“Only stallions have the right temperament,” says the man in the shiny black
riding boots, tight tunic and black sombrero, with just a glint and hint of
sexist arrogance. “They are thoroughbreds, just like the All Blacks.”
Except that the horses in the equestrian school are mostly greys, magnificent
Carthusian pure bred horses, their line going back to the 15th century, when
local monks began the genealogical line. Like any top class sportsmen, the
horses were in prime condition and rude health, all toned muscle and sinew
and shiney coats, and carried themselves magnificently.
Rafael Soto, the top rider in Jerez’s equestrian school – La
Fundacion Real Escuela Andaluza Del Arte Ecuestre – is explaining to me
why they only have stallions for their exhibitions of horse dancing and
dressage. He knows a thing or too about horses as he has competed in three
Olympic Games and was a Silver Medal winner at the last in Athens.
We were being shown around the stables during the interval of the twice weekly
exhibitions (Tuesdays and Thursdays 12 noon tickets from £10). The smell of
hay and horse and testosterone (and not just from the horses) was palpable,
but I did notice that one of the dozen or so riders was female.
And the choreography of the exhibition, accompanied by classical and
Andalusian country music, was a delight – horses and riders as one –
demonstrating skills of trotting and turning and rearing and jumping that go
back centuries. The equines, with their arched necks and tossing manes,
pranced and filtered and swept around the vast ‘stage’, the sand-filled
arena with tiered seats for 1,600.
The horse dance show is the most spectacular result of what goes on at the
equestrian centre. For besides the training of dressage riders, there is
other training too. There is a carriage training programme and museum – the
carriages themselves are authentic works of art, and they become living art
when the horses are harnessed up.
There are also courses for saddlers, stable grooms and veterinary science with
diplomas offered in Sport Technicians in Equitation and Occupational
Professional Training.
Jerez is also famous for flamenco. There are numerous restaurants in the city
of 200,000 that put on shows. We went to the La
Taberna Flamenca. With a meal the evening costs £20. The six singers and
dancers, (two women, four men) and guitarist looked a pretty motley crew as
they stubbed their fags before sauntering on to the stage just before 11pm
(Spaniards eat late – only the Brits go to restaurants at 8pm).
Fortified by a glass or two of sherry they fairly exploded into their first
number with foot stamping and hand clapping and manic guitar playing. In
turn, the men and women danced, and contrary to what I had expected there
was not a single castanet among them. The percussion was skin on skin and
leather on wood.
The finale – all thrilling hand movements, shaping the human form, hip
jutting, shoulder swiveling, head tossing sensuousness – with the scruffy
group dancing up a storm - reached a passionate crescendo. A standing
ovation was spontaneous.
Passionate too was Ignatio, who showed us around the Bodegas Tradicion (£10
with a tasting and a visit to the art gallery). His colleague whispered to
us as we awaited the start of the tour that he “had sherry in his veins.”
Unapologetically, Ignatio told us that the new bodegas was concentrating on
the top end of the sherry and brandy market – “We count our sales in
bottles, not cases. Each is hand numbered and supplied with an extra cork as
you are unlikely to finish the bottle in one sitting. Last year we sold
10,000 bottles. This year we aim to sell 13,000.”
