The purebred Spanish, this Sunday, in 'El País Semanal'

Suddenly I saw a horse

and it impressed me so much that I thought: this could be given a 10! ”.

Sifted by the wood and an endless number of chairs and headboards hanging geometrically on the octagonal saddlebag of the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art, the light that filters in from above illuminates Álvaro Domecq's eyes, watery with emotion.

The

It is a difficult movement, a dressage exercise that demands great physical condition and balance from the animal;

a trot so gathered that the horse raises its feet and hands without hardly moving from the place, without advancing, like a dancer who levitates between strides.

More than 40 years have passed since those words that a German journalist dedicated to his beloved Valiant, but Domecq still takes pride in reciting them from memory.

A 10, the highest note.

It was the first time they had performed outside of Spain and that praise confirmed something that he had been clear for a long time: the Spanish horse has an extraordinary capacity to move.

After a busy morning at the school he founded in 1973 in the heart of Jerez de la Frontera, the octogenarian rider expresses it today like this: “The Spanish horse is intelligent, strong, has temperament, but is very noble.

And what I like the most about him: he's an artist.

When it moves, it doesn't move like others ”.

It is very expressive, one would say.

And this trait is added to others that the knowledgeable and passionate repeat when asked what distinguishes the purebred Spanish horse, the PRE, from other equines: verve, courage, beauty, harmony, nobility, temperance, dedication ...

Isabel Muñoz, National Photography Award winner, and

tour half a dozen emblematic enclaves of the breeding of the pure Spanish breed in search of the secret of a beautiful and unique horse.

From the Arroyomonte stud farm to the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art, a journey full of passion and emotions.