Left: Tina competing her Grand Prix mare Anna Karenina. Right: Tina as a young girl jumping her pony Johnny bareback.


his horse’s to piaffe in the cross ties when he said ‘cha-cha’.” “Would my grandfather


and father have competed today?” Tina continues. “I’m sure they would have


and they would have excelled. But look at people who competed 30 years ago. Dressage has changed so much.” Alex and Fina performed with American and European


Portuguese, Spanish, Hungarian, Italian, German and English, he earned his U.S. citizenship and a Purple Heart for bravery which entailed spying on German soldiers stationed in Italy. In 1950 Arthur left the circus and opened the


Riding Academy and School of Equitation in Chicago. Daughter Dorita joined him. They trained and showed horses for celebrities including Arthur Godfrey, eventually exclusively, and trained Arabians to national championships. 1961 saw the release of his autobiography, The White Rider: My 60 Years as a Circus Equestrienne. He was called the white rider because he rode in white tails and top hat. Arthur died at 78 in 1966. In 1974 he was inducted posthumously into the Circus Hall of Fame.


Tina’s Parents Meanwhile Alex had met in Liverpool, England, the love of his life, the beautiful Czechoslovakian high wire artiste Josephine Berosini. “Fina” was renowned for performing above center ring on a high wire without a net below and using only a large feather to assist her balance. By the time she was 14 she was charming audiences throughout Europe which often included European heads of state. In 1939, Fina came to the U.S. for the World’s Fair in New York as a performer with the Ringling circus. This was Tina’s mother. Alex and Fina married in 1952. Soon Alex gained the


reputation as a genius with horses. In one of his circus acts he performed with horses at liberty with no fence or barrier to keep them in center ring. Tina notes, “My father and mother loved to ballroom dance. He taught one of


16 September/October 2010


circuses until 1962 when their son Randy became ill. Alex then opened an equestrian school in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where he contributed greatly to bringing dressage training to the U.S. He influenced many American prominent dressage riders including Kathy Von Ertfelda, Robert Dover, Michael Poulin and, of course, his own daughter Tina. In 2006 after nearly 80 years as an active contributor to


the horse world, he died of heart disease at the age of 91 at his home in Stuart, Florida.


Family Philosophy Tina takes great care in explaining her family’s attitude toward the circus. As she describes, in the golden age of


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