Finding Peace and Classical Dressage at this 18th Century Portuguese Estate
In May 2025 I attended an immersive educational opportunity for working equitation judges in Portugal. Following the training, many of my fellow judges and other attendees planned to participate in some of the riding and training opportunities horse people enjoy in Portugal, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to. I thought perhaps it might be nice to get away from horses and just spend a few days looking at the ocean, lounging around, or hiking.
I’d had a difficult winter, and I knew the upcoming summer would be filled with judging, teaching, travel, and farm upkeep. After a spate of bad luck with my personal horses, I was burned out, exhausted, and not even sure that I wanted to ride anymore—an emotion that bewildered me, as riding has always been my greatest source of joy.
In the end, my friend and fellow working equitation judge from Oregon, Tracey Erway, said she was going to go to Morgado Lusitano located in Alverca, Portugal. And so I thought, why not? I knew hanging out with Tracey would be fun, so I emailed the manager, Henrique Cruz dos Santos, filled out the required form, and focused on preparations for an extended time away from my farm.
Historical Location
Upon arrival at Morgado Lusitano, we were shown to our charming cottages, treated to a wonderful lunch in the manor house, and then Henrique gave us a quick tour and told us about the history of the place.
Portugal is a treasure of ancient history and has a culture steeped in horsemanship. Morgado feels like stepping back in time. The main house was built in the late 18th century as a response to the great earthquake and devastating tsunami that destroyed much of Lisbon in 1755. The house stands on a high hill that overlooks Lisbon, and the view of the city and the expansive bright blue Tagus River is breathtaking. The city and the airport are about a half hour away, but the farm feels rural and is peaceful with gardens, wildflowers, forests, and fruit trees surrounding the horse facilities.
Henrique provided us with a schedule of our upcoming lessons (two per day), showed us where are meals would be served, and then the three of us (Tracey, new friend Sara from Michigan, and myself) prepared for our first day of lessons.
Lessons Learned
Morgado breeds and trains the horses used in the school, and they are almost exclusively Lusitanos. In the five days I was there, I rode at least 6 different horses, aged from 5 to early 20s. Nearly all the horses are trained to do piaffe, passage, and flying changes. The focus is on dressage, but I did get to do a working equitation lesson too.
The two instructors, Pedro Costa and Martim Cunha, have many years of classical dressage training but bring different approaches to the teaching. They rotate their workdays through the week, so I was lucky to get to ride with both.
Most of the lessons at Morgado are semi-private but they offer packages that include a private lesson, or clients can request private only. The staff tries to fulfill the needs and wishes of all the clients, making the experience great for everyone. Tracey, Sara, and I each had different goals and expectations for our visit. Instructors Martim and Pedro figured us out and made our time there positive.
Lessons at Morgado are an athletic endeavor. I knew I was not very fit, as I’d only been riding one horse at home and it didn’t involve much collected work or sitting trot. On the first two days I was out of breath during my lessons and felt weak as I hiked up the hill to my cottage from the arena. Happily, by the third day I felt my muscles and lung capacity return and, more importantly, found my joy in riding again. I felt excited to pull on my boots, make new horse friends, and stretch the limits of my physical ability.
The Best of Times
Besides our wonderful riding lessons, the three of us had the opportunity to go for a half day trail ride through a cork forest with meadows of grazing cattle. We were led by Alexandre D’Orey, the equestrian manager at Morgado. Alexandre is responsible for the training of the young horses from the stud where Morgado’s horses are bred and raised, Coudelaria Quinta do Regato, and he trains young horses from sunup to sundown. But he very kindly found the time to take us out onto his family’s expansive property. The cork trees were magnificent, the wildflowers were blooming, the sky was blue, and the trail horses were perfect. It was a wonderful day.
One of the other delights of our stay was the fantastic meals prepared for us every day. All we had to do was show up at the assigned time and wonderful Portuguese meals were set before us by kind staff members. We also met other horse crazy travelers who became friends. One couple, Penny and Ian from Australia, were excellent riders, breeders of warmbloods in Western Australia, and Penny was a dressage judge too. We shared long stories—mostly about horses and dogs—and bottles of wine, talking late into the night. I’ll never forget them.
How to Let Go
I loved my cottage at Morgado and regretted having to leave the peace I found there. Equipped with a kettle, refrigerator, and a small wooden table, I wrote in the mornings and sipped coffee before heading out for breakfast. It had an enormous soaking tub where I soothed my sore muscles in the evening and a sweet little wooden door that gave me one of my best lessons of the trip.
The lock was old, and the door opened with a brass key I couldn’t quite figure out how to use. Henrique showed me “the trick” and the lock slid easily for him, but when I tried it wouldn’t budge. Eventually, I figured out it wouldn’t open if I pushed too hard. I needed to let go, relax the muscles in my arm and hand and believe it would release, and then the lock would slide open. What a great metaphor for life and a lesson to take home with me: quit forcing and pushing. Relax, and the door opens.
Thank you, Morgado Lusitano, for the lessons and for reminding me how much I love life, horses, and riding. I can’t wait to come back.
Learn More
Website: morgadolusitano.pt
Facebook: facebook.com/morgado.lusitano.1
Email: [email protected]
See this article in the September 2025 Online Digital Edition:
September 2025
Kim Roe grew up riding on the family ranch and competed in Western rail classes, trail horse, reining, working cow, and hunter/jumper. She trained her first horse for money at 12 years old, starting a pony for a neighbor.
Kim has been a professional dressage instructor in Washington state for over 30 years, training hundreds of horses and students through the levels. In recent years Kim has become involved in Working Equitation and is a small ‘r’ Working Equitation judge with WE United.
Kim is the editor of the Northwest Horse Source Magazine, and also a writer, photographer, and poet. She owns and manages Blue Gate Farm in Deming, Washington where she continues to be passionate about helping horses and riders in many disciplines.
