November is “Golegã Capital of the Horse”

Every November (02/11 – 11/11/07), the small country town of Golegã plays host to Portugal’s most prestigious national horse fair, celebrating the Lusitano breed.

Portugal, a country with a very strong agricultural tradition, no other equestrian event generates as much excitement, as much anticipation and as much passion among country folk as the Feira Nacional do Cavalo or National Horse Fair.

This annual festival, devoted entirely to horses, takes place during the first two weeks of November at Golegã, a small, otherwise nondescript town 90 kilometres north of Lisbon, that nestles on the upper reaches of the river Tagus, in the Ribatejo province.

As we are experiencing such good weather and a mild autumn there is nothing better than an outing to the country to the Golegã the Horse festival.

As a homage to the noble Lusitano horse, is the festival in Golegã originating from the eighteenth century also called the Festival of St Martin, (Sao Martinho) and the national festival of the horse. This event is regarded as one of the most important traditional horse festival of Portugal.

Really three festivals take place in Golegã at this time of year, the National Horse Festival, National Lusitano Horse Festival and the Festival of São Martinho. Because of this many breeders are present for the sale and purchase of the best pure-bred Lusitano horses in the country.

Golegã itself is not much more than a collection of squat, colourful townhouses – casas tipicas goleganese – clustered around the town’s 16th century Igreja Matriz; a church attributed to master builder Diogo Boitac and famed for its exquisite Manueline portal.

Once a year, and for the duration of a week, Golegã is the centre, the border and the whole extent of the horse world in Portugal. Plans for next year are made even before this year's fair is over. For months Golegã has been inevitably creeping in at every conversation between riders. Old acquaintances meet each other once a year at the fair. It's hardly an exaggeration to say that Golegã is a shrine where every year riders from Portugal (and elsewhere) come in pilgrimage to pay homage to the horse!

Indeed, for most of the year, the town remains a sleepy backwater. But the equestrian spirit is manifest every day, pervading every nook and cranny: nearly every house boasts at least two or three stables and Golegã’s emblem, the bold outline of a black Lusitano stallion, can be seen sign-posted outside bars, restaurants, banks, post offices and even bus stops.

One of the most famous Iberian horse studs in the world, that of Manuel Veiga – a name synonymous with horse breeding and with a lineage that stretches back to the second half of the 19th century – is based near Golegã.

Contacts:
Secretariado da Feira Nacional do Cavalo
Tel: + 351 249976302
Fax: + 351 249977114
Address:Largo Marquês de Pombal (Arneiro) – 2150 Golegã

Check the provisional programme.