Portuguese Equestrian Art declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO

UNESCO confirmed yesterday that Portuguese Equestrian Art has been inscribed on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, following the application submitted in partnership by the Portuguese Association of Purebred Lusitano Horse Breeders (APSL), Parques de Sintra and the Municipality of Golegã. The announcement was made in the city of Asunción, Paraguay, during the 19th session of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, in the presence of the Portuguese delegation, which included Rosa Batoréu, Portuguese Ambassador to UNESCO (Paris); Luís Calaim, director of Parques de Sintra; and João Ralão, Secretary General of APSL.

In his speech after UNESCO's announcement, Luís Calaim recalled that "Academic Riding is one of the forms of expression of Portuguese Equestrian Art and its main guardian is the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art (EPAE)." The director of Parques de Sintra, which manages the EPAE, emphasised that for 45 years the institution "has had the mission of preserving and disseminating the centenary legacy of the Picaria Real, the Portuguese Court Equestrian Academy of the 18th and early 19th centuries, preserving the same type of horse, the Lusitano from the Alter stud farm, the same harnesses and the same costumes to this day."

Recovering Baroque riding exercises such as the airs above the ground, the EPAE gives presentations, shows and training sessions that are open to the public and also performs at official ceremonies, both in Portugal and abroad. This provides an important means of raising the profile of the Lusitano horse and especially of Portuguese equestrian culture and tradition.

Without failing to emphasise that "Portuguese equestrianism is based above all on the deep relationship established between the horse and its rider", Luís Calaim concluded his speech by congratulating "all the riders of the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art, as well as all the practitioners of Portuguese equestrianism in Portugal and around the world."

For his part, João Ralão, Secretary General of the Portuguese Association of Purebred Lusitano Horse Breeders, said: "Equestrian Art in Portugal is a cultural, social and artistic complex that is marked by the use of an exceptional horse, the Lusitano Thoroughbred, endowed with unique and exclusive characteristics that give this art its greatest virtuosity." He also argued that"‘Equestrian Art was born in Portugal as a cause and consequence of the existence of this horse, which naturally suggested it, and which has been continually perfected by it’, on the basis of ‘the utmost respect for the animal and its well-being."

The project took almost a decade to materialise

In October 2015, at the initiative of João Costa Ferreira and Gonçalo Couceiro, exploratory work was begun with the Ministry of Culture and the UNESCO National Commission, two institutional agents promoting the safeguarding of intangible heritage in Portugal, concluding that an ambitious application needed to include all the heritage contained in this art, from the horse to the entire set of skills, practices, materials, uses and knowledge that characterise Portuguese horse riding.

As a result of this work, on 19 September 2017, a cooperation protocol was signed between the Portuguese Association of Purebred Lusitano Horse Breeders (APSL); Parques de Sintra, the managing body of the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art (EPAE); and the Golegã City Council, with aim of promoting the inscription of Equestrian Art in Portugal in the national and UNESCO inventories of intangible heritage.

The success of the first phase of the project resulted in the inscription of ‘Portuguese Riding’ on the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage on 28 April 2021, which was the result of research coordinated by João Costa Ferreira.

The process has now culminated, after almost a decade of work, with the recognition of Portuguese Equestrian Art as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.