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October 2007 • VOLUME 26 • © HORSES For LIFE™ Magazine
INTERVIEW WITH FILIPE GRACIOSA, Chief Rider at the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art By Andrew Weal Doctor Filipe Graciosa has been involved with the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art right from its conception in 1979. He looks very much the part, with his distinguished moustache, but it is not only a question of how you look and how you ride, in a position like this you need the wisdom and philosophy to keep the school on track through choppy seas.
AW: Could we start with the horses used by the Portuguese school. Can you tell me a little about the Alter Real line of the Lusitano breed, why are they are used by the school for its presentations ? Dr Filipe Graciosa: We use them for historical reasons. In 1748 Marie-Anne of Austria, who lived in Vienna at the time, married king Jean V of Portugal. She persuaded her husband to set up an equestrian academy in Lisbon like the Spanish School of Vienna. At the time this king was very wealthy because of the gold he brought back from Brazil, and he bought 300 mares which he placed at the Alter stud farm in the small village of Alter do Chao. There were several herds of royal mares, but he brought them together. From 1748 to the present day, they have resisted all the political changes in the country, and even the French invaders who damaged the Royal Riding School
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