THE ART OF THE
PORTUGUESE EQUESTRIAN BULLFIGHTS

By Juan Valera-Lema, Ph.D.

Riding a horse as an aid in jumping, roping, or bullfighting is probably related to the hunting or chasing of animals practiced by ancient
Europeans and Asians who used the horse for this purpose.
Thousands of years later, the Plains Indians of North America also made use of the horse in the buffalo hunts.

However, the art of bullfighting on horseback, as currently practiced in Portugal, where it is called toureio equestre and in Spain and Mexico, where it is called rejoneo, has a more direct and recent origin in the Iberian Peninsula, since it developed from the war exercises of the middle ages.

As it is well known, the Muslims occupied parts of Portugal and Spain, the Iberian peninsula, for over seven centuries, from 711 AD. until 1492. During this time the Iberians were involved in a constant struggle to overthrow the invaders from their land. Horses were the principal war implement and both horses and riders were specifically trained for the martial arts. Out of the war exercises evolved the intricate movements and maneuvers that gave origin to an equestrian science which would eventually influence the creation of several European riding academies in the Renaissance. The modern Spanish Riding School of Vienna and the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art are relics of those academies.

Since the origins of the fighting bull are also in the Iberian Peninsula, the Iberians had since Carthaginian times recreated themselves by running bulls from horses in open fields, before lancing them. When the two activities, running of the bulls, and equestrian war exercise were combined within the confines of an enclosed spaces, the equestrian bullfight was born.

Bullfighting bulls in confinement will not run away, but instead will defend themselves and charge the riders. Therefore when facing brave bulls, the cavaliers had to perform intricate maneuvers on their finely tuned war horses in order to avoid being gored by the bulls. When the wars against the Moors ended, and the conquest of America was completed, the cavalrymen were left idle for war. The martial training became more a leisure and competitive activity, and then in the XVII and XVIII centuries, a feast increasingly joyful and polished.

Modern Equestrian Bullfighting in Portugal

In her book, Cavaliers of Portugal, Huldine Beamish writes: "the mentioning of the word bullfighting would probably elicit some negative reactions from an English speaking readership, however when preceded by the word Portuguese, it conjures images of one of the most exquisite forms of equestrian display, which would interest anyone involved with horses, but specially those of us interested in the Iberian horse."

The mounted bullfight begins with a regal display of cavaliers dressed in XVII century outfits and mounted on equally magnificently harnessed stallions. After a complex exhibitions of haute icole, which demonstrates the superb training of the horse, a single cavalier remains in the ring to face the bull alone.

In Portugal, the objective of the bullfight is not to kill the bull but rather to demonstrate the training and schooling of the horse. The bullfight consist of placing a series of long and short darts on the muscular part of the bull, just behind the neck. The darts irritate the bull and make it more aggressive. The performance is relatively short, ten minutes or so, in which an average of six darts are placed, but it must be performed under strict "codes of honor." The bull should be given the advantage when charging, that is, it must initiate the charge before the cavalier makes his move. In addition, the approach and encounter of bull and cavalier must be face to face to the last possible moment, in which the horse, to escape the impact of the bull must literally wrap itself around the bull in some fascinating displays of agility.

The Horses of the Equestrian Bullfights


Traditionally the Portuguese bullfighting is mounted on a pure bred Lusitano stallion. On occasions, they will ride mares or cross-bred horses. In fact, the breeding selection process of the Lusitano horse is essentially based on its ability for the bullfight. In Spain the preference for stallions is not as marked and the use of pure bred Andalusian horse is not predominant. I would venture to say that at least eighty percent of the horses currently being used for rejoneo in Spain are either pure bred Lusitano or crosses of Andalusians, Arabs and Thoroughbreds. I recently saw an Appaloosa being used for rejoneo in Spain, but I do not recall seeing the use of a gelding of any breed in either Spain or Portugal.

In an exquisite book about equestrian bullfights entitled
 "O Toureio Equestre em Portugal," Mr. Fernando Sommer d'Andrade summarizes the characteristics of a good bullfighting horse by stating: "the horse for the bullfights must be patient, docile, courageous, suffering and not impressionable. It must also have the ability to concentrate , be energetic, agile, sensitive, fast and obedient, and possess personality. These are the contradictions that make it difficult to find good bullfighting horses."