Our youngest daughter loves horses. Whenever we travel, anything with horses is sure to find its way onto our itinerary. In Cordoba, Spain, we hit the jackpot with the Passion and Spirit of Andalusian Horse Equestrian Show. Cordoba is the home of the Andalusian horse, a Spanish thoroughbred created by royal decree of King Felipe II in the 1500’s. You can read more about Andalusian horses here. The show takes place at the birthplace of the Andalusian horse, in the Royal Stables of Cordoba. I highly recommend this show. It was truly elegant and the horses were beyond impressive. The premium tickets are worth the extra money because in addition to getting a premium seat, visitors can also visit the stables before the show and meet the horses and trainers.
The Riding Areas
In inclement weather, the show moves to the indoor arena. The premium seats are the white chairs, behind a glass wall in a climate controlled area. The yellow stadium seats are general admission.
Otherwise, the show is outdoors with shaded seating for both regular and premium seating. Premium seating offers real chairs close to the action. The riser seating is for general admission.
Purchasing Tickets
I was unable to purchase the tickets in advance because the website errored out each time. I tried for weeks and even contacted the venue. In the end, we purchased them upon arrival at the small green kiosk near the stables.
Ticket Options: Premium vs. General
Premium Seats were 21.70 EUR each (no discount for children). We opted for these because they allow visitors to enter the stables before the show, see the Royal Stables, and meet the horses and trainers. While the show’s website says you can enter half an hour prior to the show, we were actually told we could already come and see the stables and horses between 5-6:30pm (the show began at 7:30pm). We were also allowed in early to find our seat a half an hour before the show began. No photos or video are allowed during the show itself (and this is strictly enforced) so the only chance to take photos of the horses is prior to the show.
We did think it was odd that the premium seats were actually behind the general admission seats (thereby further from the action). A large group seated in front of us complained about this and forfeited their premium seats to sit in general admission. We considered doing the same, but didn’t. And that was a good choice as the weather was cold and we were in a heated area (I bet the air conditioning would be even a bigger bonus in the sweltering summer). We were still able to hear and see the show just fine.
General admission seating is less expensive and if you cannot fit time into your itinerary to visit the Royal Stables before the show and the weather is reasonable, then I would opt for the general seating. Adult tickets were 16.60 EUR and children 3-12 years of age were 11.50 EUR. The show itself is outstanding and you don’t need premium seats to experience its full splendor.
Go here for current prices and times.
Meeting the stars before the show
And put on a show they did!
This was my first equestrian show of this nature, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Whatever I did envision, the show topped that. This show was a highlight of our time in Cordoba. The acts were narrated in both Spanish and English, providing historical context for the stables and horses themselves, as well as an introduction into each act. These horses are strong and regal. They showed extreme discipline and connection with their rider. Acts included dancing with beautiful flamenco dancers, rearing with rider (standing on its hind legs), jumping with all four feet off the ground, and other grand, graceful, and elegant acts. I can’t show any photos or videos as they were not allowed in the arena. However, I did find this video online from 6 years ago and these same acts were included in the show we just watched this month.
An unexpected souvenir
Before the show, we took advantage of our premium tickets and did the meet and greet. We were slow in getting there and arrived with only about 20 minutes left. We were welcomed in and found all the horses lined up for visitors to engage with. We made our way around, to see each horse. The horses didn’t seem that excited to see us. The saddest eyes greeted me as I said hello to the first horse. I wasn’t sure how to interpret that look. I had seen a poem at the Alhambra about a gazelle, and that is what I thought of as I continued to gaze into those dark sad eyes. I didn’t take a picture of that horse; it just didn’t seem right. But I can share the poem below.
The Gazelle Poem at Alhambra
“To a gazelle I had. Oh gazelle!, you always graze in my garden, lonely and dark-eyed like me; we are both alone with no maste. Let us bear the sentence of fate patiently!” From Oasmuna, daughter of Isma the Jew, Granada, 12th C.
Of course, this royal horse might not be sad at all. Maybe it was his pregame face. These horses were about to perform and blow all our minds with their master abilities!
The horses did sometimes pull away when approached and guests interacted very cautiously and gently. One horse shook his head when you pet him, with his gray hair flopping everywhere. Another would tap his hoof from time to time (maybe practicing his routine). And quite a few of them made motions that looked like they might bite?! That seemed a little weird, but I didn’t think horses could bite.
In my mind, these gentle creatures nibble, or maybe gum something. If I had closed my eyes and imagined a horse, I would see its gentle eyes and its wild hair. Not teeth. I never would have thought about teeth. As I neared the end of the row, we came upon a brown horse. For some reason Sophia paused with this one, and asked me to pet him first. I was happy to be needed. I gently stretched my hand out and proceeded to pet it, showing her how gentle he was. I heard Gary yell out from a few stalls down that a horse just tried to bite him. Right about then, I felt a sharp clamp down right on my forearm and screamed in pain. My arm was throbbing; like really bad throbbing. My family came running to see what happened, and I was still trying to process that the horse had teeth, and actually bit me. In the moment, I may have felt him on my arm but I didn’t pull away. I had no schema for a horse biting; I expected possibly a squeeze or a nibble. I pulled my arm out of my sweater and puffer coat to see the damage (thank you padding), and found some red teeth marks but it didn’t break the skin. My arm was throbbing to the bone, but I figured I would be okay.
I am thankful he bit me and not Sophia. Her thin arm and thin jacket could have turned out much worse. Right now, when I close my eyes and think of a horse, all I see are big teeth! You see the culprit on the cover photo for this post (doesn’t he look so innocent?)!
My arm the next morning. It was hard to capture it on camera, but it was a hard swollen lump that had a growing bruise and was very, very sore.
It’s been about 9 days and my arm is healing. It still hurts, but it is fading to being just a story. The show was worth it, but next time I might not pet the horses.
What a special place to visit with a horse loving daughter! Sorry about the unexpected souvenir!