WASHINGTON -- President Reagan now has a horse to ride in Washington if he gets homesick for his California ranch: a magnificent Lipizzaner stallion named 'Amadeus.'
Five of the famous Austrian horses performed on the White House South Lawn Friday. The president, who rides often when staying at his California ranch, accepted one as a gift from the Austrian Chamber of Commerce with obvious delight.
'It is particularly fitting that this is the first time this has ever happened on the White House lawn,' he began.
The stallion immediately raised its head and let out a long, loud whinny.
'Just a minute,' the president joked. 'I know I'm talking too long. I'll make it short.'
'Amadeus' and four other stallions and their riders, dressed in sable brown, long-tailed riding coats, tan breeches and Napoleon-style hats, briefly demonstrated their classical dressage training to the strains of a Viennese waltz.
The presentation did not include any of the famous Lipizzaner leaps, however, because of the slippery grass.
'I'm more grateful than I can say,' Reagan told Rudolf Sallinger, the president of the Austrian chamber, who presented the gift.
Then, to the horse: 'You can go ahead and shout all you want now.'
Reagan noted when the stars of the renowned Spanish Riding School of Vienna were threatened with extinction during World War II, Gen. George Patton had them smuggled to safety. The stallions were returned after the war was over.
Sallinger said the gift 'symbolizes the gratitude the Austrian economy owes to the United States' in bringing freedom and prosperity after the war.
'This horse is a personal gift to you as well as a gift to the American people,' he emphasized.
A White House spokesman said the Austrian chamber will pay all expenses for stabling the horse in the Washington area.
'It is here in the hopes the president will ride it,' he said. 'It is not a gift to the United States.'
Asked whether the president has training in dressage -- the classical form of riding that the stallions specialize in -- the spokesman replied with a smile, 'I think the president does Western.'
The stallions are on their first U.S. tour in 18 years, opening with performances this weekend at an arena in suburban Washington.
