“Equestrian Folklore and Riding Carefree”

June 5th

Island of Sant’ Antiocho

While my horse trek across Sardinia was a ‘short ride’ of only 8 weeks it made up for it in its rich uniqueness.  It encompassed my interest in the island’s natural environment, its history, culture and art.

Sardinia promotes itself in part as ‘The Land of Horses”. I was particularly interested in its rich equestrian folklore but the natural environment, history, culture and art could not be left out of my enthralling experience.

For this short horse trek the Sardinian, the National Association of Anglo-Arab Horse Breeds, had made available one of their own breed, a beautiful chestnut stallion called Villacidro. The breeder of Belgian sheepdogs offered one of their mature yet precious dogs, Micla, to accompany us. Micla was the mother of my young Belgian Sheepdog Frisbee who had already begun her six months quarantine in Britain so she could join us for my planned horse trek in Australia in early 1989. She struggled in the first stages as she had spent most of her life mothering puppies at the breeder’s kennels. By the end of our journey she had become a fit, inquisitive and apparently very happy trekker. I sometimes wonder how much our trek might have prolonged and invigorated her otherwise confined life.

The most memorable time was spent with a group of excellent horsemen from the towns of Gesturi and Genoni. on the high, steep-side, 530 meters high,  basaltic plateau in the districts of Gesturi. This southern central part of Sardinia is National Wildlife Park. Within which lies the grazing grounds of the wild, small and indomitable horses of the Giara di Gesturi., one of the symbols of Sardinia. Sardinians feel so strongly about this breed that they have made it a protected animal.

For those two days on the Gesturi ‘my riders’ had offered one of their geldings, a lightning fast Sardinian-bred horse. One of my hosts showed me his saddle and suggested I try it out. After inspecting its unpadded wooden construction, I declined.

Like the cavalli Giara di Gesturi the riders were wild, free and happy. We galloped carefree through ancient granite formations carved by the wind, small and mostly shallow lakes, alongside stone walls, through groves of ancient cork trees and thick brushwood. We were unburdened with any packs, the riders’ wives, girlfriends and mates would set up sumptuous refreshments which they treated as a picnic but to me was worthy of calling an Italian feast.

Our visit to the Giara was rounded off with an excursion to the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Barumini situated on the High Plateau of the Marmilla. There the remains of maze-like temples of the Nuragic Civilizations, 1900 and 730 BCE, rise majestically. Modern archaeologists are still unraveling the many secrets of these ancient megalithic edifices.

On the steady ascent over the next couple of days into the Sardinian Mountains I made a disconcerting observation. Armed men were appearing in the forests and scrub. They did not approach or even acknowledge me but their presence caused me to mention them to one of my hosts. The reply was even more surprising: “We’ve had a bit of a problem with kidnappings of foreigners, so the locals are making sure you’re OK.” This explanation may have been said simply to relieve my anxiety... or maybe it was true.

On the steady ascent over the next couple of days into the Sardinian Mountains I made a disconcerting observation. Armed men were appearing in the forests and scrub. They did not approach or even acknowledge me but their presence caused me to mention them to one of my hosts. The reply was even more surprising: “We’ve had a bit of a problem with kidnappings of foreigners, so the locals are making sure you’re OK.” This explanation may have been said simply to relieve my anxiety... or maybe it was true.

Reaching Fonni, the highest town in Sardinia, 1000 m elevation, I was delighted to discover that traditions, long discarded by less remote communities, were still a part of everyday life in the Sardinian high mountains. Bright orange traditional dresses were seen almost everywhere, making the market places even more colorful than usual.

My arrival coincided with their equestrian festival, the 4th edition of the ‘Palio di Fonni’. Once again I was invited to participate. Being an outsider, so enthusiastically received was very humbling and it is hard to put the mixture of emotions invoked into words.

Our special status, as the only girl among the boys was considered enough for our trio to be included in the local newspaper and television coverage.

Here a short and very flattering excerpt from “La Nuova”, the regional North Sardinian newspaper:

“Gitta reached the San Cristofore plateau yesterday afternoon. The horsemen of the Madonna dei Martiri (Madonna of Martyrdom) stood at the entrance of the hippodrome. The convinced applause of an exceptional large crowd of spectators marked the lap of honor for Ms. Steffes and her ‘escort in costume’.