Sussex Lusitanos at the Golega Fair, Portugal

Golega, Portugal has been home to the Golega horse fair since the 18th century. Thousands of people gather here every November to experience the fantastic atmosphere and share their love and appreciation of the Lusitano. Our sponsored riders, Sherene and Leila Rahmatallah, of Sussex Lusitanos, were there with their competition mares, both pure-bred Lusitanos, thirteen-year-old Quota and seven-year-old Xanaia. Read all about it in this post written by Leila.

"The fair takes place each November in a sleepy town called Golega, just 1.5 hours north east of Lisbon, and for two weeks this town really comes alive! It's full of horses in every nook and cranny and has a big sand track, where horses parade by day and night. Inside this track is a large central arena where equestrian displays and competitions take place throughout the day and in the evening.

Temporary restaurants and bars pop up all over the town and the smell of roasted chestnuts fills the air, just adding to the magical atmosphere here. Every year we organise a large group trip of British people to see the fair. We also took two other purebred Lusitanos that were bred in Ifold to the Golega fair - both geldings (Quejaz, a thirteen-year-old and Acaso, a five-year-old). Both by our successful stud stallions, Quejaz is by Caju and Acaso is by Numerario - both stallions stand in Ifold, West Sussex.

The horses were in Portugal for two weeks and, as the weather was warm, we used both SuperPoo and ShowClean on our mares to keep their coats in top condition. We also used Hooflex to keep their hooves moist and supple, as it was quite dry out there. During November the flies can still be quite bad for the horses so the surfaces of  their premises were sprayed with UltraShield to keep the bugs away. On Acaso and Quejaz, I used ShowSheen Moisturising Detangler Gel on their tails to keep them smooth and silky as they were plaited and left down whereas our mares were plaited and tied up in a knot (similar to polo). Every day when they were prepared and tacked up, I finished them off with ShowSheen spray on their coats and they looked very smart. Many people commented on the turnout - we rode in traditional dress and often rode around as a group - 4 ladies which looked very smart.

Golega horse fair is a special event for us. For 17 years we have taken our own Lusitanos to put forward a British representation out there. We very much look forward to the fair every year-it is a place where you see the true Lusitano horse within a very special atmosphere!"

For more information on Sussex Lusitanos visit the website http://www.sussexlusitanos.co.uk/

Credits to: Emma Taylor, Nina Rahmatallah, Luis Rodrigues, Louise Kelly.