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Breed History

The Science of Elegance: History of the Spanish Purebred

The Pura Raza Español (PRE) is not simply a horse breed. It is a living archive of more than five thousand years of Mediterranean history: present in the caves of Altamira, in Roman mosaics, in Velázquez's paintings and on the Olympic arena of the 21st century. This article reviews and expands that history with verifiable academic sources.

01The Three Ancestral Pillars

1.1 The Primitive Iberian Horse

The oldest ancestor of the PRE is Equus ferus hispanicus, a wild equid that inhabited the Iberian Peninsula during the Pleistocene. The caves of Altamira (Cantabria) and El Castillo (Puente Viesgo) document its presence from at least 15,000 BC. Research published in the Journal of Archaeological Science (Lira et al., 2010) confirms through mitochondrial DNA analysis that Iberian horse populations already showed distinct genetic characteristics from those of central Europe and Asia more than 10,000 years ago.

1.2 The Sorraia

The Sorraia, identified by Portuguese zoologist Ruy d'Andrade in 1937, is considered a possible survivor of the primitive Iberian equid. DNA analysis by Jansen et al. (2002) identified mitochondrial haplogroup D as characteristic of Iberian horses, present with high frequency in both the Sorraia and the modern PRE.

1.3 The Barb Horse

The third pillar is the Barb horse from North Africa. Its influence arrived with the Arab-Berber invasion of 711 AD. Seven hundred and eighty years of coexistence enriched the Iberian genetic heritage without erasing its identity. The dominant African component is Berber, not Eastern Arab — a fundamental distinction that many sources confuse.

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02From Rome to the Renaissance: Forging a Breed

Polybius and Livy describe the Iberian cavalry during the Punic Wars (264–146 BC) as superior to any other equestrian force in the Mediterranean. Hannibal recruited thousands of Iberian horsemen because, in Livy's words, no cavalry soldier in the known world matched their skill. After the Roman conquest, the Iberian horse was massively exported to the heart of the Empire.

During the Middle Ages, the Arab-Berber cavalry of Al-Andalus developed the jineta, a technique of short gallop and rapid turn, which deeply influenced the handling of the Iberian horse. This tradition is the direct origin of the high school of equitation, the basis of classical dressage and contemporary working equitation. In 1492, the Catholic Monarchs issued the Pragmatic on Horses, the first systematic regulation of horse breeding in Spain.

03Philip II and the Golden Age of the Spanish Horse

On 6 December 1567, Philip II signed in El Escorial the Royal Pragmatic founding the Royal Stables of Córdoba — the institutional birth certificate of the modern PRE. The Stables housed more than 1,800 mares and 300 stallions selected under strict criteria: harmonious conformation, noble temperament, cadenced movement and natural elevation.

The 17th century was the century of the Spanish horse. The most prestigious equestrian academies in Europe — Versailles, Naples, Vienna — were founded or reformed with Spanish instructors and Iberian horses. The Lipizzaner, the breed associated with the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, originated as a cross of Spanish horses with Italian mares from the Karst region.

«The Spanish horse is not merely a war or parade animal: it is the measure of the civilisation that breeds it.»— Juan Suárez de Peralta, Tractado de la Caballería de la Gineta y Brida, ca. 1580

04The Institutional Guardian: Spain's Military Horse Breeding Service

No institution has been more decisive in the preservation of the PRE than Spain's Military Horse Breeding Service. Its roots go back to the Catholic Monarchs' pragmatics of 1492, but it was during the 19th century that the institution took its modern form.

In 1847, the Military Stud of Jerez de la Frontera was founded, establishing the first systematic genealogical register of horses in Spain, including the PRE. In 1864, the Military Horse Breeding Service was formally constituted under the Cavalry Corps. In 1893, the Moratalla Stud (Córdoba) was founded, one of the main genetic reservoirs of the PRE during the 20th century.

Today, the Directorate of Military Horse Breeding (DCCFAS), under the Ministry of Defence, jointly manages the PRE Stud Book with ANCCE. This collaboration between a military institution and a breeders' association is unique in the world equestrian landscape and largely explains the robustness of the PRE register internationally.

05Crisis and Survival: The 18th and 19th Centuries

The 18th century brought a profound crisis: the Thoroughbred fashion from Philip V's Bourbon court, and the devastation of the Wars of Succession and Independence threatened the breed's purity. The Mendizábal Disentailment (1835) dispersed the Carthusian stud of Jerez, but Andalusian private breeders preserved the pure lines. On 23 January 1972, the founding of ANCCE in Jerez marked the beginning of the modern era.

06The Royal Andalusian School: Don Álvaro Domecq and Art Made Institution

In May 1973, then Prince Juan Carlos I awarded the Jerez horseman Don Álvaro Domecq Romero the Golden Horse, the highest honour in the Spanish equestrian world. In recognition of this award, Domecq presented for the first time his spectacle «How the Andalusian horses dance», the founding moment of what is today the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art in Jerez de la Frontera.

Since 1987, King Juan Carlos I has been honorary president of the institution, giving it its Royal title. The school works exclusively with PRE horses and stages more than 150 performances a year for international audiences. Don Álvaro Domecq Romero, the soul of the institution, passed away on 18 November 2025, leaving a legacy that transcends the equestrian world.

