Jerez de la Frontiera
The Endeavour came alongside at Cadiz in the cool light of the early morning and we disembarked to make our exciting trip to Jerez de la Frontera. Jerez is known as “de la Frontera” because it was strategically important during the reconquista, the reconquest of Islamic Spain by the Christians. Jerez is a corruption of the Greek name Sheira. This is the home of sherry wine, the “sack” much beloved of Shakespeare’s Prince Hal and his bawdy alter ego Sir John Falstaff. And so we visited a bodega, a winery, where we learnt about the solera system. But first we were given the chance to sample dry fino, medium dry amontillado, and sweet Pedro Ximenez. We were also given a delicious tapas-style lunch with very fine jamon iberico, the wonderful Iberian ham made from black Spanish pigs. The hogs live semi-wild in the high hills and are regularly fed with marrows until the autumn, when they are let loose on the mountain oaks with their big juicy acorns. It is the oil in these acorns that gives the ham its flavor.
The highlight of our visit was unquestionably the spectacular show put on for us at the Royal Equestrian School of Jerez. Only established in the 1970s, this institution has close ties with the Equestrian school at Vienna. Here, only thoroughbred Spanish horses are used and what they are used for is, quite literally to dance to music. These are the famous dancing horses of Jerez. Here we were enraptured and bewitched by the extraordinary technical ability of the riders and horses and the breathtaking beauty of the animals. We had the 1000-seat arena to ourselves as the first four horses and riders appeared and demonstrated decorative dressage techniques. Next out was a single mount and rider who showed-off the rapid and precise movements needed to keep a horse out of danger when herding fighting bulls in the fields. What was extraordinary was that this was done to music. Suddenly the arena filled with eight horses, some walking on their hind legs, others trotting back and forth in time to the music. Others clapped the beat, hooves gracefully pounding the ground. You felt like you could reach out and shake them by the hand, and you wanted to. The lights dimmed and the spotlight went on a young girl, no more than fifteen or sixteen, who rode her chestnut stallion at a trot, parading crab-wise in figures of eight. This was pure theatre that belied the old adage about never working with children or animals. And then the animals were bowing, taking the loud and enthusiastic applause of our small party, applause that more than filled the arena. Our smiling faces told the whole story.
The Endeavour came alongside at Cadiz in the cool light of the early morning and we disembarked to make our exciting trip to Jerez de la Frontera. Jerez is known as “de la Frontera” because it was strategically important during the reconquista, the reconquest of Islamic Spain by the Christians. Jerez is a corruption of the Greek name Sheira. This is the home of sherry wine, the “sack” much beloved of Shakespeare’s Prince Hal and his bawdy alter ego Sir John Falstaff. And so we visited a bodega, a winery, where we learnt about the solera system. But first we were given the chance to sample dry fino, medium dry amontillado, and sweet Pedro Ximenez. We were also given a delicious tapas-style lunch with very fine jamon iberico, the wonderful Iberian ham made from black Spanish pigs. The hogs live semi-wild in the high hills and are regularly fed with marrows until the autumn, when they are let loose on the mountain oaks with their big juicy acorns. It is the oil in these acorns that gives the ham its flavor.
The highlight of our visit was unquestionably the spectacular show put on for us at the Royal Equestrian School of Jerez. Only established in the 1970s, this institution has close ties with the Equestrian school at Vienna. Here, only thoroughbred Spanish horses are used and what they are used for is, quite literally to dance to music. These are the famous dancing horses of Jerez. Here we were enraptured and bewitched by the extraordinary technical ability of the riders and horses and the breathtaking beauty of the animals. We had the 1000-seat arena to ourselves as the first four horses and riders appeared and demonstrated decorative dressage techniques. Next out was a single mount and rider who showed-off the rapid and precise movements needed to keep a horse out of danger when herding fighting bulls in the fields. What was extraordinary was that this was done to music. Suddenly the arena filled with eight horses, some walking on their hind legs, others trotting back and forth in time to the music. Others clapped the beat, hooves gracefully pounding the ground. You felt like you could reach out and shake them by the hand, and you wanted to. The lights dimmed and the spotlight went on a young girl, no more than fifteen or sixteen, who rode her chestnut stallion at a trot, parading crab-wise in figures of eight. This was pure theatre that belied the old adage about never working with children or animals. And then the animals were bowing, taking the loud and enthusiastic applause of our small party, applause that more than filled the arena. Our smiling faces told the whole story.
