HISTORIC TIMELINE

• 1843: Count Izidor Janković built a large stud farm on his estate Izidorovac

• 1906: Stjepan Layer of Virovitica became the new owner of the estate where there were approximately twenty thoroughbred Lipizzan mares, Noniuses and Anglo Arabians and three stallions.

• 1937: A new rise of the Lipik Stud Farm occurred when the Administration of the Sava County bought the Izidorovac estate to accommodate approximately 60 horses from the National Stud Farm Petrovo in Stančić near Božjakovina after an outbreak of a contagious horse blood disorder. To start its activities, the Stud Farm Lipik purchased 27 Lipizzan stud mares of which five from Layer, thirteen form Stud Farm Kutjevo, two from Karađorđevo, one from Đakovo, five from Demir Kapije and one from Atanas Marković from Pakrac. At that time, the Stud Farm Lipik was the only stud farm in the world to breed black and bay horses.

• 1945: The danger of war operations increased due to retreat of armies from the east. Therefore, the Yugoslav Partisan authorities ordered flight on January 31 which was led by veterinarian Lohman from Lipik to Velika Babina Bora near Pivnica. After 14 days, the flight needed to carry on across the Drava River to Hungary to bypass the war front and arrive at Green Field Estate near Beli Manastir. When the danger eased off and once the war front came across Slavonia, the horses and people in escort returned to Lipik after 101 day of flight on May 11, 1945.

• 1956: There were approximately 250 Lipizzaners, Noniueses and foals. Since the Stud Farm had been generating loss, the People’s Committee of the Pakrac Municipality reached a decision to abandon horse breeding the same year and to propel cattle breeding. The sale of the national assets therefore began: the registers were brought to the Đakovo Stud Farm and around 80 horses were sent to stud farms in Kutjevo, Vučjak near Prnjavor, Đakovo and the Agricultural Estate Osijek. Due to the fact that the Stud Farm Karađorđevo did not accept the majority of breeding horses, the worst solution was to come: horses were sold to Italy labelled as horses to butcher or cavali per ammazare.

• 1982: – NEW BEGINNING – After a thirteen-year halt in horse breeding, on the estate of the stud farm , an agricultural estate Poljoprivreda Lipik was founded. At the beginning of the 80s, the interest for restarting the breeding activities was renewed by hiring veterinarian Milan Božić. In 1982 and after 25 years, the stud farm was reestablished and was registered with the Croatian Ministry of Agriculture as „….a stud farm breeding quality breeding horses of all categories of the Lipizzaner breed“. The new breeding herd consisting of 3 stallions and 12 mares was bought in Lipica. According to the registers, in the five generations of their ancestors, nine stallions and seven mares were born in the previous Lipik Stud Farm.

• 1991: The new life of the Stud Farm was ceased by the Homeland War. Amid the fiercest Serbian attacks on Lipik, the employees of the Stud Farm let horses run free from the stables on September 26th, 1991 and on September 27th, the stables were shelled which burnt them down. Out of a total of 118 horses at the Stud Farm, mostly of the Lipizzaner breed, approximately 80 were taken to the occupied territory and 35 horses were slaughtered. The later ones were exhumed in February 1992.

• 1991 – 2007: the negotiations between the Governments of the Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia had lasted for several years after the war. With  the Ministry of Culture as an intermediary, the Government of the Republic of Croatia invested approximately a million kuna to renovate the demolished building which was taken over by Poljopriveda Plc., after the process of privatization.

• October 2007: During the night of October 12 to October 13 2007, the horses were finally returned home to Lipik from Serbia. Out of 118 horses which were in Lipik on the day of the attack, 66 horses were returned of which 25 mares and 21 stallions of the Lipizzan breed, 20 warmbloods and two ponies.

• July 2nd, 2008: the Stud Farm Lipik regained its status of the State Stud Farm in accordance with the Regulation of the Government of the Republic of Croatia (Class: 320-08/08-01/01; reg.no. 5030116-08-1).

• August 4th, 2010: In accordance with the Regulation of the Government of the Republic of Croatia of August 4th 2010 (Class:320-08/10-01/03; Reg. No.:5030112-10-1), it was ordered to merge the Croatian Centre for Horse Breeding – State Stud Farm Lipik with the State Stud Farm of Lipizzaners from Đakovo. The merger established a new institution called the Croatian Centre for Horse Breeding – the State Stud Farms Đakovo and Lipik.