Gem of a show

THERE are only four great European schools of classical dressage. They are in Vienna, Saumur, Jerez and Lisbon.
 
In recent days Bahrain has been privileged to play host to one of these schools, namely The Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art, in Spanish Fundacion Real Escuela Andaluza Del Arte Ecuestre – from its location in the heart of Jerez de la Frontera, a town in the south of Andalusia, in Cadiz province.

The school brought to Bahrain their spectacularly beautiful and incredibly-trained and talented horses and riders to show everyone ‘Como bailan los caballos andaluces’, or in other words Ö ‘how the Andalusian horses dance’.

Accompanying them on this tour was the renowned equestrian artist and performer Clemence Faivre and her wonderful horse Gatan, a bronze Portuguese Stallion mixed with Arabian blood. He is an exceptional character and a specialist in performing Haute Ecole exercises with neither bit nor bridle and in total freedom.

On March 21 Clemance and the Real Escuela Andaluza Del Arte Ecuestre performed to a packed audience in front of His Majesty King Hamad. It was the first time I have seen this show and I have been completely in awe ever since.

Clemance and Gotan began initially in an inconspicuous manner until Gotan reared majestically in front of the crowd.

Turning slowly round on his hind legs he introduced himself and Clemance to the audience. This manoeuvre set the scene for the rest of the inspiring performance. 

When Gotan was on the ground Clemance reached over and removed his bridle. The horse then deeply bowed to the crowd.

 The pair then went on to present the most amazing of shows. They were together in perfect harmony, as they walked, trotted, cantered, galloped and stopped, turning, twisting with Gotan’s mane billowing out behind him Ö. and all with no bridle at all.
 
Once they had demonstrated their amazing bond, Gotan lay down to allow Clemance to dismount, the pair enjoying a moment together.
 
His saddle was removed, and he was totally free of any tack. He shook his stupendous mane that skimmed the floor – almost waving to the crowd.

He then carried on with the show, dancing to his mistress’ commands. His Spanish walk was all part of the Freedom repertoire but still managed to astound the crowd.

Their magnificent demonstration drew to an end with Gotan once again rearing grandly to say farewell to the audience.
 
The show that ensued was breathtakingly beautiful.
 
Starting off the performances for the school was Rafael Soto, himself a Olympic Silver medallist in dressage, performing   Doma Vaquera, the noble Spanish art of horsemanship.

It was a demonstration of immense skill. In this performance Rafael used the garrocha, a long pole which is still used today for controlling herds of cattle on ranches in Spain.

Using only one hand Rafael guided the horse expertly around the arena and the pole, the horse and pole working together twisting and turning. It was an amazing sight.
 
The Doma Vaquera riders on the following night enthralled the audience by first trotting and later galloping. They changed rhythm, performing pirouettes and arreones, the performance flowed making it look effortless.

After the traditional Spanish riding came the Work-in-Hand horses. These pure-bred Andalusian Stallions had been chosen specifically for their immense power to perform the ‘Airs Above the Ground’.

The school’s Andalusian horses have been subjected to rigorous selection and detailed examinations – each discipline required different types of horses.

The school usually only uses pure-bred Andalusians except for the Doma Vaquera horses which are a mix of Anglo Arab and Hispano Arabs. These are the only horses at the school that are not stallions. The only mares belonging to the school are brood mares, mated with the school stallions to produce these fantastic horses.

Haute Ecole is the highest form of classical dressage and takes at least four years for both horse and rider to master a decent level. Horses are taken to the school when they are three-years-old and stay until they are 22, when they are retired to pasture.

Riders also come to the school at a young age. To become a student at the school is also no easy task, all riders have to take strict examinations before being accepted. Students work with a master and have their own horse. They work alongside the grooms as they must know everything at the end of their training!

Eight horses performed classical dressage. They came into the arena, some with two handlers, to perform the ‘airs’ and the performance was something spectacular.

The pinnacle of the ‘airs’ – the capriole – requires considerable energy and utter precision from the horse. He leapt into the air and kicked his legs out behind him. It was unbelievable.

The horses also performed all the highly-complex and difficult moves of high school classical dressage, the piaffe, the Spanish walk, the levades, as well as the Viennese courbette in which the horse stands on its hind legs and jumps or hops forward without putting his front hooves on the ground. It was incredible!

In the demonstration of long reining we saw all the classical high school dressage exercises performed. All the horses danced but this particular one was a sheer delight to watch.

Horses driven by coachmen gave a wonderful demonstration of this exciting skill. Two carriages came into the arena – one with two horses, the other four – and with classical harness they were stunning.

The grand finale was called a Carousel, featuring 10 immaculately-dressed and impeccably turned out riders.

The horses were all matching bays. All the horses and riders rode in unison performing advanced dressage exercises. The whole performance provided a fitting extravaganza to end the show.

The horses and riders from the school held open training sessions each day and everyone was welcome to see them.
 
It was fabulous to watch the final show, but to witness the training that accompanies these performances was as enjoyable. The people of the school and Clemance were a delight, very friendly and sociable.
 
The school brought eight riders to Bahrain – Rafael Soto, Jose Gutierrez, Juan Rubio, Fernando Ariza, Jose Molinz, Antonia Cid, Juan Jose Verdugo, Ignacio Rambla, along with two top riding students, Carlos Martin and  Antonio Verdejo. Coachman Manuel Marquez, with his top student, coachwoman Paloma Tejero were also present. Along with a team of 10 grooms, headed by the chief of stables Juan Aguilar, was the school director Juan Carlos Roman, accompanied by tour organiser Marisol Sanchez.
 
The school has a website: www.realescuela.org/ing/home.html. It is also on Facebook. It also offers riding courses – so I’m saving up!

You can also find Clemance Faivre on Facebook and her website: www.clemencefaivre.com. Clemance also runs workshops and if you log onto her website you can see her other amazing horses, including an awesome pony that sits down on a settee.
 
I hope readers who were able to see the show were as mesmerised and enchanted as I was. I can only thank the organisers of the event for bringing such truly wonderful horses and people to Bahrain.

Send your equine news to Helen Blake at helen2blake@hotmail.com