Feria de Caballos

Today we went to our first Feria! The word means Fair, and typically Feria is a one or two week celebration of dancing, drinking, and debauchery in the Spring. But, today's was a Feria de Caballos, which was all about horses. It was on base, but we are on a Spanish Naval base, so most of the crowd was still Spanish, and all the announcements were in Spanish as well. It seemed to be an exhibition from people of all ages-- literally children not much bigger than Danny!-- all the way to adults. It was a very cool opportunity to see some of the elaborate horsemanship that this region is famous for.

However, as much as I want to share this event with you, I have to resist the temptation to sugar coat our experience. It was very interesting, and could have been a lot of fun, but it was also very frustrating and challenging because I was alone with the 3 kids (Daddy was at work) and they were well into the tired/grumpy stage of the evening. So here are both the romantic and the realistic accounts of our evening:

We arrived just as the show was starting, at 6PM, with the sun setting on a beautiful Spanish day. For the first demonstration, a team of young jockeys demonstrated their control of the horses by riding white and brown steeds in tight formations throughout the ring. The kids were immediately frustrated that the sun was in their eyes. I gave them sunglasses. No good. We walked through sand to the other side of the ring. Still they couldn't see. Why oh why did they have the entire viewing area facing directly into the sunset???

Feria dresses are worn by girls and women of all ages, but at this event it was only the young girls showing them off. Sophia and I marveled at the bright colors and elaborate designs. It was fun watching the kids dance and play, and Sophia bravely introduced herself to some, in her quest to make new friends. I looked at a display and considered buying her one, since Dan and I had already discussed it... but at $100 each, I think we may have to wait until she slows down on her growing! We waited and waited in line for ice cream, only to discover that Danny can't eat Baskin Robbins without assistance??? Alex kept grabbing and became a sticky mess. I was getting tired of lugging around a baby and a diaper bag while wearing heeled sandals in sandy soil. Sophie started whining that I wouldn't let her play in the ditch with the other kids, who obviously had nicer moms. We all trooped to the bathroom for the 2nd time within 30 minutes.

 

Then came the really cool part. First, a young girl performed a dance with a fan and a shawl in the middle of the arena. Then, a man rode his horse into the ring, and they continued the dance together. Sometimes he held her shawl, sometimes she waved it in front of the horse, and at one point she even hooked it to the horse's bridle and the horse continued the steps! It was very graceful, controlled, and beautiful. Now the kids were hot and thirsty, so I got them a water bottle and tried to find some shade, but they were getting ridiculously whiny, and I was starting to lose my cool and get looks from surrounding people. 

 

Finally, they brought out horses to showcase special steps and tricks. Some of the trainers were mounted, others stood beside their animal. The horses literally do dance steps, picking up their hooves in interesting and unnatural ways. They prance sideways, backwards, and even do a bouncing step on command. Some trainers brought the horses into the center of the ring to sit down, turn on one leg, stand up, kick, and even wave a leg at the audience! It was exciting and earned lots of applause! Danny was entranced, but also interested in holding the bag of Teddy grahams and not sharing them with Sophia. This drove Sophie into a freaked out frenzy. After 3 warnings, I took away the food and was completely done. Just as I told them we were going to the car, I heard an announcement in English to get the children away from the fence because they were disturbing the horses in their performance. I think it was aimed at me. I could not get them home fast enough!

So, needless to say, we were all completely worn out by the time we got home. I think the kids really did enjoy the experience, although if you ask Danny about his favorite part, it was eating crackers. :-( However, I am hoping he will have a different response tomorrow. At any rate, I am taking lots of mental notes about traveling with the children, so I will be better prepared when we start venturing out to bigger day trips. Today's lessons: 1) things are a lot harder without Daddy, 2) bring a stroller!, 3) bring way more snacks and drinks than you think necessary, 4) Sophie and Danny will have different interest levels in different events, so compromises are going to have to be made, and 5) Mommy needs a lot more sleep, and more comfortable shoes, for such outings! (My husband has been working until midnight all week, so we are both exhausted).

All in all, I am very glad we went and I actually enjoyed the show. I probably watched more of it than the kids did! I didn't enjoy their behavior, but I can either block that part of the memory or discipline them more next time. And maybe we can all sleep in tomorrow! So there you have it, our first Feria! :-)