Two of the most brilliant names in the history of the PRE in international sport are directly linked to the Royal School: Rafael Soto Andrade and Ignacio Rambla Algarín, both from Jerez and both masters of the institution. The Royal School was the ecosystem that made their Olympic achievements possible: the training, the horses and the support of Don Álvaro Domecq gave them the tools to bring the PRE to the highest world level.

07The PRE at the Olympics: Soto, Rambla and the Olympic Achievements

Rafael Soto and Invasor

Rafael Soto Andrade competed for more than a decade with Invasor, a grey PRE stallion, qualifying for and competing in two consecutive Olympic Games: Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004, reaching the individual dressage final at both events. In Sydney, Soto and Invasor finished fourth individually, just off the podium in a discipline dominated by Central European warmbloods.

«Invasor was not simply my horse: he was an ambassador of the breed. Every score we achieved was a score for the PRE.»— Rafael Soto Andrade

Ignacio Rambla, Evento and Oleaje

Ignacio Rambla Algarín built with two PRE horses a career that consolidated the breed's place in elite sport. With Evento, his first great international competition PRE, Rambla competed on the FEI circuit with top-level results: his Kür with Evento in Verden is documented as one of the most moving and technically accomplished performances of the era. At the World Equestrian Games in Jerez 2002, Rambla was part of the Spanish team that won the team bronze medal.

It was with Oleaje that Rambla reached the summit: as part of the historic silver medal team at Athens 2004, and again at the London 2012 Olympic Games, cementing himself as the PRE rider with the greatest Olympic presence in history. As a faculty member of the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art, Rambla remains active, passing on the equestrian philosophy that Don Álvaro Domecq established.

08The PRE Today: A Breed in Global Expansion

As of December 31, 2024, the Stud Book records 290,407 living specimens — 143,728 mares and 146,679 stallions — belonging to 50,188 active breeders in 71 countries. In that year alone 12,615 new specimens were registered and 2,775 new breeders joined, 39% of them international, with particular strength in the USA, Italy and the Netherlands. The PRE accounts for 70% of all registered equids in Spain, with Andalusia concentrating 43% of the national census with around 78,500 specimens.

Blood purity is guaranteed through mandatory DNA verification since 1995: no horse obtains its PRE passport without a genetic analysis confirming parentage. Stud Book management falls jointly to ANCCE and the Directorate of Horse Breeding of the Armed Forces (DCCFAS), continuing the supervisory model born in the 19th century. In the competitive arena, the PRE is fully recognised by the FEI in classical dressage and working equitation. SICAB in Seville, the world's premier PRE show, brings together breeders from five continents each year and is the breed's international showcase. The export market focuses mainly on the USA, Mexico, Italy and France, consolidating the PRE as one of the most valuable cultural and economic assets of the Spanish agricultural sector.

09Myths and Realities of the PRE

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10Timeline: Fourteen Essential Milestones

Date	Milestone
c. 15.000 a.C.	Iberian caves — Altamira, El Castillo
218 a.C.	Punic Wars: Iberian cavalry, best in the Mediterranean
711 d.C.	Arab-Berber invasion — Berber contribution to the Iberian genome
1492	Catholic Monarchs' Pragmatic — first systematic regulation
1567	Philip II — Royal Stables of Córdoba. PRE institutional birth certificate
1847	Military Stud of Jerez — first official PRE genealogical register
1893	Moratalla Stud (Córdoba) — key genetic reservoir for the PRE
1972	ANCCE founded in Jerez — modern Stud Book
1973	Don Álvaro Domecq founds the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art
2000	Sydney — Rafael Soto / Invasor, 4th in the Olympic individual final
2002	WEG Jerez — Rambla / Evento, team bronze
2004	🥈 Athens — Team Silver. Soto / Invasor + Rambla / Oleaje
2012	London — Rambla / Oleaje at the Olympic Games
2024	+291,000 registered specimens in 60+ countries

11Sources and Verifiable Bibliography

1. Lira, J. et al. (2010). Ancient DNA reveals traces of Iberian Neolithic and Bronze Age lineages in modern Iberian horses. Molecular Ecology, 19(20), 4423–4436. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2010.04785.x
2. Jansen, T. et al. (2002). Mitochondrial DNA and the origins of the domestic horse. PNAS, 99(16), 10905–10910.
3. Promerová, M. et al. (2014). Worldwide frequency distribution of the Gaitkeeper DMRT3 mutation. Animal Genetics, 45(2), 274–282.
4. Warmuth, V. et al. (2012). Reconstructing the origin and spread of horse domestication. PNAS, 109(21), 8202–8206.
5. ANCCE (2024). Éxitos deportivos del PRE. ancce.es
6. Ministerio de Defensa — DCCFAS. Historia de Cría Caballar. defensa.gob.es/ccfas/HISTORIA/
7. Real Escuela Andaluza del Arte Ecuestre. Historia. realescuela.org
8. Fundación Andalucía Olímpica. Ignacio Rambla Algarín. fundacionandaluciaolimpica.org
9. Real Decreto 662/2007, de 25 de mayo, sobre selección y reproducción de ganado equino de razas puras. BOE n.º 139.
10. Archivo General de Simancas, fondo Mercedes y Privilegios: documentación sobre caballerizas reales, siglos XV–XVII.