Plaza del Arenal

Andalusian horses are absolutely magnificent animals. And Jerez is considered the horse capital of Spain. We could not be here and not see these beautiful creatures in action. So we went on a 2+ hour tour of the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Arts.

The institution is in charge of the selection and breeding of Andalusian horses. It aims to ensure the training of excellent riders as well as to conserve and promotion the skills involved with dressage. In short, it is preserving the long tradition and rich culture of Spanish horsemanship.

The horses remind me of carrousel horses with their arched necks, flowing manes and tales and noble demeanour. Just a pleasure to watch.

We started out by walking through the botanical gardens of a 19th century palace built for the French wine merchant, Julian Pemartín, to get to the indoor arena, where the daily training of students and horses was taking place..

This arena, with its yellow/gold coloured sand, can seat up to 1,600 spectators. Twice a week a show that demonstrates the abilities of the riders and the horses is performed in this arena. We would have liked seeing the show but it was not being performed while we are in Jerez. Seeing the horses being trained was a wonderful experience and we throughly enjoyed our unrushed time watching them go through their moves.

The formal part of the tour was led by a woman who obviously knew and loved her job. Her English was very good and she spoke loud enough for all of our group to hear the interesting facts about the history of the horses and the school.

Only 6 students (ages 16 - 24) are admitted to the school each year and they stay for 4 years. Each student works with 7 or 8 horses. In the photos, students wear green shirts and trainers wear blue shirts.

Our first stop was at the Carriage Museum. The main room exhibited carriages from the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as a collection of the best harnesses and all the carriage driving equipment. She explained how 1,2,3,4,5 or 6 horses could be hooked up to a carriage. Little did we know.

Then we continued through the stables and met many of the horses who seemed happy to have some new company. A little further on we saw the work areas, where we watched how the grooms washed and harnessed the horses and cared for the carriages and the equipment.

In the centre of the stables is a beautiful and well-organized tack room, made of wood, where they keep all the harnesses used for daily training and for the performances themselves.

Returning to the arena we watched the trainers and their horses as they practiced for an upcoming show. It was fascinating how calm everything was. Soft Spanish music was playing and it was very peaceful. Loved it!

The guide told us that we could wander around and what to see on the premises. We walked outside past the outdoor training areas and spotted 2 storks on a nest. The last time we saw storks was in Antequera.

The Horse Museum that was in the palace consisted of 11 rooms that contained displays showing the origins and evolution of equestrian art in Andalusia and the rest of the world. We found the display and videos illustrating the various dressage movements to be very informative, especially after seeing those movements in the training area.

Chris enjoyed seeing the workshop where the harnesses are made and repaired. This intricate work was being carried out by a master harness maker and his apprentice.

After 3 hours, we weren’t really ready to leave but our tummies were telling us that they ready for lunch.Read more