A little quiet time after the Holiday gives me time to write the last post about my trip to Portugal in September.
The days were filled with visiting the breeding farms and trainers and filled, too, with good food. But I had a special afternoon at Senhor Manuel Veiga’s Quinta da Broa. They were putting the finishing touches on a spectacular new picadeiro. It is constructed in the old foundation out of native and local materials. It is absolutely stunning. Parabens Quinta da Broa!
But the extra special thing was getting to see an original copy of Francois Robichon de la Gueriniere’s Ecole de Cavalerie. I’ve seen framed prints from the book and have read the reprints, but it was amazing to hold the original and leaf through page after page of the marvelous etchings.
I also learned that my old friend and dear friend of my Mestre, Nuno Oliveira, Dom Diogo de Bragança, had compiled a library of hundreds of the best and most rare books on the equestrian art. I hope that someone will recognize the value of keeping that library intact. It is a treasure beyond measuring for lovers of true horsemanship and classical dressage.
Thoughts turn to the future now. We are looking forward to celebrating a Holiday filled with family, with friends, and our horses. We’ll be developing the lecture series for the Symposium in February (click the link above to register now and get a great rate at the Dry Creek Inn!). Wishing you and yours a holiday filled with an abundance of love and compassion.
Amities~ DDBarbier