Gottlieb Polak (13 January 1883 in

Kladruby nad Labem Kladruby nad Labem is a municipality and village in Pardubice District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 600 inhabitants. It is known as the home of the Kladruber horse breed. The village with the surrounding landscape i ...

– 5 July 1942 in Vienna) was Chief Rider and Riding Master of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna during the 1930s, serving until his death in 1942. Polak was a multitalented individual who played the violin as well as being an extremely talented rider, described as having a gift for working with horses that occurs only rarely throughout history. Polak was born in

. He was the son of an employee (''Hofgestütsbeamter'') of the Kladrub Court stud, and developed a great fondness for horses from an early age. When he was a young man, his love for horses was so great that he dropped out of the Music Academy in Prague after a year and in 1900 became a pupil at the Kladruber Stables. In 1902, he entered the Imperial "Marstall" in Vienna. After military service with the 11th Lancers in

Pardubice Pardubice (; german: Pardubitz) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 89,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monu ...

from 1904 to 1907, he was transferred, in 1908, to the Campaign Riding School (''Hofstallungen'') in Vienna, where he served

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. F ...

as one of his many duties. In his twenties, Polak showed extraordinary riding talent. In 1917, he was admitted to the Spanish Riding School as a student (''Reitskolar''). In 1920 he was promoted to the rank of Rider (''Bereiter''), then in 1927 to Chief Rider (''Oberbereiter'') and in 1941, replacing Wenzel Zrust, to First Chief Rider (''Erster Oberbereiter''). His work was further recognized by the school with his promotion to Riding Master (''Reitmeister''). He was the first person to serve in this newly created position. Polak's outstanding

dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...

skills were honored with the award of the German Riding Badge in Gold and the Swedish Order of Vasa. His most famous student was Alois Podhajsky, who later became Director of the school. Podhajsky trained at the Riding School before he participated in

Dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...

at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. On May 10, 1942, Polak was beginning a public performance on his young stallion Pluto Theodorosta, but fell from the horse, unconscious, after only a few strides, possibly due to a heart attack. He died a month later, on July 5.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polak, Gottlieb 1883 births 1942 deaths People from Pardubice District People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Austrian people of Czech descent Austrian dressage riders Dressage trainers Spanish Riding School Recipients of the Order of Vasa