In 1945 after the 328th Regiment, 26th Infantry Division captured the renowned Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Patton, an expert horseman himself, requested a performance of its white Lipizzaner stallions. So on August 21, 1945 a show was put on for General Patton, a host of American officers and troops. He described the in his diary that day, calling it "extremely interesting and magnificently performed."
George S. Patton spent a lifetime with horses. He played polo, fox-hunted, and competed in mounted steeplechases. He was a participant in the first modern pentathlon at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, placing sixth out of 23 in the equestrian phase.
The red uniform that is used at the end of the movie is not original. The Spanish Riding school never used a red uniform. Disney found the original brown uniform too simple for a gala opening and introduced these uniforms.
The equestrian performances were choreographed by the real Col. Alois Podhajsky.
General Patton wrote that a cavalry leader "must have a passion-not simply a liking-for horses.