Exploring at Epona

THE AREA

The wonderful thing about the Province of Sevilla is that, with the exception of the City of Seville itself, this Andalucian province is largely untouched by tourists. The vast arable plains and rolling foothills make wonderful riding country. Epona is situated a few miles east of the city, close to the ancient Moorish town of Carmona and only a few minutes ride from thousands of acres of olive groves and fields of sunflowers, nectarines and oranges. Fields are divided by wide headlands and countless tracks, rich in wildflowers in spring, teaming with butterflies and birdlife. Here there are no bridle paths and few fences either. Andalucians love their horses and still welcome riders on their land.

THE PEOPLE

They are particularly proud of their native breed and will stop their work to admire the horses as they pass. It seems everyone has a couple of breeding mares and a handsome stallion, in their back garden. The horse fairs of Seville and Jerez, are still the most popular public events of the year. While most of your riding at Epona will be out of sight of civilisation, you will certainly have the chance to visit the beautiful city of Seville, Carmona and Jerez in the south, home of sherry and the Royal Andalucian Equestrian School.

THE WEATHER

The weather in this part of Spain is good throughout the year as you can see from the chart below. Most days it is possible to ride in shirtsleeves with the chance of rain a pretty remote possibility. For up to date weather, just click on the following link:
Seville weather

just how hot does it get?

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
°C	15	18	21	24	27	32	36	38	32	26	20	16
°F	59	65	69	75	81	90	97	100	90	79	68	60

PLACES TO SEE

Seville

While Seville is certainly an ancient city with a wealth of beautiful parks, spectacular buildings, monuments and works of art, the real joy are the people and the sheer romance of the place. This is the city of Carmen and Flamenco and the city that invented tapas. Sevillanos enjoy life, they enjoy socialising, they enjoy their wine and their food. They enjoy their bullfighting, their festivals and their horses. If you are a romantic, you'll enjoy Seville too.

Carmona

Built on a hillside overlooking the valley, Carmona is smaller and less sophisticated than Seville, but it has rustic charm and an ancient pedigree. It was founded by the Carthaginians, three hundred years before the birth of Christ on the site of an earlier Turditani Iberian settlement. Both the Romans and Moors built major settlements here, much of which still remain. Carmona's Roman necropolis is one of the most important in Europe, with nine hundred family tombs dating from 200BC.

Jerez

An hour or so south from Seville, surrounded by hundreds of acres of vines, is the city of Jerez, the capital city of the sherry industry. The old part of the city has a number of attractive palm fringed squares, planted with orange, lemon and jacaranda trees, some beautiful Renaissance and Baroque churches and palaces and dozens of sherry bodegas. But for horse riders the greatest attractions of all are the fabulous week long Spring Horse Fair and the Royal Andalucian School of Equestrian Art, which is a regular destination for guests at Epona.