Royal Riding School Jerez

A visit to the Spanish dancing horses. In August on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. In July to September, Tuesdays and Thursdays. For the rest of the year, Thursdays only. The show starts at 12.00 hrs. and ends at 13.30 hrs.

It is a magnificent show, colourful, elegant, entertaining for adults and children alike. The horses perform the almost-impossible, the pride of their riders and trainers is palpable.

--- Royal Riding School Jerez ---

I would strongly recommend trying to reserve in advance, either by internet (there are several internet cafés in Tarifa) or by phone. It can prove difficult to get through on the phone which is often constantly engaged). If you book by phone you can pick up your tickets on arrival and avoid the long queue. If you can’t get through and in desperation decide to go anyhow, it would be best to get there early (as from 9 .am.) and get your tickets (you can also park which is very difficult later) using the intervening time to visit one of the famous sherry bodegas. However, don’t get back late, as once the show starts you cannot go in until the first interval.

--- Royal Riding School Jerez ---

If in spite of the above recommendation you find yourselves arriving shortly before 12.00 you will stand in a long queue. It is poorly organised - but at the very last moment they open a second sales window directly to the left of the main one - so if you are more than one person, ‘position’ someone there long in advance. If possible, have cash ready rather than a credit card as this saves time and may avoid you missing the first part of the show.
My suggestion would be to buy the middle price tickets (E.17 for adults and E.10 for children). You have a very good view from almost everywhere. We noticed that after the interval, many people moved nearer to the arena as they had spotted empty spaces.

Be very careful where you park in adjoining streets. Respect ‘no parking’signs at all times even if others don’t! If you get towed away it is very difficult to get to the industrial area (called El Portal) miles outside Jerez where your car will have been dumped, and the fines are exhorbitant.

--- Royal Riding School Jerez ---

To get there from Tarifa: take the N.340 direction Cadiz. Just after Vejer turn off right to Medina Sidonia. On approaching Medina there is a roundabout - follow the sign for Paterna. Shortly thereafter is another roundabout, and Jerez is clearly marked. You come onto a new stretch of autoroute - the A.381 - which for a while is 4-lane, suddenly again to become two-lane. (August 2003). Jerez de la Frontera remains well-signposted. However, then there comes a complicated part! At the first roundabout on entering what is obviously the outskirts of the town, you bear left under a viaduct. At the next roundabout take the first exit on your right. If you have got this right so far, you will now see signs for the Real Escuela Andaluza. Without mistakes (or temporary diversions) the whole drive will take you 1 hour 40 minutes.

You can return the same way. You are in good time to enjoy lunch in Medina Sidonia (follow the signs to the tourist bureau which is opposite the church on the top of the hill and next to a pleasant bar/restaurant with good views, called Bar Machin). Back on the same road, you can also decide to follow the signs to Benalup (where there is a new and very pleasant golf course with an excellent restaurant - see section on recommended golf courses).

--- Royal Riding School Jerez ---

At Benalup turn off to the golf course. You go down a hill (the golf course is on your right) and will see a gravel turning going off through fields on your left. This takes you all the way back to Facinas and is strongly to be recommended in January/February when you may be lucky enough to see hundreds of elegant cranes before they migrate north, and then in early to end June when there are fields and fields of sunflowers. At Facinas you come back onto the N.340 to Tarifa.

--- Royal Riding School Jerez ---

Note: you can also visit the training sessions of the dancing horses on the days when there are no shows (preferably check by phone that there is a training session) - this only costs E.6 per person. You see much that is the same as in the show, but certainly not all.

Real Escuela Andaluza del Arte Ecuestre :
Telephone : (00.34) 956 318 008
Fax: 956 318 015
[email protected]
www.realescuela.org

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About Zoë and her guesthouse

Hotel Guesthouse Dar Cilla Tarifa Spain Zoë is the owner of Guesthouse Dar Cilla which is unique of its sort in Tarifa. It is located on the outskirts of the old town within the old 12th century walls. 'Dar' is an Arabic word for a town house in which a series of suites are grouped around a central courtyard. Each suite is fully independent, but there is a pleasant air of 'sociability' and you will meet Zoë and fellow guests on the roof terrace over a glass of wine.

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