Majestic Andalusian War Horse Wows Wyoming Crowd

Watching the Spanish war horse Romano perform, one would never guess that its first owners thought this majestic Andalusian horse was untrainable.

The beautiful stallion puts on an amazing performance, dancing in time to music like the spirit of some Spanish dancer lives inside him. Romano’s steps are perfectly timed to the music, his hips swaying from side to side, as he twirls around a rodeo arena to the whistles and cheers of an appreciative crowd.

To the casual observer, it seems that dance must be this horse’s second nature. But it wasn’t the case when Santana first met the horse. 

Felix Santana, who lives in Utah, was visiting one of his family’s ranches in Mexico the first time he laid eyes on Romano.

“Here came this horse, riding toward me, like out on the street,” Santana recalled. “And there was just something about him that caught my eye, like he needed to be mine.”

Santana asked about the horse but figured he would be far too expensive to buy. He was surprised and saddened to learn that his owner believed the horse untrainable and had already decided to get rid of him.

Santana didn’t hesitate to buy the horse and take him in. A third-generation horse trainer, he knew that patience was the key to winning Romano’s trust and bringing out the best in the horse. And when he says patience, he means about four years of day-in, day-out interactions, taken at the horse’s own pace. 

“This bloodline is pretty hard as far as like, stubborn,” Santana said. “If you don’t take your time, if you don’t have patience with them, they’ll walk all over you.”

Traveling The Country Together

Romano and Santana have been to many states across the nation with their unique act, but Wyoming is a frequent and favorite stop for the Utah duo, where the crowds seem to particularly love their act.

The most recent appearance at the final Chris LeDoux Days rodeo last weekend was before a sold-out grandstand that seats 1,500, plus another couple thousand people who brought their own seats or simply stood throughout the event.

That audience couldn’t get enough of the duo, cheering and whistling at each maneuver. When Romano reared up to the sky with Santana still on his back, taking a few steps around the arena, the crowd cheered so much, Santana decided they had to do the maneuver one more time.

And the audience cheered just as loudly the second time as the first.

That particular part of the act, though quite showy, is not a dance move. It’s an ancient war maneuver, Santana told Cowboy State Daily after the performance, and something that showcases this horse’s ancient history and heritage.

“This horse is what they call a PRE, or Pura Raza Espanola,” Santana said. “It’s an Andalusian breed, but it is about as pure as it gets, coming from Spain.”

The Pura Raza Espanola are one of the oldest horse breeds in Europe, going back to at least the Yeguada Militar, which is headquartered in Andalusia, Spain. Founded in 1847, the Yeguada Militar was the military-run stud farm, and played a significant role in the development of Andalusian war horses.

Some historians, however, say that Andalusian horses go back even further than that, with cave paintings of similar horses dating back to 20,000 to 30,000 BCE.

Let Him Be A Horse

All horses are beautiful, but the Andalusian breed brings something extra when it comes to stage presence. That’s made them a favorite choice for filmmakers in dozens of famous productions. Those beautiful Elvish horses ridden by Arwen and Aragorn in Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, for example, were both Andalusian breeds, and their graceful power made them perfect in their roles.

The intelligence and physique of Andalusian horses helps them excel at difficult maneuvers of all kinds. They can handle the difficult Doma Vaquero, for example, which is a traditional riding style for Spanish cattle herders that requires skill and precision from both horse and rider. They’re considered ideal for classical dressage, as well, which emphasizes precise, harmonious movements for horse and rider. 

Or they can create their own style, like the unique dance maneuvers that Santana and Romano perform together. The act is something that Santana developed on his own, working one-on-one with Romano, to understand what would best suit his style.

“Andalusians were originally bred for war because of their athletic ability,” Santana said. “And usually, when they train horses to dance, they train them to dance straight up. But he was burned out on that, because of too much pressure.”

So, instead, Santana put Romano in front of a wall, where they practiced just going from side to side together a little each day. Once Romano seemed comfortable with that, Santana added some music to the new trick, to see what would happen. 

Romano picked up on the beat right away, putting it into the wall dance maneuver almost instantly.

“Before you knew it, he was just in sync with it,” Santana said. “And now he’s to the point where he just enjoys doing it. It just took time and patience. I just gave him his time and let him be a horse.”

Prancing For The Kings

Andalusian horses have exceptionally long manes and long tails, and it looks really cool swishing back and forth whenever Romano performs. In fact, that look is part of what inspired Santana to train Romano.

“His hair is so nice and long, and when he’s shifting, going side to side, it makes him look so flashy,” Santana said. “I wanted to train him just because of how cool he is and his genetics. And I stayed with him because he’s a complete horse. He’s got the genetics. He’s got the looks. He’s so unique, so why not train him to do cool stuff?”

The war maneuvers that go back to this particular horse’s breed, like standing up on his hind legs and walking, did once have a practical purpose.

“They would train them to rear up and then strike out and hit an opponent,” Santana explained. “Like all of the tricks that he’s got are from this history. The slow march that he does, or the slow dressage is what they call it, that’s what they did when the kings came back from battle.”

A king on a prancing war horse was impressive to the crowds, Santana said. 

“So, there’s a whole history behind everything I trained this horse to do that goes beyond bull fighting and goes way far back into history,” he said. “And that’s why I showcase it.”

Santana believes the history of these unique horses is in danger of being lost. While the breed’s populations have recovered since dipping to very low numbers because of issues like crossbreeding, their history is not always what is highlighted about them. So, whenever he performs with Romano, that is something Santana likes to stress. 

The Cadillac Of Horses

Santana knows eventually he’ll have to retire Romano, as he is closing in on 13 years old. But the tricks Romano does are not something every Andalusian horse is capable of doing.

“We’re looking, but Romano is a very unusual horse,” Santana said. “I know there’s another horse out there that has the talent. It will just take time.”

Santana does have other breeds of horses who do unique performances as well, like a Friesian horse who presents the American flag.

“Friesians are like the puppy dog of horses,” Santana said. “They’re like riding the best dog that you have ever owned.”

But his favorite is always his Andalusian friend, Romano. They have been an important part of each other’s lives now, for many years.

“The Andalusian breed is just very noble. It’s the most versatile breed of horse, and I think you can do anything with them,” Santana said. “They’re the horse that, you know you can either drive a Chevy or a Cadillac. I would say that this is like the Cadillac of the horse.”

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.