Jerez de la Frontera, Spain

On Monday, April 5th we woke up early to drive to the Jerez de la Frontera, the largest city in the Cadiz province, to visit the Real Escuela Andaluz del Arte Ecuestre (the Royal School of Equestrian Arts). Elisabeth was particularly excited as she takes riding lessons in Brussels at Ariosa Stables. The Real Escuela Andaluz is the training and breeding ground of thoroughbred or "pura raza espanola" Andalucian horses whose lineage can be traced back to the 15th century horses of La Cartuja (a cross between the Andalucian horse, dating back to around 20 BC, and Arab and Berber horses brought over by the Moors).

From 11-12:30pm we watched a training session of several horses to "dance". The horses had a graceful gait and were very nimble considering their size. At 12:30pm we joined an English guided tour of the stables, saddlery and museum. We ate lunch at a local tapas restaurant and talked about our favorite horses. After lunch we strolled back to the car for our final destination.