It almost looks like it was planned. We dodged the first wave of Texas heat with a trip to Portugal, then it just happened that the Fourth of July came a week later. Of course we have been participating in the Fort Davis parade for quite a few years. Hence we once again escaped to a cooler climate to ride in the “coolest fourth in Texas” parade. Now here we are in Denver, Colorado at a wedding. I just looked out the motel window, and there’s a little snow on the peaks of the front Range! It’s July! Down here in town it’s 55°, so we don’t have snow, but the sky is blue (like low humidity) and the prediction for today is a blistering 88°! Meanwhile back at the ranch, the remainder of the family is trudging around in the heat index of 106°! Like C. H.’s daddy always said “you don’t have to be smart if you’re lucky!”
Monthly Archives: July 2016
Lusitano Horses on the Tejo River in Portugal
On our last day in Portugal we took the train from Lisbon to a small town named Azambuja where we were taken to a horse breeding farm called Quinta da Henrique Abecasis. We met the owner, Tiago, son of the founder, and we went for a trail ride in the mountains on mares raised on the farm, led by his delightful trainer, Edgar. We were in the area called the Ribatejo (above the Tejo river). We rode to a high point to see far out over the valley, over vineyards, pine forests,olive groves, rice fields, alfalfa Meadows, and pastures. We saw the famous cork oaks where the bark had been stripped off to make cork products. After our Trail ride we were treated to a savoury country meal in a Quinta that was so ancient it had to be there when Moby Dick was a minnow. The soup and meat and vegetables were fantastic, to say nothing of the local wine. Then, we were taken for a tour of a local ranch which raised fighting bulls. Oddly enough, the pastures were reminiscent of west Texas, and the bulls and cattle looked a lot like our black Corrientes back in Texas!After the tour, our host or squired us around his breeding operation, where exceptional Lusitano stallions are used to produce colts and fillies who are primarily marketed in the dressage world as Prix de St. George prospects. The concepts and daily activities of this horse ranch are as modern as any university reproductive physiology department, and his nutrition program is monitored daily, to produce big, well conformed solidly made Lusitano horses that would make an Olympic hopeful salivate! The combination of ancient and modern which exist side-by-side was a constant source of wonder to me. Buildings that may have been built before Columbus sailed, held horses that could easily be the participants in the next world equestrian games. We came away from the experience in awe of the science and foresight of these Portuguese breeders!
Portugal and The Texan Foodie
The food and wine Portugal alone was worth the trip. Being at the wide mouth of the Tejo river and right on the Atlantic shore, whose cold water produces some of the finest of fish and seafood, we took full advantage and tried a little of everything including sardines (big difference from those wee beasties in the tins), Seabass, Dorado, shrimp, snails, the works! Also bread baked daily, olives, lamb, and beef and all kinds of vegetables. At one restaurant the waiter brought two freshly caught Dourados (looks like red snapper to me) to the table for our approval, then took them back to the kitchen to be cooked. We also got to see the vineyards where the grapes for the famous Portuguese wines were grown, and we saw miles of rice patties along the Tejo river. Surprisingly rice was a frequent accompaniment of meals in Lisboa. It is truly amazing that there don’t seem to be many obese Portuguese people with all this wonderful food. But then if you have to walk up and down those hilly streets every day, maybe that makes the difference.Then there’s the coffee! Like in Spain, there are these machines that dispense at the push of a button, espresso,café Largo, latte, cappuchino – you name it! And even better, the cooks and waiters at restaurants take great pride in presenting their food and drink, and most of them speak English, at least enough to make sure you’re happy with the meal. One waiter even told wonderful stories about the castle at Sintra, that the king wanted to please his newly wed queen so he brought trees from all over the world to landscape a rocky mountain-side below the castle. We were getting fed, educated and entertained all at the same time.
Inspiration from Abroad
Each day in Portugal began with a walk to a small local café/bakery for rich strong coffee in small cups with fresh bakery goods for breakfast, followed by a taxi ride through torturous, vine and flower lined streets of the old town of Cascais, to the showgrounds at Quinta da Marinha, a truly classical old European horse show facility on a Breezy hill, surrounded with tall, rounded top Pine trees. We watched many classes of beautifully turned out fillies and stallions of all ages, shown by men in typical Portuguese cowboy, or campino, attire, the flat brimmed sombreros, short jackets and slim riding pants. Finally the older stallions were shown, first under saddle, then stripped for conformation judging. The marquee at the end of the field, a computerized sign board, announced the horses name, the name of his farm and of his breeder. All in Portuguese, of course, but we were standing along a hedge at the side of the field where we were accompanied by other breeders, and horsemen from all over Europe, who spoke good English and explained the activities. I visited with a Portuguese rancher, a German horse breeder, a French show jumper, and a swiss dressage competitor. It was truly an international event.In the evening we were taken to downtown Lisbon, to an area called Belem, in the old part of town, very hilly, near the Tejo river, where the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art is located. This is the baroque school where the Alter Real horses are kept, and where performances are done in the evening, to Baroque music, in a riding hall with the appointments of the royal school. It is no longer called royal since Portugal is now a democracy, but the performances harken back to the age of elegance in the court of the 17th and 18th centuries. There we saw beautifully choreographed high school movements, including the legendary airs above the ground, Corbette, Croupade, Ballotade, and Capriole, even done with riders mounted, and all performed with grace and with a quiet peaceful demeanor, as if the horses enjoyed the act as much as the men. It was inspiring to say the least, a breathtaking evening.