Equestrian art is part of the world's culture. No-one can resist it, drawing from the collective unconscious a memory of battles, conquests and fantastic rides. Especially not the French, who can't fail to appreciate the attractions of Jerez de la Frontera, in the south of Spain. The small Andalusian city between Seville and Cadiz is the equestrian capital of Spain. \"It's been our golden goose for a few years now. People come to Jerez for the flamenco and the wine, but increasingly also for the horse,\" says Lola Clavijo, from the town's tourist office.<\/p>\n
You have to leave the city and head east to appreciate the passion of an entire region for this noble animal. Gentle rolling hills, green in spring when the wheat is still tender, golden when it's toasted by the summer sun. Not a tree to stop the onslaught of the nearby Atlantic. In its place, another forest: hundreds of wind turbines have replaced the windmills of yesteryear! It's enough to bewilder many a 21st-century Don Quixote, but rest assured. Andalusia is rediscovering its ancestral traditions in the cortijos, the gigantic farms that we call haciendas in South America. There are still twenty or so of them dotting the equestrian route from Jerez de la Frontera to Algeciras, with giant paddles rattling in the wind.<\/p>\n
This is where the horse has its pantheon, at the Yeguada de la Cartuja Hierro del Bocado. The stud farm carries on the legacy of the nearby Carthusian monastery, once the cornerstone of Andalusian horse breeding. Gentle yet robust, energetic yet obedient, they are perfect for work in the fields, but also for dressage and carriage driving at the famous ferias that set Andalusia alight. Three hundred horses - the highest concentration of the breed in the world - are grouped together at this research centre, where artificial reproduction techniques have outlived the last breath of romanticism. The 40 foals born each year - brown when they open their eyes, before turning grey and then white as the years go by - are hardly offended. \"Our main mission is to preserve the genetic heritage and help improve the breed,\" explains Patricia Sibajas Narvaez, head of external relations. The tour of the stables and facilities, all the way to the operating theatre, ends with an equestrian show in a 700-person private arena. \"We can also organise dinners and cocktail parties, with shows in the middle of the stables,\" adds Patricia Sibajas Narvaez.<\/p>\n
This \"technical\" introduction should not overshadow the cortijos that dot the countryside. You can see them from afar, with their tiled roofs and whitewashed walls that light up the hills. Patios decorated with bougainvillea, riding stables and arenas with ochre sand floors, carriage rooms... everything can be made private! Finca Torrestrella, owned by the influential Domecq family who have lived in the region for centuries, is just such a place. Once past the white pediment at the entrance, with its delicious Andalusian accents, the gardens give way to flower-filled courtyards, and the stables to residential buildings. You come across stallions pampered like stars - aren't their semen spangles worth thousands of euros? -The riders are busy training their mounts and the grooms are carefully grooming the horses. There are 200 of them living side by side with 1,500 head of cattle, as many 'black spots' that carpet the 750 hectares of hills on the estate. Impressive fighting bulls! You only approach them in a 4\u00d74, with your foot on the accelerator to dodge any charge. \"Without cattle, there are no horses. They're basically just tools for the farmers, who use them to herd the bulls,\" explains Juan Panedas Galindo, who is in charge of tourist activities at Torrestrella.<\/p>\n
The tradition goes back thousands of years, starting with the aristocrats who hunted the animal on horseback, before the people took a liking to the activity and turned it into a popular festival, first in public squares, then in the bullring at the end of the 19th century. The bull may be the star of the ferias, but it is not at the party. Everywhere in the haciendas, colourful posters glorifying bullfighting, azulejos depicting scenes of the kill and bulls' heads stuffed on the walls are reminders of their fate: cruel for some, heroic for aficionados, as the case may be! Horses are trained in the arenas, and shows are also put on. Not really bullfights, because there's no question here of drawing blood and shocking the spectators, but rather a demonstration of everyday life on a farm: the cowherds show how the horses are trained and how they work in the field, before leaving the 'ring' to young bullfighters who, to imitate their elders - or perhaps to conceal their fear - try to strike virile poses. Waving their bright pink cape, they test the young cows. The most aggressive will be selected for breeding. \"We can do anything here, from incentives for a few dozen people to product presentations for thousands of guests,\" explains Juan Panedas Galindo. You can even transform the arena into a dance floor, to the rhythm of flamboyant flamenco or the latest techno sounds. He likes to recall some of the events he has hosted in recent years. For example, the Renault evening to celebrate six Formula 1 world championship titles. For the occasion, the manufacturer exhibited the six winning cars in the farmyard.<\/p>\n
