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It was not easy to walk from Roncesvalles to Santiago. The route along the old medieval paths meant taking up the old custom of walking. The expedition, organised by the Spanish Association Against Cancer, was made up of about seventy people. We also wanted to take horses. --- The "Hijo del Trueno", Santiago El Mayor, was represented as a rider, fighting beside the Christian hosts from his saddle. --- As we were going to follow the Codex Calixtinus, a 12th century guide drawn up by the French clergyman, Aymeric Picaud, I discussed this matter with a few friends and became aware of the difficulty of various stretches of the journey.
Fortunately, I contacted my good friend Valentín Pinilla, who bred beautiful horses in the San Pedro mountains. It is here where we find the Yeguada de la Barquera, (group of breeding mares) in the Dehesa Barquera Baja. Valentín is a fervent and knowledgeable horse breeder and was very enthusiastic about the project. I knew that we would need strong horses, used to the country, reared in the harshness of the wild. A few days passed, and we had the solution which was to add the final attraction to this programme. The horses from the "Yeguada de la Barquera" were coming with us.
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| As I write these lines, I remember the admiration they aroused on the walk and their good behaviour on those long and hard walks. There was not one bad gesture from those handsome beasts towards the lads who walked with them at times. Nothing odd when coming across or passing other pilgrims. On walking through such distinct countryside, one was reminded of the definitions in the book of the Spanish horse, whose morphological type is always outlined as attractive: broad and deep chest, well-proportioned back, short and strong thigh, slightly rounded rump ..., as the veterinary doctor, Juan del Castillo, remembers. |
