Elegant and historical – The Andalucian horse
When one thinks of Andalucia, majestic mountains doused in stunning sunsets, remarkable cities and towns steeped in history and intrigue and mind-boggling fiestas in which an otherwise sleepy village comes alive, might spring to mind.
The Andalucian horse however has to be a fairly dominant image of this culturally autonomous region on southern Spain.
The Andalucian horse has been known as a breed in its own right ever since the 15th century. Down through the passing centuries the Andalucian horse was the war-horse of choice; royalty all over Europe loved to ride them in ceremonies and in this elegant-looking horse was in big demand.
There are cave paintings on the Iberian Peninsula, which depict horses living in the region more than 20,000 years ago. Different attempts have been made down the years to cross-breed this Spanish horse, sometimes with success. Although for the most part, the Andalucian horse is considered to be a thoroughbred and you would require the proper documentation when buying or selling one of these incredible animals.
Spain was involved in a lot of military activity from the 14th to the 17th centuries and horses for the cavalry were in high demand by the conquistadors over in the New World.
The Spanish mares could not keep up with demand especially as Spanish soldiers would only use stallions in warfare. Cross-breeding was carried out between other European breeds and even to this day Spanish blood is to be found in German and Dutch horses.
Naturally Andalucia is plentiful of horse riding centres, although it is El Ranchito on the Costa del Sol, which claims to be the best. In 1975 horse trainer, Jose Gonzalas took over the school and decided to run a horse show using Andalucian horses, which he had personally trained. Gonzalas didn’t get the show up and running until 1993 but it proved to be an instant success and he immediately had to increase the seating capacity from 200 to 550.
El Ranchito now runs a comprehensive horse show each Wednesday afternoon in the town of El Pinar in Torremelinos, not too far from Malaga Airport.
As well as experiencing the elegance of the Andalucian horse and the fabulous horsemanship of the riders, delicious local cuisine is also served up at the El Pinar event followed by a traditional Flamenco show.