The Hacienda Penuela, which is still inhabited by its owners, is another place where you'll find something out of the ordinary. It has to be said that this farmhouse is full of charm, with its delightful courtyard planted with fragrant, colourful orange trees, its gleaming carriage room and its gleaming horse-drawn carriages smelling of worn leather, or its cool pergola covered with vines in spring. But this former convent nestling among the olive trees hides other, more exclusive treasures: such as a cellar overflowing with barrels that would be ideal for a buffet, or a 40-seater dining room decorated with antiques and silverware... \"On special occasions, it's the owner herself, an excellent cook, who welcomes guests and prepares the meal\", says Fabiola Delgada, sales manager. On the menu: tapas and gazpacho, bull's tail and kidneys in jerez sauce. Occasionally, the Hacienda Penuela even opens some of its rooms to certain prestigious guests. \"But this remains exceptional. We're no longer talking about customers, but about guests.<\/p>\n
In this region devoted entirely to the horse, it was not until 1980 that the animal finally had a palace worthy of its grace. And, quite logically, it's in Jerez. And so the small town, with its nonchalant centre paved with pebbles inherited from the Arab-Andalusian era, its white houses with wrought-iron barred windows, its crenellated alcazar, its cathedral that lives only in anticipation of the Easter processions and its cellars where one of Spain's finest wines is aged (see box), has also become the equestrian capital of Spain. And one that rivals Vienna and Saumur, if you can believe it!<\/p>\n
Although the Royal School of Equestrian Art was inaugurated in 1973, it was only seven years later that its riding school was built, in the middle of a park that already housed a palace designed in the 19th century by Charles Garnier. More recently, a carriage museum has been added. Its most beautiful horse-drawn carriages and prams take to the air from time to time, as they did in 1995 for the wedding of the Infanta Elena, the eldest daughter of King Juan Carlos I.<\/p>\n
Thirty-five students learn their trade here with passion, not only as riders but also as coachmen, saddlers and grooms. Around a hundred Andalusian foals are also trained by the best dressage experts, before joining their illustrious elders for the equestrian show. Top hats and frock coats for the riders, gala harnesses for the horses... nothing is too good to impress the gallery, in this case the 1,600 spectators in the stands. The high-flying acts follow one after the other: cow and classical dressage, a parade of carriages and horse-drawn carriages, then high-school work, during which the horses perform a whole choreography of sophisticated figures. \"The show can be privatised, and our facilities at the neighbouring palace or the carriage museum can be hired for cocktails or gala dinners,\" explains Maria Jos\u00e9 Rodriguez Hierro, head of protocol. Some privileged guests will also be able to go backstage to discover the horses' daily lives in situ, visit the stables or the saddlery, which is air-conditioned to keep the leather in good condition, and share in the stress of the riders getting ready and that of the horses just before they take to the stage.<\/p>\n
This electric atmosphere spills over from the muffled sands of the Royal School's riding school to take on a more joyful and popular flavour every year at the beginning of May, during the famous Jerez feria. Horse-drawn carriage parades, races and bullfights punctuate this crazy week of festivities, during which the locals put on their finest finery and set the city ablaze.<\/p>\n
\"The streets are crowded, especially at weekends. And you have to pay full price for hotels and book several months in advance to find space. It's not necessarily the best time to organise an event in the city,\" warns Javier Fernandez Nieto, Director of Promotion and Innovation at the Jerez Tourist Office. But it's certainly a unique experience that's attracting more and more French visitors. It's something you have to experience at least once in your life.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"