The carriage, the unseparable companion of man since the 14th centuty
before Christ, became a relic of the past when motor-driven vehicles
were introduced. In spite of this, the April Fair is resisting change.
Aside from this, if we think of its beginning as a cattle market
with merchants arriving by carriage, today we can see some of the most
beautiful carriages in Spain, as well as their drivers, and splendid
horses. The April Fair wouldn't be the same without the short dress coat
and the wide-brimmed hat. It's the typical passing of the horses.
Since the birth of the April Fair, the display of different hitches
has been constant. In the beginning years class distinction was
quite evident among the carriages. While the upper classes were
accustomed to hitching English-style with professional drivers, the
cattle traders used the typical Andalusian "calesera" hitch,
which is a more rustic saddling and related more to the countryside.
Moreover, the aristocracy hitched horses to their carriages while
the working class used mules.
Today we see a more extended use of the hitch, in fact you can see
just as many mules as horses hitched, saddling English,
"calesera", or Hungarian style. In the seventies for social
and economic reasons, the use of the carriage descended notably, so
far that in 1978 only three big carriages went around the Fair.
This also came hand in hand with the disappearance of craftsmen
dependant on this trade: leather workers, forgers, coachmen, and
carpinters, etc.
A group of Sevillians, true fans of horse and carriage put together
the Horse and Carriage Club of Andalusia. Among this group of friends
were found
Antonio Sánchez Bedoya,
Luis Millán and Luis Rivero Merry,
who were able to revive the memory the love of this art form
and bring back hundreds of coachs with half having the upmost
quality, and many of them reminiscent of Andalusia aristocratic era.
Some of the hitches can be seen in the Carriage Exhibition. The
exhibition has been taking place in Seville's bull-fighting ring,
the "Real Maestranza".
|
Who are we?
Colaborate
Recruitment
News
Contacts
