|
 A Welsh-owned horse has wowed the judges at the Portuguese equivalent of the Horse of the Year show.
Uivador da Broa, a stallion owned by Pen-Llyn Lusitano Stud and Riding Centre on the Llyn peninsula, was named champion male at the International Festival of the Lusitano Horse in Cascais, near Lisbon. He was also awarded a prestigious gold medal, an accolade reserved only for the best examples of the breed.
This is first time a British-owned horse has won at such a high level in the international competition, which is a landmark event for Portuguese society and attracts national news coverage in the country.
Janine Pendlebury, one of the owners of Pen-Llyn stud, has been working towards this goal for the past 15 years. She recognised the quality and potential of Uivador when she purchased him as a three year old from Portugal in 2004. Two years later she was advised that Uivador should be shown at the international championship. She sent him back to Portugal and, with her trainer Jose Manuel Correia Lopes, an ex-bullfighter and highly regarded dressage rider, she worked for two years towards this competition, which was held earlier this month.
The Lusitano is the national breed of Portugal; originally bred for bullfighting, this horse is now recognised as one of the premier breeds for classical equitation, which is fast becoming a popular discipline in this country. Lusitanos have been schooled to international dressage level. In Portugal, and increasingly in Britain, they are used for virtually every equestrian activity, including driving, show jumping and hunting.
Pen Llyn Lusitano Stud, Pwllheli, Gwynedd, North Wales.
01758 730 741
www.lusitanocymru.co.uk penllynlusitanos@aol.com
www.lusobreedsociety.co.uk |