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February 2008 • VOLUME 30 • © HORSES For LIFE™ Magazine
Horse Equestrian Vacation -Morgado Advertises that they will give you the opportunity to Ride Classical Dressage Horses in Portugal with Rodrigo Matos and Charlotte Wittbom
Saying that they offer, from the beginning of the day to the end, Morgado Lusitano reveals the beauty and majesty of the Lusitano horse in a horse riding vacation. Morgado Lusitano's horse riding vacations offers an undiluted Classical riding experience by providing you with stallions trained to levels that are rarely made available as school mounts. In Portugal, only stallions are used as riding horses. In some countries that might cause concern; however, the stallions here possess a temperament of such sweetness, docility and willingness to please that they have no equal. The movements these horses can teach you are the shoulder-in, halfpass, pirouette, counter canter, flying lead changes, tempi changes, piaffe, passage, Spanish walk and other High School maneuvers! You have discovered a place that understands your desire to pursue a higher level of horsemanship, taught in a Classical manner while staying at our beautiful accommodation high above the scenic river Tejo. We visit with the two instructors Rodrigo Matos and Charlotte Wittborn. Dom Rodrigo, a rider with the Escola Portuguesa d' Arte Equestre. His training began in earnest at the Morgado Lusitano facility in Lisbon, where he was schooled under the talented Mr. Nuno Palma. It was under Mr. Palma's guidance that Rodrigo's talents grew, and when a position at the esteemed Escola Portuguesa d' Arte Equestre (The Portuguese version of The Spanish Riding School of Vienna) became available, Rodrigo was selected. In the fourteen years since then, his talents have matured under the watchful eye of modern day Masters. He currently trains under Maestro Dr. Filipe Figueiredo (Graciosa) and works daily with stallions from the Alter Real stud farm. These beautiful horses are started using traditional methods and then carefully evaluated to determine which discipline their temperament best suits them for. Classical training methods require the utmost in tact, patience, and skill. Working with a young horse for an hour a day for several years is not uncommon, and by the time Rodrigo has a horse ready for the exhibition, he may have thousands of training hours invested. The stallions he works with are used in the equestrian exhibits at the Palacio Nacional, and shown at the highest levels. Rodrigo is proficient at teaching and riding maneuvers such as the Piaffe, Passage and Long-reins-in-hand. He also performs the most demanding high school airs, including the Capriole (shown above), Levade and Corvetta. During these shows Rodrigo also works with the other Picadores as part of a ten rider Quadrille. The other instructor is Charlotte Wittbom Rider for Appasionata and Assistant Instructor at Morgado Lusitano When it comes to teaching, few are as passionate about Classical riding as Charlotte Wittbom. Charlotte was born in Sweden and started riding as soon as she could say "Horsey". She competed in three-day eventing as well as show jumping before settling upon dressage competitions. Her desire to be a teacher first led her to London, England, where she completed a full-time instructor program. It was during this time that she discovered that she was especially drawn to classical riding. In order to be the best, you must learn from the best, and with this as her goal she found her way to Portugal to be nearer the center of this specialized form of horsemanship. She was soon working for one of the acclaimed classical teachers, Master Luis Valenca. Although she had already accomplished considerable skills, under Mr. Valenca's care she blossomed into one of his most talented riders. Her hard work and dedication finally earned her the award of a Diploma of Merit from Mr. Valenca, a certificate that few in the world have ever achieved, in the Appasionata horse show, a European horse extravaganza similar in scope to Cavalia in the USA. Appasionata tours all the major cities in Europe, and with over 650,000 visitors, it is one of the most successful equestrian productions in the world.
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