THE LUSITANO STUD OF SOUTH AFRICA
In the small town of Coruche at the heart of the Ribatejo Province in Portugal, the name of the Raposo family has been associated for centuries with horses, bullfights and agriculture in general. It is therefore understandable that Carlos Raposo, a descendant of this family, an engineer and entrepreneur living in Southern Africa for the last 25 years, decided to create in the Cape "A bit of the Portugal I love" to use his own words.
September of 2006 witnessed what was the second phase of his agricultural adventure, with the establishment of his Lusitano stud.
Monte Cavalo stud farm is located in the Suid Agter Paarl region, a convenient half hour drive from the city of Cape Town in South Africa. Lusitano mares and foals share the 225ha of grazing fields with a herd of 150 Nguni cattle, in the best tradition of Lusitano studs in Portugal.
Horses from the best breeding lines available in Portugal were selected, to produce in South Africa the modern Lusitano: the Barocco Horse best suited for today's needs.
The Lusitano breed, arguably the oldest horse breed in the world, and the horse of war in ancient times, is now leaving its mark on the sport scene. The exceptional temperament and conformation of the Lusitano, has made such horses a sought after animal by dressage riders. In the same way this breed is establishing itself across the world as an exceptional sport horse; we hope that in years to come South Africa will be able to reap the benefits of our efforts.