🏛 On location: Ponte de Lima – where equestrian culture meets Portugal’s green north

When people think of the Lusitano and Portugal, their thoughts usually turn fairly quickly to the Ribatejo or the Alentejo. To Golegã, of course. Perhaps to Alter do Chão, the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art in Belém, or one of the large stud farms around Lisbon and Santarém.

But what about the north?
It is surprisingly often overlooked. Yet it is well worth heading north from Porto towards Spain. The further north you travel, the greener, more mountainous and, in places, almost wild Portugal becomes. Vineyards stretch across the hillsides, old manor houses lie among gardens and woodland, and eventually, about 40 kilometres from the Spanish border, a small town appears amid all that green, on the banks of the Lima. At first glance, it looks more like medieval Portugal than an equestrian centre.
And there are indeed people within Portugal’s Lusitano community who are convinced that the north has about as much to do with the Lusitano as a cow has with ice skating. A point they are only too happy to make. But is that really true?

Historisch gesehen

Ponte de Lima was never a second Golegã. And anyone searching historical sources for the great Lusitano studs will find what they are looking for much more quickly in the Ribatejo and Alentejo than up here in the Minho. But that certainly does not mean that northern Portugal was without horses. Quite the opposite: it has an equestrian history all of its own.
Ponte de Lima is older than Portugal itself. As early as 1125, D. Teresa granted the town its charter, and even then a fair was part of life in the young vila. Trade, agriculture and livestock farming shaped the region for centuries – and horses were part of it.
They were not necessarily, however, the horses we think of today when we talk about Portuguese equestrian culture. In the mountainous Minho, the Garrano is particularly at home: a small, hardy horse breed whose history is closely linked to northern Portugal. Garranos remain part of the traditional scene at the Feiras Novas in Ponte de Lima to this day. Horses were traded here, and the Corridas de Garranos are also part of the region’s traditions. In these races, the small northern Portuguese horses compete in the so-called passo travado, a fast four-beat gait.
Anyone looking for a historical tradition of Lusitano breeding comparable to that found further south will not find it quite so readily in the Minho. The Lusitano did not, however, arrive in a region without an equestrian tradition. It encountered a horse culture of its own, one that had developed over centuries.

Der Lusitano ist längst im Norden angekommen

The fact that the Lusitano now has a firm place in the Minho is due in no small part to people such as Filipe Pimenta. In the early 2000s, the Centro Equestre Vale do Lima was established under his direction, just a few minutes from the historic centre of Ponte de Lima.
What began with the idea of giving the Lusitano a fitting place in northern Portugal has since developed into a facility covering around ten hectares, with 45 stables, indoor arenas and outdoor riding areas.
Perhaps even more important, however, is what has developed around it in the region.
Anyone looking for Lusitanos in and around Ponte de Lima today will discover an equestrian community considerably larger than they might initially expect. Lusitanos are now bred here too. At the 2026 Feira do Cavalo de Ponte de Lima, Coudelaria Rio Lima became the first stud farm from the municipality itself to be named best breeder in the Puro-Sangue Lusitano competition. Lusitano breeders can also be found elsewhere in the Minho: Domingos Agostinho Correia Sousa Matias from Roriz near Barcelos, as well as Afonso de Serra Neves and Manuel Maia Correia from Trofa.
Ponte de Lima may not feature on the traditional map of Portugal’s major Lusitano regions. On today’s map, however, the town has most definitely earned its place.

Horse country meets cultural landscape

Ponte de Lima is also considered one of the oldest – and is often described as the oldest – vilas in Portugal. A bridge crosses the Lima here, the oldest sections of which date back to Roman times. The historic centre is wonderful to explore on foot. North of Ponte de Lima lies a region shaped by two rivers – the Lima and the Minho.
This cultural landscape has little in common with the drier Portugal that many visitors know from the Ribatejo or Alentejo.
Here, Vinho Verde grapes and vegetables grow between granite walls, manor houses stand amid ancient cork oaks that are not stripped here, and mountains rise in the background.
Head towards the coast and you reach Viana do Castelo. Travel east and you enter the landscape of Peneda-Gerês. Venture into the Serra d’Arga and eventually you find yourself in a landscape where horses genuinely remain part of a largely unspoilt ecosystem.
Another, completely different side of the region reveals itself in a small mountain village in the Serra d’Arga. Here, Filipe Pimenta is currently working on a new equestrian project. Little by little, the village is being given a new lease of life – and becoming a starting point for rides through one of the most unspoilt landscapes of the Alto Minho.
The horses live outdoors all year round. Most of them are Lusitanos, sure-footed and accustomed to life in the mountains. From the small mountain village, old tracks lead up into the Serra, through woodland and across open high ground. In places, you follow historic trails and old Roman routes, passing historic bridges, steep slopes, waterfalls and ancient ruins, experiencing a landscape in which horses play a very different role from the one they do down at the Centro Equestre.
Trail rides range from one hour to full-day rides with a picnic. Afterwards, you can relax in the infinity pool on the steep hillside or in the jacuzzi – both with breathtaking views across the Alto Minho landscape. Peneda-Gerês National Park is also within easy reach by car.
For a culinary highlight, there is the “Benda”, a small restaurant in the village serving petiscos while also functioning as a kind of traditional village shop. Its name plays on the regional pronunciation of venda, the Portuguese word for a small shop or village store. In the Minho, such vendas were traditionally far more than places to buy things: they also served as meeting places for the village community.

