Wild horses, beach rides and horse festivals in Sardinia

Sardinia, as my loyal readers know, is a very special island with many unique features. One of these is the Giara horse, a feral breed of small horse found exclusively in Sardinia. If you google it, you will find information on many websites stating that these horses are a legacy of the Phoenicians. The Phoenicians ruled the island before the Romans and, as we learned in history class, were seafaring traders. However, I have certain doubts about the theory that the horses are of Phoenician origin.

What was that about Sardinia's wild horses?

The Phoenicians, who originated in what is now Lebanon, had no interest in agriculture or livestock farming. Their trading partners in Sardinia were poor, simple shepherds. I therefore find it hard to believe that horses were traded in Sardinia in the seventh century BC, which then ran away for unknown reasons and have since populated a remote plateau, the ´Giara di Gesturi`, as ‘Europe's last and only wild horses’. It seems much more likely to me that these animals are a relic from the time of Spanish rule over Sardinia. If this is true, it would still be sensational, because then these animals would have managed to preserve their freedom for more than five hundred years, if not two and a half thousand.

So should we reject the Phoenician theory outright? Perhaps there really was a Phoenician with a penchant for horses. Or a Sardinian shepherd. A father, perhaps, who wanted to give his daughter a horse, as is often the custom today. Why not? That would explain why Sardinians are still such horse lovers today. And the riding areas on the island are unrivalled anyway.

My belief in the wild horses of Sardinia

I would like to believe in the beautiful story of the Phoenician horses, because I love my island, and I like the Sardinians and their rich traditions, which include numerous horse festivals*. Some of these are ancient. There is, for example, the famous ‘Ardia’ of Sedilo, which dates back to Emperor Constantine and is thus rooted in the third century. History is so alive in Sardinia! You have to see it, you have to experience it, because all these festivals have not been distorted by tourism in any way. They are still pure folklore and still free from tourist commercialism.

Of course, there are also plenty of opportunities to hop on a horse and saddle up on my favourite island. Horse riding excursions on the beach in Sardinia are among the most beautiful things that passionate riders can do on holiday. Here, horses and riders still move through unspoilt nature that has not yet been marred by ugly buildings and other signs of civilisation. For example, visit the ‘Su Meriacru’ riding stable. From here, horse riding excursions are organised to Berchida beach. It is located between Capo Comino and Cala Liberotto. In his Sardinia travel guide, author Peter Höh aptly describes it as the ‘most dreamlike Robinson Crusoe beach’. From my own, rather painful experience, I can confirm this description, because my daughter forces me to go horse riding with her every year, including on Berchida beach, and I am not the biggest fan of four-legged beasts. Horses have always been a little scary to me. In any case, I have involuntarily become an expert on horse riding.

With a Sardinian ‘Adiosu’, I bid you farewell for today.

Joachim Waßmann

*PS. Personally, as should be clear by now, I prefer the passive enjoyment of riding at Sardinian horse festivals. Here is a selection of particularly worthwhile events:

Oristano: Sa Sartiglia, February/March

Sassari: Cavalcata Sarda, end of May

Lussurgiu: Fiera del Cavallo, beginning of June

Sedilo: Ardia di Sedilo, beginning of July

Nuoro: Sagra del Redentore, end of August

Aritzo: Rodeo di Aritzu, September