The Proud Heritage of the Arabian Horse in Portugal

Just as a particular scent or a special song can reawaken an intense memory, from time to time someone shares an experience so unequivocal and unique that we are reminded in the most immediate way of why the sight of an Arabian horse can make our spirits soar. The same gifts they have given for centuries they still lay before us today: beauty, nobility, grace, and grandeur. Following, Terry Polk, an American, and Joao Serra Coelho, of Portugal, speak in praise of their hearts' delight: a life with horses.

St Martin's Fair "Feira de S. Martinho"
In Honor of the Greatest Animal on Earth, the Horse

Each November, in common with many other cities in Europe, the quaint, small town of Golega in the ancient country of Portugal celebrates the St. Martin's Fair (in Portuguese, it is Feira de S. Martinho), dedicated to the Bishop of Tours (later St. Martin), who performed many good works. Among the most famous legends connected with St. Martin is the story of how he shared his cloak with a beggar during a snowstorm to keep him from dying of cold.

Golega is located in the center of Portugal. Approaching Golega from any direction, one passes the sites of historic horse farms, imposing castles, and ancient towns with remarkable bullrings, all suffused with a sense of history.

Nearing Golega, the signs begin to appear: "Golega, Capital of the Horse." The main road into town leads to a circle, in the center of which is a beautiful statue of a rearing horse being led by a confident cavaleiro. The circle is surrounded by brands of the famous horse and wild bull breeders of Portugal. In Portugal, bullfighting is performed on horseback. In contrast to Spanish bullfighting, the beauty of bullfighting in Portugal is that the bull is not killed in the arena. Centuries ago, Queen Marie of Portugal forbade killing of the bull. There is nothing more beautiful than the sight of a welltrained, noble horse, being ridden by the greatest of riders and trainers, the cavaleiro, in the arena with the incredible fierce wild bull.

The art of bullfighting became popular centuries ago when warriors on horseback practiced fighting wild bulls out in the open fields, then killed the bulls for food. The bulls would run straight toward the horse and rider, attacking the horseman in the same way as a warrior fighting on foot. These practices gradually evolved into fights in the arena that showcased the highest level of horsemanship.

Thee Jesidi James

I, along with my niece and nephew, Jackie and John Lewis, my brother and his wife, John and Susan Polk, and our good friends Bob and Ann Hoff came to Portugal together with two stallions from our ranch, the tall, elegant grey Thee Jesidi James (Thee Desperado x Jfarah Brahim by *Sidi-Brahim) and the black-bay beauty Jair Tamaal (Tamaal FA x Sidcerely Yours by *Sidi-Brahim). We were there to experience these wonderful days of St. Martin's Fair, thanks to the Hoff family of California, and the hospitality of Joao Serra Coelho and his family, our Portuguese hosts. One day during the St. Martin's Fair, the local newspaper headline read "Over One Million People Expected on the Final Weekend of the Fair." Wow. And I believe it. Four of us rode daily and nightly through the crowds, squeezing through and riding inch by inch between the horse-loving people as we delighted in the aroma of roasting chestnuts and appealing Portuguese delicacies. In fact, you could even ride the horses into the bars! All four of our horses would stand in place dancing to the exciting Portuguese music!

While staying in Golega for the St. Martins Fair, the stallions live in tie stalls, and are all tied next to each other. They even learn to lay down in the straw and roll! Here is Joao preparing Jair Tamaal for his nights sleep.

Portugal has many traditions and loves; the horse and the wild bull are, of course, the favorites. The horse of Portugal is the noble Lusitano. These huge-eyed, strong, short-bodied horses originated from the Sorraia horse, with the influence of Arab blood, and were bred for many centuries as the "Iberian Peninsula Warrior Horse." When Portugal and Spain separated and became soveriegn countries, the Portuguese horse was given the name "Lusitano," and the horse of Spain, the "Andalusian." Bred two separate ways, the Lusitano blood is refreshed using the Arabian horse. They say the Arabian blood adds courage and stamina to the already wonderful Lusitano horse, whose principal use is as a bullfighting horse. But during the days of the St. Martin's Fair, thousands of Lusitanos and Lusitano-Arabian crosses were ridden by excellent horsemen, horsewomen, and children, all classical riders. These riders (some of the best in the world) were not even competing - just riding at will for the thousands of onlookers. Many of the highly trained horses being ridden and driven during the fair are sold for the movies. In the center ring, the Picadeiro Central, competing events such as the Cavalhadas (a type of a trail class, but the fastest performance wins), the Dressage Nacional, the Horse Ball (an incredibly fast-moving game on horseback), and many other performances of horsemanship by participants from other countries were quite a sight to witness. These competitions ran daily and through the evening.



Thee Jesidi James

The outside of the arena is called the sleeve, where the riders show the horses - mainly stallions - to horse lovers and buyers. The distinguished Lusitano breeders set up beautiful tie stalls along with lounge rooms between their prized stallions encircling the entire arena and sleeve. Our friend Ann Hoff was watching everything from high up in a restaurant and said, "I feel like I am in a movie set. In the center of the ring I am watching the modern day Horse Ball Cup, and surrounding that I am watching the riders in their centuries-old traditional clothing on their incredible horses!"

In Portugal, horses are bred for riding and working horses. As for halter classes (or in-hand classes) at the St. Martin's Fair, there are only three events: three-year-old Lusitano colts, three-year-old Lusitano-cross colts, and three-year-old Arabian colts. We are proud to say that our Thee Jesidi James, shown by Joao Serra Coelho, won the Gold Medal of Portugal! The horses are judged and scored only as a riding horse and a stallion that should sire riding and working horses. So we were all thrilled with Thee Jesidi James's accomplishment. Many of the distinguished Lusitano and Arabian breeders remarked on his movement, size, and beauty. They said they did not know Arabians like him existed. The evening of his Gold Medal presentation was a sight that we'll never forget. The center ring was full of the highly trained Lusitano stallions being ridden by the talented Portuguese classical riders, along with Thee Jesidi James and some other three-year-old Lusitano and Lusitano-cross horses inhand. The entire time, Thee Jesidi James was showing the crowd his magnificent movement and Arabian attitude.

After the ceremonies, we saddled up and rode through the thousands of people. Joao rode his new Arabian stallion, Jair Tamaal. Jair Tamaal will live his life out in Portugal with his new best friend and cavaleiro, Joao Serra Coelho, and become one of his bullfighting stallions. The crowd was very impressed with Jair Tamaal's beauty, and hundreds commented on his quietness while being pushed in tight with the crowd. We rode our horses throughout the old town all through the nights.

I mentioned "tradition" at the beginning of this story. We believe it is so essential to keep the love of the Arabian horse alive and to make people understand how important they are. The Arabian horse is the beginning of nearly every breed that exists today. They are not only a show horse, but also a warrior horse, a horse of the greatest endurance - but most of all the Arabian is your best friend. Riding in the airplane to Europe alongside these two magnificent stallions, whose dams were bred by our family through five generations, and seeing their huge dark eyes looking through the airplane window out at the soft white clouds, I really know what "horse heaven" is going to be like. I rode by their side the entire trip, while reading the wonderful Andrew K. Steen book, "In Search of the Arabian Horse." Life with these animals truly is a special gift to all of us Arabian horse lovers. And thanks to the great magazine Arabian Horse World, we can read about the Arabian horse and what it can do for us. Dreams do come true, and traditions will last forever,
we hope.