Watching the horses, you cannot help but be awestruck. “The riders who are working their horses in-hand are demonstrating the ‘airs above the ground’ movements including the capriole where the horse jumps from a raised position of the forehand straight up into the air, kicks out with the hind legs, and lands more or less on all four legs at the same time”, explains Juan. “It’s the most advanced of all the classical dressage movements and takes an enormously powerful and well schooled horse to perform it correctly.”
From my privileged viewing point I witness Spanish Olympic medallist, Rafael Soto, effortlessly piaffing and passaging his way around the arena on the most spectacular grey. “Rafael is Chief Rider here but he’s also the official trainer of the Spanish National Dressage Team”, says Juan. “Even Charlotte Dujardin and Carl Hester have visited here to train and Charlotte enjoyed having a lesson with Rafael on one of his horses.”
Meeting Rafael later, he proudly concludes, “The horses that come from here have the ultimate trainable nature, they love the crowd, the applause, they are extremely special and have world class ability.”
Moving on from Jerez and its classical dressage, I find myself on the beautiful beaches of Sanlucar de Barrameda to play witness to the famous ‘Carreras de Caballos’, horse racing on the beach.
Every year the beaches of Sanlucar de Barrameda come alive with the pounding of hooves as the famous horse races take over the coast. Traditionally, the races take place the second and fourth weeks of August from Friday to Sunday.
The races officially date back to 1845, but the event had been staged informally for years before by locals who raced the horses used for transporting fish from local ports. Today, the races draw horses and riders from all over Europe with the attraction of high stakes and the wondrous backdrop of the sea.
The runners are all fully registered racing thoroughbreds and there is everything you would expect to find at any race meeting, including the paddock, tote, starting gates and grandstands. The event is
extremely popular with locals lining the beach and children taking bets and paying out with sweets.
There is a true party atmosphere and the queues to the totes are long with the Spanish seeming to like to push their luck with with any form of ‘cast’ betting! 4x4 Maserati’s line the beach waiting to take officials and VIP’s up to the start and the whole beach oozes with excitement and anticipation. The horses in the paddock gleam in the Andalusian sun with some handling the atmosphere and foreign racing surface better than others!
As the racing starts, spectators crowd the beach which is controlled by mounted police riding impressive Andalusians. The mounted division of the force are also trained at the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art and their presence is one of grandeur mixed with authority. Race goers that are not lining the beach watch from the grandstands or from the bar with its big screens where you will find many fist clenched betting slips.
The ‘Sanlucar Roar’ at the off, has a ring of fun and cheer, swiſtly followed by the punters individual screams of encouragement. If you win, you are congratulated with heartfelt joy and any tips you may have for the next race are encouraged and appreciated. The horses are walked off in the sand paddock whilst buckets of cool water are thrown over them whilst placed horses and their proud trainers, owners and jockeys are presented with prizes.
The last race of the evening sees the runners heading down to the start with the sun setting on the horizon. This may have been the last race but it was not the end of the evening for racegoers who are encouraged to stay and eat and drink well on into the night.
The Andalusia region of Spain undoubtedly has it all for not only the horse mad but for anyone with a love of fine wines, seafood, architecture and history. The beaches are unspoilt and the weather is fabulous. The flamenco shows are raw, gritty, emotional and spectacular. I will never forget my time here in Andalusia and cannot wait to return.
Adiós por ahora Andalusia and thank you.
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