Page 85 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SPRING 2023 SPECIAL CRUISE EDTION

It has big, beautiful, pettable animals; ami-
able, talkative horsemen dressed in 18th cen-
tury get-ups; a training exhibition with moves
designed for combat and bullfighting; and a
convoluted history.
The Equestrian School is divided by that city
street. On one side are stalls, a training pen,
and a lot of horse people feeding, grooming and
generally making the beautiful stallions even
more beautiful. On the other side is an en-
closed, mini arena with seating for 370 that
looks down on a riding ring, where the horses
are put through their paces.
The facility is open to the public from 10-1
Tuesday-Saturday, the riding/training exhibi-
tion runs from around 11:30 to 1. Visitors can
pay to visit one or both sides of the street. En-
trance fees include guided tours or an audio
guide with earphones if you want to walk
around on your own.
The current facility opened in 2012 but the
timeline stretches back centuries – much of it
encapsulated in a room just off the entryway.
Apparently, even the Romans were impressed
with the horses and horsemanship of the
Iberian people.
The Portuguese connection between horses
and royalty became enshrined in 1438, when
Portugal’s King Duarte published “Livro da En-
sinanca de Bem Cavalgar Toda Sela” (“Book on
the Instruction of Riding Well on Every Sad-
dle”), a seminal book about horsemanship, com-
bat and jousting. In 1726 a Royal Equestrian
Academy was established to serve royal riders.
This became the Equestrian Academy of the
Court, then the Royal Portuguese Riding Acad-
emy, and then, in 1821, the tradition became
nationalized and disconnected from the royal
family.
The Equestrian School was moribund for
nearly 100 years until it was revived in 1979.
Since then, it’s been recognized as a member of
horsemanship’s elite-- along with the Spanish
Riding School in Vienna; the Cadre Noir in
Samur, France; and the Royal Andalusian School
in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.
Our guide for the day was Joao Pedro Ro-
drigues, The Equestrian School’s lead rider.

WINEDINEANDTRAVEL.COM 85