwards. ”Free lessons for horse owners? Marihart also rejected the statement by the Court of Auditors. “That may have been the case for others.” However, one hears completely different things from insider circles. The daughter of the chairman of the supervisory board is said to have received free lessons from riders at the riding school. The opposite side, however, prefers to speak of “movement units” in which “the rider has switched to the role of the observer”.
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