Once a year, Ponte de Lima becomes a horse town

Nowhere is this more visible than at the aforementioned Feira do Cavalo de Ponte de Lima.
Founded in 2007, it has since developed into one of Portugal’s important equestrian events. The town deliberately set out to create an equestrian, cultural and economic meeting point for the north. Today, breeders, riders and visitors come from across Portugal and abroad.
The 18th edition took place in 2026.
The programme included dressage, Working Equitation, horseball and carriage driving, as well as the traditional Modelo e Andamentos show for the Puro-Sangue Lusitano. The international Working Equitation competition also served as a qualifier for the World and European Championships.
And yet the Feira feels quite different from the famous Feira Nacional do Cavalo in Golegã.
It is more compact. Easier to take in. Perhaps a little more focused on sport, while at the same time feeling distinctly more intimate. To me, it is something of a cross between the Feira Nacional do Cavalo in Golegã and the Festival Internacional do Cavalo Lusitano (FICL), held annually in Lisbon.
Between competitions, you meet breeders and riders, watch the horses, have something to eat, drink a Vinho Verde and quickly find yourself drawn into conversation. It is precisely this mixture of equestrian sport, breeding and local festivities that gives the event much of its charm.
What I experienced there, whom I met, and what a bar in Ponte de Lima has to do with Che Guevara and Kölsch is something I tell you about in my travel guide for Lusitano fans. 😉

But there is another horse

Anyone travelling to northern Portugal solely for the Lusitanos risks overlooking a rather important inhabitant of the region.
The Garrano.
These small, hardy horses are part of the Minho’s cultural heritage. Their history stretches far back, and for centuries they were used as working, pack and transport animals. Today, the Garrano is officially recognised as an indigenous Portuguese horse breed.
And some still live largely free in the mountains.
The Serra d’Arga, rising between Ponte de Lima, Caminha and Viana do Castelo, is particularly well known for them. With a little luck, you can spot herds of Garranos on its high plateaus.
This is not, however, a visit to a wildlife park. Sometimes you see them straight away. Sometimes you drive along some fairly adventurous tracks and see – absolutely nothing.
The 2026 Feira do Cavalo de Ponte de Lima provided a particularly beautiful example of how consciously the Garrano is now recognised as part of the region’s equestrian culture. One of the major evening performances was entitled “Garrano, a Raiz” – “Garrano, the Root”. Eighteen horses told the story and significance of the breed for the north in four acts.
And so the circle closes: at the same event, the internationally successful Lusitano and the small mountain horse of the Minho stand side by side.

The Centro Equestre Vale do Lima, seen from the car park.

Ponte de Lima – Roman-medieval bridge with the Igreja de Santo António da Torre Velha and a view of the historic centre.

Garranos in the Serra d’Arga.

And when should you go?

Anyone interested in equestrian sport and Lusitano breeding should keep an eye on the dates of the Feira do Cavalo de Ponte de Lima. Those who would rather discover the landscape, the Garranos and Portugal’s green north can easily include Ponte de Lima in a journey between Porto, Viana do Castelo and Peneda-Gerês.
Or combine the two.
Next year, for the first time, I will be offering a five-day workshop around the Feira do Cavalo de Ponte de Lima. Around the first weekend in July, we will explore Lusitanos, equestrian culture and the region – visiting the Feira, gaining insights into the local horse scene and, of course, taking time to discover Portugal’s green north from horseback.
I will publish the full programme later in September 2026. If you are interested, you can already register your interest without any obligation.
One thing I can definitely say: Ponte de Lima is one of those places where, sooner or later, you realise that you have once again booked too few days.

More of northern Portugal in the book

In Tracing the Lusitano, I take you to meet the people and horses behind this still relatively little-known equestrian region of Portugal. We visit the Feira do Cavalo, meet Filipe Pimenta, look behind the walls of an old manor house – and set off in search of the wild Garranos of the Serra d’Arga.

Because anyone who believes those who place Portugal’s equestrian culture solely in the Ribatejo is missing a rather fascinating part of it

Top left: view across the Serra d’Arga. Top right: trail riding on Lusitanos. Bottom left: the Benda, with traditional chocalhos (livestock bells) used as lamps. Bottom right: infinity pool overlooking Ponte de Lima.

Book-Note:
In Tracing the Lusitano, I take a closer look at Dom Duarte, the historic schools of riding and the personalities who shaped Portuguese equestrian art.